Two days ago, President Bush made a mistake. I can only imagine the look of horror on Cheney and Rove's faces that day when Bush got so angry at a question that he blurted out the correct answer instead of lying as usual. The exchange went something like this:
Question: What did Iraq have to do with that?
President Bush: What did Iraq have to do with what?
Question: The attack on the World Trade Center.
President Bush: NOTHING!(exasperated)... Nobody has ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were ordered by Iraq.
So lets take a look at this. Remember August 23, 2006 as a very important day when Bush came out and told us that the last 4 years has been a lie. Since 2002, the administration has repeatedly claimed that Iraq had something to do with 9/11, and used it as a reason why we had to attack them. Need some examples?
"We know that Iraq and al Qaeda have had high-level contacts that go back a decade. Some al Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. These include one very senior al Qaeda leader who received medical treatment in Baghdad this year, and who has been associated with planning for chemical and biological attacks. We've learned that Iraq has trained al Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases." - President Bush (October 7, 2002)
WhiteHouse.gov
"He's had contacts with Al Qaida. Imagine the scenario where an Al Qaida-type organization uses Iraq as an arsenal, a place to get weapons, a place to be trained to use the weapons. Saddam Hussein could use surrogates to come and attack people he hates." - President Bush (November 4, 2002) BushOnIraq.com
"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that 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 develop their own." - President Bush (January 28, 2003) Whitehouse.gov
"We'll find ample evidence confirming the link, that is the connection if you will between al Qaida and the Iraqi intelligence services. They have worked together on a number of occasions." - Vice President Dick Cheney (January 9, 2004) BushOnIraq.com
Need I go on? There are so many references to the fact that Saddam had something to do with 9/11 that at one point, most of this country believed it to be true. It was a non-stop barrage of "Saddam 9/11 Saddam 9/11" that we really had no choice but to buy it. But it wasnt true. And when people started realizing that they had nothing to do with each other, they started questioning the government. But they never gave in, continuing to stay with the party line that yes, Saddam had something to do with 9/11.
A poll released yesterday by the New York Times says that 51% of respondents see no link between the two. I understand we would never see 100%, as there are just too many people that believe everything their government tells them.
51% is a nice start, but it still amazes me that it is not higher ESPECIALLY after the relevation by the president that Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11.
Which leads me to this...so if they did not have anything to do with it, why did we attack them? Let me count the ways:
1. Oil- We need it, they got it, we are going to take it.
2. The Saudi's dont like him so we helped out our buddies.
3. Saddam tried to kill Bush Sr.
4. $ - there are so many people profiting from this war its sick.
5. He was a bad man. This, I get..he was not a good guy. But there are lots of bad guys around the world that seem worse than him, such as:
1. Omar al-Bashir, Sudan - killed at least 180,000 civilians in Darfur.
2. Kim Jong-il, North Korea - An estimated 250,000 people are confined in re-education camps.
3. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe - Operation Murambatsvina, the forcible eviction of 700,000 people from their homes
4. Hu Jintao, China - 300,000 political dissidents are held in "reeducation-through-labor" camps
5. Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial Guinea - torture is the normal means of investigation
So I ask you again...why is it that we are in a war with Iraq? Why is there no exit strategy in place? Why does Bush insist we stay the course when the course is not working? To me, it seems we created more terrorists in the world by attacking Iraq, so if there goal was to create an enemy, they sure as hell did that.
President Bush, you came out and admitted on August 23, 2006 that all your rational for the war was a lie. That being so, bring our troops home before even more of them die or get injured because of this lie. Enough is enough.
Cross posted from The Good Human