935 Lies Told. 135,482 Lives Lost.
According to a report released earlier this week by the Center for Public Integrity, the Bush Administration orchestrated the Iraq War by lying to the American public 935 times about the national security threat posed by Iraq.
They repeated the lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction on 532 separate occasions. Bush made 232 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and lied 28 separate times about Iraq’s relationship to Al Qaeda.
Here’s a visual shocker:
Source: Center for Public Integrity: “The War Card: Orchestrated Decetion on the Path to War”
This chart illustrates the orchestration staged by the Administration to convince Congress and the American People that war with Iraq was necessary.
In retrospect, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to discover that the decision to wage war on Iraq was based on a lie. Just about everything this administration has undertaken has been based on lies and deception. Iraq is no exception. What should surprise and dismay us is that we continue to give the Bush Administration a pass on the evil they have brought upon us, holding no one accountable and making no attempt to learn from past mistakes.
As of this writing, at least 135,482 lives have been lost in Iraq. The number of American dead in Iraq now outnumbers the number of those who died in the attacks on 9/11/2001. The number of Iraqi dead is even more stunning.
Remember these lies when you hear the Administration claim that Iran is building nuclear weapons and should therefore be the target of our aggression. Compare the statements of the administration on Iraq with recent statements on Iran:
- Bush, in September, 2002:
“The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given…”
- Bush, in December 2007:
“Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” Bush said, pointing out that Tehran continues to try to enrich uranium for civilian purposes and therefore develop technology that could be used for a weapon.
“They had the program. They halted the program. It’s a warning signal because they could restart it,” he said.
- Bush, September, 2002:
Al Qaeda hides, Saddam doesn’t, but the danger is, is that they work in concert. The danger is, is that Al Qaeda becomes an extension of Saddam’s madness and his hatred and his capacity to extend weapons of mass destruction around the world.
- Bush, on January 13, 2008:
“Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror…”
“Iran’s actions threaten the security of nations everywhere,” Bush said. “So the United States is strengthening our long-standing security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late.”
There is a pattern of behavior here, a pattern of lies and deceit and twisting the truth into a message of aggression that has to be stopped. I don’t believe we can sit back and say “Well, he only has a year left.” A year is a very long time. A year is enough time for irrational acts to cost many more thousands of lives. Every single statement that comes from the administration should be assumed to be a lie, and the press and public must be ready to identify and publicize those lies, because if we don’t, we’re guilty of passive conspiracy.
George Bush is an unbalanced, dangerous man who would not think twice about aggressive action against Iran in the name of oil supremacy. He does not care about the lives he wastes in that quest, American or otherwise. We must.
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