Posts Tagged ‘WMD’

George has performance issues - Friday, February 19th, 2010

Story No. 19

George was extraordinarily fortunate to have me as his senior adviser. Dogs can sniff around and pick up bits of stuff that other advisers miss completely. And I had a real nose for people.

‘George’ I said one day in the middle of an intense discussion about health policy ‘its time for a performance review of the key members of your cabinet and top advisers. You’ve got an election coming up and it’s critical you have a team in place who can hack it’

‘Good thinking Barney’ said George ‘what did you have in mind?’

‘Well let’s look at your top five people’ I said ‘first there’s me and it looks like you’ve already made the obvious decision to retain my services by renewing my dog licence last week. So let’s talk about Colin Powell’

‘Wonderful man’ said George

‘I know’ I said ‘but he’s really pissed about the way he’s been treated by Dick and Don. He’s the ex-General and they keep telling him how to run the wars. It’s like me telling Derek Jeter he doesn’t know how to hold a bat’

‘Sure there are differences of opinion’ said George ‘but isn’t that normal?’

‘Dick and Don’ I said ‘don’t have normal opinions. They are dedicated disciples of Atilla the Hun. Mark my words George, Colin’s up to here with it. And don’t forget he was the one left twisting in the wind after telling the UN there were WMDs in Iraq. You don’t have to be Oprah Winfrey to work out who fitted him up for that. He’s not a second termer George’

‘That’s a bit of a shock’ said George ‘who on earth can I replace him with?’

A bit of a confession here. I’ve always been an unabashed fan of Condi Rice. She’s black and a real terrier just like me and I’ve always regarded her as a sort of kindred spirit. If there’s one person I would love to talk to besides George it would be her. So having sussed that Colin, who is also a really great black guy by the way, was going to call it a day, I evolved a cunning strategy to slot in Condi.

‘Condi Rice is a no-brainer’ I said ‘all the other possible candidates are dogsbodies by comparison. If you don’t appoint her I’ll stand on the steps of the Capitol Building with a white eye and accuse you of mistreating blacks’

‘Alright, alright’ said George ‘anything else?’

‘Yes, I’d fire Dick and Don’ I said

‘No way’ said George ‘they’ve grown on me. I think it must be the Stockholm Syndrome’

‘I find them more like chronic fatigue syndrome’ I said ‘if Don runs the Iraq war much longer Osama bin Laden will start sending him Christmas cards. Come to think of it I’d make the ideal Secretary of Defence’

‘Sorry Barney’ said George ‘you’ll have to be content with being the underdog’

Tony Blair Hits Top of Barney’s Shitlist - Friday, February 5th, 2010

Story No. 17

‘Now look, about this Iraq business’ said Tony Blair

He had dropped into George’s ranch at Crawford, Texas for a confidential word  about stuffing Saddam and George and I were accompanying him on a post lunch constitutional round a paddock.

It was a pleasant stroll although we were surrounded by enough security heavies to prevent Boris Yeltsin getting into a vodka festival.  George wanted me around to advise him on the really complex strategic issues and I looked forward to the visit because I knew he kept a couple of bitches down there with the qualities to bring joy even to a dog’s life.

‘Colin Powell is convinced that Saddam has WMDs’ said George ‘and that only confirms what Dick and Don have been saying for sometime’

I’d been telling George for just as long that Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld were far more dangerous WMDs than anything Saddam could possibly have.

‘What if we don’t find any WMDs?’ asked Tony

‘No chance’ said George ‘but don’t forget that Saddam told the UN to go and get whooped and he’s acting like a cross between Hitler, Frankenstein and Hillary Clinton’

‘We’ve got to tread carefully’ said Tony ‘Find the WMDs then change the regime by getting rid of Saddam, his army and his police force.  We don’t want to be landed with that whole Sunni Shia can of worms’

I quickly ran behind a hedge and shouted ‘What about Al Qaeda?’ I was under strict instructions from George not to open my mouth but my self-control failed me.

