will we let the Brit's out-do us?
So... Tony Blair will be resigning as Prime Minister because of pressue put on him over his involvement in the War in Iraq.
What more will it take for us to wake up and realize that it is our duty as American citizens to do the same to George W. Bush and all those involved in the failed war in Iraq?
The American public was told that we needed to invade Iraq immediately or we may see mushroom clouds over New York City. That is what George Bush told us on television. Turns out, the information that he was using to justify war via an "imminent threat" in 2001 was collected back in 1996. If it was such a dire threat, how come we waited five years before taking action? It's a wonder any of us are still alive (sarcasm strongly intended). The information came from a former Iraqi cab driver known only as "Curveball" who was only interrogated by one American intelligency agent, who said that he seriously doubted the veracity of Curveball's tails.
Turns out Curveball was just some guy from Iraq who had been living in Germany for several years and his visa was up. So he went to the German authorities and told them he had information regarding an Iraqi nuclear weapons program. German intelligence interviewed him and sent the information to American intelligence agencies with a caution that they firmy believed his assertions to be false. They stated that he was drunk when they interviewed him, and kept asking about the possiblity of being given a defector visa, which would allow him to stay in Germany indefinitely, and would mean he would be given an apartment and an allowance by the German government. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the guy was trying to do. Hey... throw them something they might want to hear, and get a free apartment and a salary for doing nothing! Where do I sign up for that one?
Then, five years later, George Bush uses Curveball's shoddy assertions to make a statement that "we have receieved information that Iraq has reconstituted its nuclear weapons program" and "the warning sign may be a mushroom cloud over New York City."
We HAD to get them before they got us.
So, we invade Iraq only to find that they had no Weapons of Mass Destruction. Every American now knows, or should know, that the information used to make the attack was outdated, and called into serious question by our own CIA. It is now also common knowledge (to anybody that cares to do a little research) that all this was known by the administration before they made the battly cry.
2,000+ American soldiers are dead. Between 35,000 and 60,000 Iraqi civilians are dead. Why did they bring us into this pointless war? There are many speculations, from profiteering politically-connected corporations to a political move by the President to secure himself the office for a second term. Right now, none of that matters all that much to me. What I know is that we were not in danger of being attacked by Iraq, and we did not need to invade. 2,000+ Americans did not need to die. Who will be held accountable?
The British know what to do. Their leader had to be held accountable for his actions. Just like President Bush, Tony Blair had led the British, who (also like us) were divided 50/50 on the issue, into battle in Iraq. At the very least, Tony Blair could not be trusted to lead their nation any longer. Will Americans have the will-power to hold their leaders accountable for what they have done? What is it about our current culture that has made it a no-no to consider holding our leaders to the same standard we would expect from our own friends and family? Unfortunately, unlike when you or I make a decision for the wrong reasons, their bad judgement leads to tens of thousands of lives lost. Yet still we allow them to continue unquestioned. We even support them. It is incredibly saddening.
Don't let the British be proof that we have lost our senses and our American spirit. Write a letter to your representatives in Congress and the Senate calling for the impeachment of George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and all others who had an involvement in bringing us into a war that will never end. Remember: This was was un-necessary. 2,000+ American soldiers have given their lives.
What more will it take for us to wake up and realize that it is our duty as American citizens to do the same to George W. Bush and all those involved in the failed war in Iraq?
The American public was told that we needed to invade Iraq immediately or we may see mushroom clouds over New York City. That is what George Bush told us on television. Turns out, the information that he was using to justify war via an "imminent threat" in 2001 was collected back in 1996. If it was such a dire threat, how come we waited five years before taking action? It's a wonder any of us are still alive (sarcasm strongly intended). The information came from a former Iraqi cab driver known only as "Curveball" who was only interrogated by one American intelligency agent, who said that he seriously doubted the veracity of Curveball's tails.
Turns out Curveball was just some guy from Iraq who had been living in Germany for several years and his visa was up. So he went to the German authorities and told them he had information regarding an Iraqi nuclear weapons program. German intelligence interviewed him and sent the information to American intelligence agencies with a caution that they firmy believed his assertions to be false. They stated that he was drunk when they interviewed him, and kept asking about the possiblity of being given a defector visa, which would allow him to stay in Germany indefinitely, and would mean he would be given an apartment and an allowance by the German government. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what the guy was trying to do. Hey... throw them something they might want to hear, and get a free apartment and a salary for doing nothing! Where do I sign up for that one?
Then, five years later, George Bush uses Curveball's shoddy assertions to make a statement that "we have receieved information that Iraq has reconstituted its nuclear weapons program" and "the warning sign may be a mushroom cloud over New York City."
We HAD to get them before they got us.
So, we invade Iraq only to find that they had no Weapons of Mass Destruction. Every American now knows, or should know, that the information used to make the attack was outdated, and called into serious question by our own CIA. It is now also common knowledge (to anybody that cares to do a little research) that all this was known by the administration before they made the battly cry.
2,000+ American soldiers are dead. Between 35,000 and 60,000 Iraqi civilians are dead. Why did they bring us into this pointless war? There are many speculations, from profiteering politically-connected corporations to a political move by the President to secure himself the office for a second term. Right now, none of that matters all that much to me. What I know is that we were not in danger of being attacked by Iraq, and we did not need to invade. 2,000+ Americans did not need to die. Who will be held accountable?
The British know what to do. Their leader had to be held accountable for his actions. Just like President Bush, Tony Blair had led the British, who (also like us) were divided 50/50 on the issue, into battle in Iraq. At the very least, Tony Blair could not be trusted to lead their nation any longer. Will Americans have the will-power to hold their leaders accountable for what they have done? What is it about our current culture that has made it a no-no to consider holding our leaders to the same standard we would expect from our own friends and family? Unfortunately, unlike when you or I make a decision for the wrong reasons, their bad judgement leads to tens of thousands of lives lost. Yet still we allow them to continue unquestioned. We even support them. It is incredibly saddening.
Don't let the British be proof that we have lost our senses and our American spirit. Write a letter to your representatives in Congress and the Senate calling for the impeachment of George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and all others who had an involvement in bringing us into a war that will never end. Remember: This was was un-necessary. 2,000+ American soldiers have given their lives.
posted by adampaul at
12:46 PM
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