5 years ago we were lied into Iraq

The second in a row of great speeches from Barack Obama.
from Raw Story with text and video...
Obama: US less safe because of Iraq war
RAW STORY
Published: Wednesday March 19, 2008
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_US_less_safe_because_of_0319.html


A few quotes we shouldn’t forget.

Saddam Hussein's offensive military capability, his capacity to threaten his neighbors, has been virtually eliminated.

Dick Cheney Secretary of Defense - April 29, 1991

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"If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road."

Gov. George W. Bush - October 3, 2000

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"The sanctions exist -- not for the purpose of hurting the Iraqi people, but for the purpose of keeping in check Saddam Hussein's ambitions toward developing weapons of mass destruction ... And frankly they have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors. So in effect, our policies have strengthened the security of the neighbors of Iraq ... "

Secretary of State Colin Powell - 2001 February 24, 2001

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"But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let's remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his country. We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt."

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice - July 29, 2001

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Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass destruction against anyone, including the Iraqi people. War crimes will be prosecuted. War criminals will be punished. And it will be no defense to say, "I was just following orders."

President George W. Bush - March 17, 2003

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Those who follow orders to commit such crimes will be found and they will be punished. War crimes will be prosecuted. And it will be no excuse to say, 'I was just following orders.' Any official involved in such crimes will forfeit hope of amnesty or leniency with respect to past action.

Donald Rumsfeld - Secretary of Defense - March 20, 2003

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"The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example."

George W. Bush - June 26, 2003

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Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right, and we are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law…Throughout the world, there are many who have been seeking to have their voices heard, to stand up for their right to freedom, and to break the chains of tyranny. Too many of those courageous women and men are paying a terrible price for their brave acts of dissent. Many have been detained, arrested, thrown in prison, and subjected to torture by regimes that fail to understand that their habits of control will not serve them well in the long-term.

President George W. Bush June 26, 2005

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Confession of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
http://circuitousnoodle.blogspot.com/2007/03/confession-of-khalid-sheikh-mohammed.html
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The continuing horror of the Disappeared
http://circuitousnoodle.blogspot.com/2007/03/continuing-horror-of-disappeared.html

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Saddam Hussein's regime is despicable, he is developing weapons of mass destruction, and we cannot leave him doing so unchecked... He is a threat to his own people and to the region and, if allowed to develop these weapons, a threat to us also."

Prime Minister Tony Blair - 10 April 2002

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Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, Saddam has continued to produce them, he has existing and active military plans for the use of chemical and biological weapons, which could be deployed within 45 minutes.

Prime Minister Tony Blair - 2002 Sept 24

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If we don't act now, then we will go back to what has happened before and then of course the whole thing begins again and he carries on developing these weapons and these are dangerous weapons, particularly if they fall into the hands of terrorists who we know want to use these weapons if they can get them.

Prime Minister Tony Blair - 11 March 2003

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I think things have gotten so bad inside Iraq, from the standpoint of the Iraqi people, my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.

Vice President Dick Cheney, On March 16 2003

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I picked up a newspaper today and I couldn't believe it. I read eight headlines that talked about chaos, violence, unrest. And it just was Henny Penny -- "The sky is falling." I've never seen anything like it! And here is a country that's being liberated, here are people who are going from being repressed and held under the thumb of a vicious dictator, and they're free. And all this newspaper could do, with eight or 10 headlines, they showed a man bleeding, a civilian, who they claimed we had shot -- one thing after another.

Donald Rumsfeld - Secretary of Defense - April 11, 2003"

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Oh, indeed there is a tie between Iraq and what happened on 9/11. It’s not that Saddam Hussein was somehow himself and his regime involved in 9/11, but, if you think about what caused 9/11, it is the rise of ideologies of hatred that lead people to drive airplanes into buildings in New York."

Condoleezza Rice November 28, 2003

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The 9-11 Commission Report
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/

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See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.

President George W. Bush - May 24, 2005

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Everything these guys said was wrong at best but most commonly were lies mixed with distortions. The people against this war were right in their characterization of what the outcome would be. They were ignored and called traitors and cowards when they should have been listened to. Listen to them now when they speak against current and future military misadventures (Iran) because their voices carry more truth than the voices of the egocentric chicken hawks in the Bush administration.
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contradicting administration propaganda on Iraq

Bush speech on continuing surge with observations

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War is not a game.

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The first adversary of the Iraqi people was definitely the Bush administration, its cohorts and followers.

No matter how they feel about us we owe a debt to Iraq for the death and destruction caused by us. That should never be forgotten. It should also never be forgotten that the military was used under false pretenses. Those against the invasion were ignored from the insignificant little people to the much more influential and knowledgeable, deserving a fair hearing, along with the millions protesting at home and across the world. The predicted results ensued resulting in unnecessary anguish and carnage.

War crimes were committed. Bush policies of rendition, torture, indiscriminate use of weapons improper among civilian populations, seriously overused troops in a deadly supercharged environment, profiteering, and negligent planning wrapped up in a refusal to admit any mistakes have made Bush Neoconservative’s opponents of peace toward the US and Iraq and the people of the region if the instability spreads.

Not only have Neocon policies become the best recruiting tool for Al Qaeda and like-minded groups but they have also set up a wonderful training ground of authentic war experience against their most reviled enemy; us. Those in charge are to blame for this mess because they’re the ones that put the horror in motion.





They also screwed the Afghanistan people and our troops who were fighting the terrorists who really did attack our country by running away from the ‘war on terror’ hijacking it for neoconservative desires. The Taliban is regaining strength in Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden is still free and in charge of al-Qaeda.

Money has been wasted, misused and stolen causing us to rely on China and other nations to finance our illegitimate war while keeping the lifestyles of the powerful undisturbed. They’ve left the brunt of domestic sacrifice for this war of lies to be carried by the military families with little support from the Republican chicken hawks who so frequently love to envelop themselves with flags, yellow ribbons and military paraphernalia.

If our presence in Iraq is futile or more destructive to them and us than our absence then we must leave.

The very minimum the United States should do is;

* Make certain that the world and the Iraqi people know we have no intention of having permanent bases.

* Turn over the building of the country to the people who live there.

* Apologize to the nation the Iraqis and the world for the lies that were used to start this war and the crimes that were committed during the occupation. President Bush and Vice President Cheney should both resign. If they won’t resign then they must be impeached.

* Bring ALL neighboring countries into discussions on the future of Iraq and the region.

* We must also be doing something along the lines of setting up refugee centers for the many displaced people. These centers should be run by people who know how to do this sort of thing like charitable groups along with the UN. Syria and Jordan are awash in refugees. Considerable aid should be coming from us to aid these people.

The leaders of the various factions must be dealt with politically at the table of peace and compromise. Reconciliation is imperative. Archbishop Desmond Tutu had great success dealing with the results of the hate such conflicts generated. He should be listened to now and his methods seriously investigated, otherwise I fear the violence will continue for generations to come. This is ultimately the greatest challenge of Iraq and sadly around the globe and within each of us. We must begin to address all the problems that lead to groups using terror as a weapon and embracing extreme radical forms of fundamentalism. That’s going to take the rest of the world helping out, too, after all we’re ALL to blame for the mess the worlds in right now.