‘What on earth was that?’ asked Tony

‘It was one of the security guys’ said George ‘By the way one of my senior advisers reckons we should leave the army and the police force intact.  He believes if we disband them they’ll all join Al Qaeda and the country will descend into chaos’

I was flattered that George had remembered my advice so accurately.

‘Well he’s got that wrong’ said Tony ‘once we’ve sorted out Saddam and his crew the whole country will come to its senses.  That adviser of yours sounds like a real dog’

I’d never liked Tony Blair but now he hit rock bottom on the shitlist.  If I told George once I told him a hundred times never to go to war alongside a socialist.

‘You might just as well get some advice from Barney’ added Tony pissing himself with laughter

Fortunately my self-control reasserted itself and I was able to refrain from urinating down his trousers.

‘Tony do your people believe this war is legal?’ asked George

‘Half do, half don’t’ said Tony ‘you know what lawyers are like.  They tell you what they think will make them the most money’

‘Ok’ said George ‘I’ll send Saddam a note giving him the option of resigning and spending the next ten years in Antarctica growing glaciers with Al Gore or facing high noon at the OK Corral’

‘Right on George’ said Tony ‘we’ll bring peace and democracy to the people of Iraq and an era of hope and prosperity to the whole world’

‘What a load of absolute crap’ I shouted from behind the hedge.

In the Office of the British Prime Minister - Friday, January 29th, 2010

Fly on the Wall at Friday Mash

Last week Guy the Friday Mash Superfly winged his way to the UK and managed to land high on a wall in Gordon Brown’s office at No. 10 to send us this exclusive report about a vital strategy meeting.

Gordon Brown was in conference with Harriet Harman and Lord Mandelson.

‘Peter do you think there will be anymore coup attempts against me before the next election?’ asked Gordon

‘Probably not’ said Peter ‘after everyone chickened out of the last one. And the Iraq Inquiry will totally stuff any chance of Tony making a comeback’

‘What about Alisdair Darling?’ asked Gordon

‘And what about me my little precious’ said Harriet ‘By the way have you taken your constipation tablets?’

‘No but I’ve already got plenty of runs on the board’ said Gordon ‘I’m thinking of becoming green for the next election’

‘I don’t think a name change will be enough’ said Peter.

‘I’m also thinking of taking drastic steps on the economy before the next election’ said Gordon ‘I’ve already driven it to the seventh largest in the world from the fifth. If I could get it to the tenth largest I could make a dramatic election promise to improve it to ninth or even eighth’

‘Inspired thinking Gordon’ said Harriet ‘but how on earth am I going to retain my seat?’

‘You’ll have to start going to the gym regularly’ said Gordon. ‘But what am I going to tell the Iraqi Inquiry?’

Tell them the truth’ said Peter ‘Saddam Hussein couldn’t remember where he had hidden the WMDs’

‘But won’t that let Tony off the hook?’ asked Gordon

‘No’ said Peter ‘because Saddam had also forgotten that he hadn’t got any’

‘But if Saddam was convinced he had WMDs’ said Gordon ‘can’t Tony claim he was misled?’

‘No’ said Peter ‘because I’ve leaked it to the Inquiry that while Saddam had forgotten that he hadn’t got any WMDs he suddenly remembered where they were and Tony found out that he had remembered but had forgotten that he had forgotten that he didn’t have any’

‘Brilliant’ said Gordon ‘so I can tell the Iraq Inquiry that I remembered that Tony remembered that Saddam remembered where the WMDs were’

‘Do you think we should call in Kevin Rudd to advise us on economic policies for the election?’ asked Harriet

‘Heavens no’ said Gordon ‘I couldn’t stand any more of that boring Aussie nerd crapping on about how he fluked his way round a recession. But this Iraq thing could still be a problem’

‘No way’ said Peter ‘just blame it all on George W Bush and John Howard. You can claim they formed a right wing conspiracy to undermine Tony and his Labor Government but you came in and saved us all’

‘Sheer genius’ said Gordon ‘perhaps I won’t need that post election job with the Scottish Porridge Promotion Board after all’

Letter to Father Christmas - Friday, December 18th, 2009

Letter to Father Christmas

Dear Santa,

‘Tis the season when people of goodwill at Friday Mash think not of themselves but only of others.

