What We Know Now PBU25

I remember back in 2002 when the midterm elections were upon us and we had just completed a successful campaign in Afghanistan, the talk began to shift away from Osama and was drifting towards Saddam. It seemed to me that overnight, Saddam had gone from a marginalized, washed up dictator, to a new and evil menace that could strike at any moment. Intellectually, I couldn't make that leap, and suspected from the beginning that the Administration was beginning to try to lead us to war.

Suspecting and knowing are two different things. After having sloughed through all six of the Downing Street Memos, I now have no doubt that the Administration deliberately lied not only to our elected representatives, but to the world. There are so many instances where the DSM states that there is little or no evidence to give proof to the argument that stockpile of weapons were just sitting around waiting to threaten the civilized world. If you look at the timeline, the decision to wage illegal war was made all the way back in 1998, an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity. President Bush first declared war not in March of 2003, but in the New Hampshire primary in November in 1999.

In December 1999, "Bush surprises veteran political chroniclers with his blunt pronouncements about Saddam at a six-way New Hampshire primary event: It was a gaffe-free evening for the rookie front-runner, till he was asked about Saddam's weapons stash, a Boston Globe reporter penned. " Take em out," Bush grinned cavalierly, "Take out the weapons of mass destruction. I am surprised he's still there," said Bush of the despot who remains in power after losing the Gulf War to Bush Jr's father. It remains to be seen if that offhand declaration of war was just Texas talk, a sort of locker room braggadocio, or whether it was Bush's first big clinker. (Boston Globe; Also Russ Baker)

AS we know now, it was a declaration of war.

What we still don't know is why. We can surmise that it had something to do with oil, a little to do with the military industrial complex, but we may never know for sure. An interesting theory circulating the internet is the idea that the war was waged to consolidate political power, there was talk among the President's top advisors of promoting war in order to paint Bush into a scenery of patriotism and struggle, as they knew from history, a war would garner unprecedented support for a president. This is from journalist Mickey Herskowitz, the president's unofficial biographer during the 2000 campaign:

"According to Herskowitz, George W. Bush'ss beliefs on Iraq were based in part on a notion dating back to the Reagan White House ascribed in part to now-vice president Dick Cheney, Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee under Reagan. Start a small war. Pick a country where there is justification you can jump on, go ahead and invade.

Bush's circle of pre-election advisers had a fixation on the political capital that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher collected from the Falklands War. Said Herskowitz: "They were just absolutely blown away, just enthralled by the scenes of the troops coming back, of the boats, people throwing flowers at [Thatcher] and her getting these standing ovations in Parliament and making these magnificent speeches".

All of that glory. All of that power. And all they needed was a small war.

The President's first year in office was less than successful. He was able to give many of the people who purchased his presidency for him rebates in the form of tax cuts. He disregarded science and sided with Big Energy when he pulled out of the Kyoto Accords. But he lost control of the Senate when James Jeffords of Vermont switched parties, making the Senate evenly divided. He retreated to his Texas ranch for a month to clear brush and pout. When he came back that September, an opportunity awaited him, one that would cement his second term and give him the clout he needed in the House and the Senate.

On the backs of our fallen American citizens, Bush wanted to make the case for war as early as September , 2001. The victims were not even identified, buried under piles of steel and rubble, when the President began to think about taking the fight to Iraq.

"On September 12th, I left the video conferencing center and there, wandering alone around the situation room, was the president. He looked like he wanted something to do. He grabbed a few of us and closed the door to the conference room. "Look," he told us, "I know you have a lot to do and all, but I want you, as soon as you can, to go back over everything, everything. See if Saddam did this. See if he's linked in any way."
"I was once again taken aback, incredulous, and it showed. "But, Mr. President, Al Qaida did this."
"I know, I know, but - see if Saddam was involved. Just look. I want to know any shred--"

From Richard Clarke. Against All Enemies.

This is only the beginning of what we know now. The idea to go to war evolved after 9/11 to an actual plan to deceive the public, to manipulate intelligence, to bully the United Nations and our reluctant allies into justifying an illegal war.

Oh but wait. There's more. I wish I could continue this post, but the Spinach and Gouda Cheese souffle I made for lunch is just coming out of the oven now, and the best time to eat it is within the next ten minutes. Saving the world can wait until after lunch, can't it?

To be continued, pbu25.

| +Save/Share | |