I know politics is all about spinning the story. But I get so tired of the President of the United States lying to the people of this country. He may be in some strange alternate universe of denial but his continual attempt to keep the rest of us there is ridiculous!
I thought this was rather interesting:
Bush Downplayed the Threat of an Iraq Civil War with Talk of Iraqi Unity. "You know, I hear a lot of talk about civil war. I'm concerned about that, of course. And I've talked to a lot of people about it. And what I've found from my talks are that the Iraqis want a unified country and that the Iraqi leadership is determined to thwart the efforts of the extremists and the radicals and Al Qaida and that the security forces remain united behind the government." [8/21/06]
FACT: July Was the Deadliest Month in Iraq Since March 2003. "During the month, 3,438 Iraqis were killed -- 1,855 because of sectarian or political violence and another 1,583 from bombings and shootings. Nearly 3,600 Iraqis were wounded, the official said." [CNN,8/17/06]
FACT: The Problem We Now Need to Address is the Threat of an Iraqi Civil War Spilling across Iraq's Borders. According to Daniel L. Byman, director of Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies, and Kenneth M. Pollack, research director at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, the problem the U.S. now needs to address is the threat of a regional conflict. "Considering how many mistakes the United States has made in Iraq, how much time has been squandered, and how difficult the task is, even a serious course correction in Washington and Baghdad may only postpone the inevitable. Iraq displays many of the conditions most conducive to spillover. The country's ethnic, tribal and religious groups are also found in neighboring states, and they share many of the same grievances. Iraq has a history of violence with its neighbors, which has fostered desires for vengeance and fomented constant clashes. Iraq also possesses resources that its neighbors covet -- oil being the most obvious, but important religious shrines also figure in the mix -- and its borders are porous. . . . . With an all-out civil war looming in Iraq, Washington must decide how to deal with the most common and dangerous ways such conflicts spill across national boundaries. Only by understanding the refugee crises, terrorism, radicalization of neighboring populations, copycat secessions and foreign interventions that such wars frequently spark can we begin to plan for how to cope with them in the months and years ahead." [Washington Post, 8/20/06]
http://democrats.senate.gov/...
How many Iraqi's is George Bush talking to and does he really think he is talking to the people who do not want a unified Iraq? No. The people who do not want a unified Iraq mostly likely want Bush dead. I don't think they are sitting around having too many heart-to-heart talks.
Bush, you can dismiss the civil war in Iraq all you want. You can say you're concerned about it and then babble about how the Iraqi people want unity. Remember how you thought the Iraqi's would be thanking us for saving them from Saddam? Not really happening, now is it??? You can live in your strange sheltered world but the America people aren't following you there anymore!
Bush Warned That a Failed Iraq Will Promote Terrorism: "A failed Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will provide safe haven for terrorists and extremists. It will embolden those who are trying to thwart the ambitions of reformers. In this case, it would give the terrorists and extremists an additional tool besides safe haven, and that is revenues from oil sales." [8/21/06]
FACT: The Iraq War Has Already Been a Disaster for the Fight Against Terrorism with the Potential to Get Worse. According to Byman and Pollack: "The war in Iraq has proved to be a disaster for the struggle against Osama bin Laden. Fighters there are receiving training, building networks and becoming further radicalized -- and the U.S. occupation is proving a dream recruiting tool for young Muslims worldwide. As bad as this is, a wide-scale civil war in Iraq could make the terrorism problem even worse. [Washington Post, 8/20/06]
This is all Bush has left. We have to stay the course in Iraq because it is the stopping the war on terror. Hello! Your war made the war on terror much, much more difficult!
Iraq did not attack the United States.
Iraq did not have the means to attack the United States.
Iraq was not in the middle of a civil war until the United States decided to occupy Iraq.
This occupation has increased the war on terror because it is fueling the anger against America.
Period. I live in a country run by war-mongering idiots!
Bush Claimed He Never Said that Saddam Hussein Ordered the Attacks of 9/11. "[N]obody's ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack. Iraq was a -- Iraq -- the lesson of September the 11th is: Take threats before they fully materialize, Ken. Nobody's ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were ordered by Iraq." [8/21/06]
FACT: Bush Repeatedly Linked Iraq to Al-Qaeda to Convince Americans to Support the Invasion of Iraq. Some examples:
· "[Y]ou can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror." (President Bush, Photo Opportunity, 9/25/02)
· "The regime has long-standing and continuing ties to terrorist organizations. And there are al-Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq. The regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material, could build one within a year." (President Bush, remarks at Rose Garden, 9/26/02)
· "Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal the Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaeda. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own." (President Bush, State of the Union, 1/28/03)
· "We also know that Iraq is harboring a terrorist network, headed by a senior al -Qaeda terrorist planner . . .The danger that Saddam Hussein poses reaches across the world." (President Bush, Statement in the Roosevelt Room, 2/6/03)
· "Saddam Hussein has longstanding, direct and continuing ties to terrorist networks. Senior members of Iraqi intelligence and Al Qaeda have met at least eight times since the early 1990s. Iraq has sent bomb-making document forgery experts to work with Al Qaeda. Iraq has also provided Al Qaeda with chemical and biological weapons training...We also know that Iraq is harboring a terrorist network headed by a senior Al Qaeda terrorist planner. This network runs a poison and explosive training camp in northeast Iraq, and many of its leaders are known to be in Baghdad." (President Bush, radio address, 2/8/03)
· "Senior members of Iraqi intelligence and al Qaeda have met at least eight times since the early 1990s. Iraq has sent bomb-making and document forgery experts to work with al Qaeda. Iraq has also provided al Qaeda with chemical and biological weapons training. We know that Iraq is harboring a terrorist network, headed by a senior al Qaeda terrorist planner. The network runs a poison and explosive training center in northeast Iraq, and many of its leaders are known to be in Baghdad." (President Bush, press conference, 2/6/03)
· "...And it [Iraq] has aided, trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda." (President Bush, Address to the Nation, 3/17/03)
Bush knows damn well he used the 9/11 attacks as partial justification for invading Iraq. Quote after quote demonstrates this fact. Of course, Bush has no problem lying about this motivation for war even though people can prove him wrong. He belives his own bullshit. He is so surrounded by people controlling him and not smart enought to know he has been manipulated beyond belief.
I am glad this is on the Senate Democrats website but I wish there were people in the news fighting against these lies Bush says with an ease that comes from being truly ignorant.