We would really appreciate the delivery of our Christmas gift list set out below in your usual timely festive fashion.

Kevin Rudd - a pair of budgie smugglers to prove he’s got nothing to hide.
Malcolm Turnbull - a CD of Kevin singing ‘Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen’
Tony Abbott - a DNA test to prove he’s not the lovechild of John Howard and Bronwyn Bishop
Barack Obama - the Nobel Olympic Prize for failing to bring the Games to Chicago
Penny Wong - a climate change; a long stay in Siberia perhaps
Sarah Palin - melting moments at the North Pole with Al Gore
Hillary Clinton - an ‘I should have been President’ bumper sticker
Kristina Keneally - the magic formula which turned Pinocchio from a puppet into a person
Peter Garrett - a part in Coneheads II
Bill Clinton - Tiger’s mobile with all the phone numbers
General McChrystal -  a McBall so he can forsee what’s about to happen in Afghanistan
Joe Hockey - a Father Christmas outfit because he’s your natural successor
Julia Gillard - a life size Tony Abbott doll so she no longer has to flirt with him in person
Wayne Swan - a Navman so he can find his way out of the woods
George W Bush - WMDs found in Iraq
Gordon Brown - something to wear under his kilt because he’s been left dangling recently
Berlusconi - bandaids
John Howard - a dancing frog wearing a Bob Hawke face mask. On second thoughts the mask wont be necessary
Barry O’Farrell - a gift similar to that bestowed on so many hostesses and cocktail waitresses; a bit of Tiger in him
The People of NSW - an early election

The delivery of these gifts will make many people very happy. Making people happy is one of your gifts which politicians seem incapable of accepting.

Merry Christmas

From Friday Mash

George finally captures Saddam Hussein - Friday, December 4th, 2009

Story No. 10

‘Yippee’ said George all excited ‘I’ve just heard we’ve captured Saddam Hussein’

I was immediately on my guard. George was capable of the most unspeakable stuff-ups when he was excited.

‘Know what?’ said George ‘I think I might do another ‘mission accomplished’ turn on that aircraft carrier’

‘Now George let’s be absolutely clear about this’ I said in my most authoritative tone ‘you still haven’t accomplished any mission in Iraq. Your first ‘mission accomplished’ was premature and a second would be worse than a tickertape parade down Fifth Avenue celebrating the anniversary of Watergate’

‘Ok Barney, perhaps you’re right’ said George grudgingly ‘but we’ve got to do something to celebrate. That guy’s a real mangy dog. Oops, sorry Barney’

‘George’ I said ‘you should do a TV address to the nation praising the efforts of our brave lads in Iraq and announcing that you’re handing Saddam over to the Iraqi Government to be tried for his dirty deeds’

‘No way’ said George ‘I’m not handing him over till he tells us where the WMDs are hidden’

‘I’m sorry to break this to you George’ I said ‘but Saddam has got as many WMDs as invitations to dinner at the White House. He’s all mouth and trousers. And if there was the faintest possibility that he ever had any he would have had a stocktake sale before we arrived’

‘I’m worried that the Iraqis won’t give him what he deserves’ said George ‘perhaps we should bring him to New York for a show trial’

‘No George’ I said ‘that’s the sort of thing Democrats do’

‘Well then I’ll get him renditioned and redacted’ said George

‘What on earth does that mean?’ I asked

‘I haven’t the slightest idea’ said George ‘it’s stuff I’ve picked up talking to the CIA. But I want Saddam to experience the same sort of animal cruelty he inflicted on others’

