The War in Iraq: Baseless, Truthless and Directionless

On March 16, 2003, three days before the US attacked Iraq without provocation, President George Bush said in a speech....

"The dictator of Iraq and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the security of free nations. He is a danger to his neighbors. He's a sponsor of terrorism. He's an obstacle to progress in the Middle East....

Action to remove the threat from Iraq would...allow the Iraqi people to build a better future for their society. And Iraq's liberation would be the beginning, not the end, of our commitment to its people. We will supply humanitarian relief, bring economic sanctions to a swift close, and work for the long-term recovery of Iraq's economy. We'll make sure that Iraq's natural resources are used for the benefit of their owners, the Iraqi people.

We'll push as quickly as possible for an Iraqi interim authority to draw upon the talents of Iraq's people to rebuild their nation. We're committed to the goal of a unified Iraq, with democratic institutions of which members of all ethnic and religious groups are treated with dignity and respect.

To achieve this vision, we will work closely with the international community, including the United Nations and our coalition partners. If military force is required, we'll quickly seek new Security Council resolutions to encourage broad participation in the process of helping the Iraqi people to build a free Iraq. "
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There were NO weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein had NO connection to the 9/11 terrorists. And Hussein turned out to be a powerless, withered old man with faded delusions of grandeur and a couple vicious sons. Hussein was, indeed, a threat to his own people, but not to neighboring countries or the world.

The US did NOT push quickly for an Iraqi interim government. The US did NOT draw upon the talents of Iraq's people to rebuild their nation, but instead outsourced billions of dollars of work to Halliburton and other Bush crony war-profiteers. All ethnic and religious groups in Iraq have NOT been treated with dignity and respect.

The US has NOT supplied significant humanitarian relief to Iraqis. The US has clearly NOT achieved long-term, or any, recovery of Iraq's economy. Much of Iraq's natural resources have been squandered or destroyed since the US attacked and occupied Iraq.

The Bush Administration has NOT worked closely on the Iraq conflict with most of the international community. The US has sought NO new UN new Security Council resolutions "to encourage broad participation in the process of helping the Iraqi people to build a free Iraq."
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Three years ago today, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice led the United States into attacking Iraq. About 140,000 of our troops occupy Iraq today, fighting, dying, and being maimed in droves.

And the War in Iraq drags on. $425,000,000,000 and 2,300 dead US soldiers later, and the War in Iraq still has no clear purpose, no direction and no plan for US exit.

On March 15, 2006, nonpartisan pollster Rasmussen reported, "For the first time ever in a Rasmussen Reports survey, a majority of Americans believe that the U.S. mission in Iraq will ultimately be judged a failure. Fifty-two percent (52%) now hold that view....The current results are by far the most pessimistic assessment of the situation."

Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who had a long and distinguished 37-year career in the US Marine Corps and who has devoted his 16-terms in Congress to supporting our country's armed forces, declares....

"The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our country is at risk. We can not continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interest of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf Region. "

And George Bush stubbornly ignores it all, merely saying today, "We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq."

"Bush did not mention the insurgent attacks, the car bombs or the mounting Iraqi deaths in a two-minute statement to reporters outside the White House after returning from a weekend at Camp David. Avoiding the word 'war,' he called the day 'the third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq,' reports AP this afternoon.

Reality can be messy and disappointing, painful and disillusioning.

Reality is nonexistent in the Bush "strategy" for the Iraq War.
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Related Articles
-- Iraq War Statistics and Results as of February 2006
-- Full Text of Rep. John Murtha's Plan to Exit Iraq Now
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