‘Fine’ I said ‘lock him in a cell with me and I’ll bite his nuts off’

‘What I have in mind’ said George ‘is to terrify him with sheer naked aggressions’

‘Well then lock him in a cell with Hillary with all her gear off’ I said

‘I’d like him to be in mortal fear for his life’

‘Ok’ I said ‘send him out quail shooting with Dick Cheney’

‘On the other hand’ mused George ‘he might come in handy for us’

‘You have to be joking George’ I said apprehensively

‘Well he could be useful in helping us put the Iranians back in their cage’ said George thoughtfully ‘after all he stopped them in their tracks once before’

‘Well’ I said ‘I guess that’s one way of using him to maximise chaos in the Middle East. Another possibly even more effective way would be to appoint him US ambassador to Israel’

‘I know’ said George ‘why don’t I make him president of the Bush All-American Oil Company based in Iraq?’

‘Because you’ve already promised that job to Dick Cheney’ I said

Iraq is a pet project - Friday, November 6th, 2009

Story No: 6

During the early stages of the wars in Iraq I was beginning to assert myself in the role as senior advisor to George. Unfortunately however when it came to wars he was listening to Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld rather than me. It was a case of two tails wagging the dog.

Colin Powell was a great guy and a real soldier, but in those days when it came to wars he was less of a pit bull and more of a poodle like me.

Karl Rove was almost my equal as a senior advisor but much more dogmatic. He was much more interested in his own wars than George’s.

So when it came to Iraq it was me against Dick and Don and I was incredulous that George preferred their advice to mine. That was like a baseball player choosing to be coached by Hulk Hogan rather than Joe Torre.

So after our brave lads captured Baghdad Dick and Don were jumping up and down about fly-pasts, parades and dog and pony shows galore.

‘So Barney, what’s your opinion?’ asked George.

‘Well George’ I said ‘I don’t want to seem overly dramatic so I’ll put this as logically and dispassionately as I can. You’re in deep shit’.

‘Barney you’ve got to be joking’ said George ‘This will go down as my finest hour’.

‘Let’s face it George’ I said ‘you had your finest hour with that Costa Rican bombshell in college. Today Al Qaeda are pouring into Iraq, the WMDs if they ever existed are in Syria, Saddam Hussein is down a foxhole and the Shi’ite are not going to be happy campers much longer’.

‘But Dick and Don told me it’s all over bar the shouting’ said George.

‘Dick and Don wouldn’t know they’re about to suffer a fiery end even if they had a rocket up their ass’ I said ‘What do Colin and Karl think?’

‘Well it’s true they’re a bit more cautious’ said George. They had obviously told him the war is far from over and he should pull his head in.

‘But Iraq is my pet project’ said George.

‘Wrong George’ I said ‘I am your pet project’.

‘Well Dick thinks I should do something dramatic to build national morale and patriotism like landing on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in a fixed-wing plane. No president has ever done that’.

‘Don’t tell me’ I said ‘Then you’re going to make a stirring victory speech under a huge banner saying ‘Mission Accomplished’.

‘That’s a brilliant idea Barney’ said George ‘I’ve got to hand it to you. Dick and Don will love it’.

‘George’ I said ‘I was only kidding. Crack a bottle of champers, send a stirring message to the nation but don’t go big-noting yourself on an aircraft carrier about a mission that’s about as accomplished as the Watergate burglary’.

‘Come to think of it’ said George ‘I might consider doing a ticker-tape parade in Baghdad under a banner reading ‘Saviour of Iraq’.

‘Oh Lord’ I thought ‘if that happens Osama bin Laden might start believing in Christmas’.

‘Ok George’ I said ‘you win. Do the mission accomplished thing on the aircraft carrier’.

We should invade a few more bad guys while we’re on a roll - Friday, October 30th, 2009

Story No: 5

‘Mr President’ I looked up and saw it was Don Rumsfeld coming across the lawn. George and I were having a yap in the White House gardens.

‘No talking Barney’ said George

‘Can’t I even bite his ankles?’ I asked hopefully

George shot me a look which left no doubt that the slightest nip on my part would mean an extended period in the doghouse.

‘Mr President. Great news from Iraq’ said Don ‘Our forces are within thirty kilometres of Baghdad and my strategic plan is working brilliantly’

‘What a wanker’ I thought

‘Found any WMDs yet?’ asked George

‘Not yet Mr President’ said Don ‘but be assured we’re on the case’

It was only my superhuman self-control that stopped me telling him he’d got as much chance of finding WMDs in Iraq as I had of addressing the United Nations General Assembly

‘More good news Mr President’ said Don ‘we’ve now got Kabul and Kandahar pretty much under control’

‘Great work Don’ said George ‘let’s chat with Dick after the Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting’

‘That’s terrific news from Iraq’ said George after Don had gone. ‘ We’ll soon have control of Baghdad, Kabul and Kandahar’

‘George’ I said ‘Kabul and Kandahar are in Afghanistan’

‘Just testing’ said George ‘I just wish I was out there with the troops charging up the Khyber Pass to Baghdad’

I didn’t say any more because he was making encouraging progress. At least all of the places he mentioned were in the Middle East. I thought of the brave lads out there in the heat of battle and how ironic it was that they were wearing dogtags while I had an identification chip embedded in my ass.

‘By the way Barney’ said George ‘the head gardener told me that someone crapped on the lawn last week. That wasn’t you was it?’

‘Absolutely not George’ I said ‘I’m pretty certain it was your father’s dog when he came visiting’

Actually it was me. I just couldn’t restrain myself when Dick Cheney walked past. But I just didn’t know how George would react to the news that his senior advisor had crapped on the lawn.

‘You know’ said George ‘perhaps we should invade a few more bad guys while we’re on a roll’

I could see it was time for one of my serious moments with George

‘Let’s be absolutely clear about this George’ I said ‘you’re already in a fight with Saddam, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and numerous other dogbrains. That’s enough to keep you busy for the next few years

‘Nonsense’ said George ‘give us three weeks and we’ll find all the WMDs, oil will be flowing and Saddam will be begging for mercy.

‘Yes’ I said ‘and Britney Spears will become a vestal virgin and Mike Tyson will be appointed professor of rocket science at Harvard University’

‘I’m having dinner tonight with the top brass’ said George ‘ and we’ll be discussing Iraq and Afghanistan. Is there anything in particular you would like me to take out of the meeting for you?’

‘Yes’ I said ‘a doggy bag’

Man of Steel & Bitches at the Clintons - Friday, October 16th, 2009

Story No: 3

‘Barney I need to talk with you about Tony Blair’s visit’ said George, ‘It’s a very critical step in planning the Iraq thing and I would appreciate your advice on how we should approach him’

‘I could shit on his shoes’ I said

I just wasn’t a Tony Blair fan. For one thing he was trying to ban fox hunting in the UK and that would put all my foxhound buddies out of a job.

‘Look George’ I said ‘here’s my considered view. Tony Blair is a socialist and you just can’t trust them in a war. At some point the British unions will kick up a fuss and have him fired if he doesn’t pull out. Unions only like wars against bosses’

‘But Barney’ said George ‘I need the Brits in Iraq. That would encourage the other European nations to join in’

‘Forget it’ I said ‘ the French are too far up themselves and each other, the Germans are still suffering from Hitler hangover and the Italians wouldn’t fight even if Saddam kidnapped all their women and charged them for sex. You’re much better off with a man of steel like John Howard’

‘Man of steel’ said George ‘I like that Barney, you really come up with them. But Colin Powell has assured me that Saddam has WMDs’

‘Listen George’ I said ‘You’ve got less chance of finding WMDs in Iraq than winning the Nobel Peace Prize. As soon as you start rattling the first sabre Saddam will rush them over the border into Syria before you can say ‘Barney I’ve fixed a date for you with that bitch at the Clintons’’.

‘Ok Barney’ said George ‘how would you deal with Saddam?’

‘Simple’ I said ‘send him broke. I’ve got a buddy who’s a guard dog at the Stock Exchange and he’s given me some insider sniffing that Bernie Madoff’s going down in a year of two’

‘Not dear old Bernie’ said George ‘He’s one of my main campaign contributors’

‘Here’s what you do’ I said ‘Get some CIA spooks to pose as international financiers and convince Saddam to invest his shirt on Bernie’s WMDs. He’ll be so excited he won’t twig it stands for worst money disasters’

‘Barney’ said George ‘You’re not serious about Tony Blair are you?’

‘Sure I am’ I said ‘There’s one other thing you should know, he didn’t pass my sniff test. Last time he was here I gave him a really good sniffing and discovered he’s just a typical Brit who doesn’t change his underpants regularly’

‘One other thing’ said George ‘He might bring his deputy Gordon Brown’

Now that was better news. Gordon was more my sort of chap. He had a Scottish heritage just like me and agreed with my considered opinion that Tony Blair was a mongrel.

‘Come on Barney’ said George ‘What’s your strategy for finding out what’s really on Tony’s mind?’

‘It wont be easy’ I said ‘but if he changes his underpants and I don’t shit on his shoes there’s a good chance he will come clean’.

George knows Dick - Friday, October 9th, 2009

Story No: 2

‘Look George’ I said, ‘I’m worried about Dick Cheney’. After all who wouldn’t be? It was the summer of 2002 and George and I were having a yap on the White House lawn.

‘Good heavens Barney’ said George ‘Dick and I are like the Righteous Brothers. What’s your problem?’

There was something in his tone which indicated I should tread carefully. My dog licence was coming up for renewal.

‘As your senior and most trusted advisor’ I said ‘it is my duty to bring matters to your attention without fear of favour so I’m asking you to cut a bit of slack on my leash here. I’ve been listening to conversations Dick’s been having with Don Rumsfeld’.

‘Barney’ said George ‘don’t tell me you’ve been eavesdropping’.

‘Of course not’ I lied ‘It’s just that dogs have a special talent for sniffing things out’.

Actually I sneaked into Dick’s office one day when he went to the can and then by sheer chance happened to hear him chatting to Don on the dog and bone.

‘I think Dick’s really enjoying the war in Afghanistan’ I said ‘He talks about it like it’s a football match and he and Don seem keen on doing an encore in Iran, Iraq or North Korea’

‘What about Hawaii?’ asked George.

‘You already own that’ I said.

‘Oh sorry. What about Australia?’

‘They’re on our side’

‘Who? Azerbaijan?’

Conversations with George can easily tend to drift so I decided to take charge.

‘Now listen George’ I said in my most dogmatic tone ‘I know Saddam Hussein’s a pain in the bum and Iran, Syria and North Korea are an axis of evil…..’

‘Axis of evil’ interrupted George ‘that’s very good. I’ll use that’

‘…….but you’ve got to stop Dick and Don being so trigger happy’

‘I can’t understand why they’d be interested in North Korea’ said George
‘They haven’t got any oil’

‘There’s no oil in Afghanistan’ I said

‘That’s not the point’ said George ‘Dick tells me we’re going to capture Osama Bin Laden next week’

‘You’ve got as much chance of capturing Osama Bin Laden’ I said ‘as I have of starring in Lassie. You would be mad to invade anywhere else in the Middle East. Oil prices would go up and it would be a real bugger’s muddle’

George put on that hang-dog look which was a dead giveaway that he’d been up to something.

‘To tell you the truth’ he said ‘Dick, Don and I have been thinking about shaking down Saddam Hussein to see if any WMDs fall out’.

This was a shattering blow. George had actually listened to Dick and Don rather than me.

‘Well George’ I said ‘you know the old saying. If you lie down with dogs you get fleas’.