Think about it. It was the Bush administration and not Saddam that
turned out to be lying about WMD. As we all know now, there weren't any weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq. Amazingly enough, it was Saddam who was telling
the truth from the very beginning. Bush was the one who lied to the whole
world.
You may remember that in 2002, the UN Security Council ordered Iraq to
put together a report detailing the entirety of its biological, chemical,
and nuclear weapons programs. In response, Iraqi officials compiled an
11,800-page report on the past and present status of Iraq's weapons programs.
From that report we learned (from the Iraqis) that Iraq once had both
chemical and biological weapons, as well as a program to develop nuclear
weapons. We also learned that Iraq acquired biological and chemical weapons
from the US, and Iraqi nuclear scientists were trained at US government nuclear
facilities. Most importantly, though, the Iraqis told us that some of the
weapons and nuclear facilities were destroyed in the first Gulf War, and the
rest were destroyed under the supervision of UN weapons inspectors.
All of this turned out to be true.
What we've learned
George Bush repeatedly told us that Saddam was lying, that Iraq had WMD,
and that Iraq under Saddam was a "threat to the whole world." So,
here we are, years later. What have we learned to be the truth?
The search for WMD turned up nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
Everything Hussein said about the weapons has turned out to be true.
Everything Bush said about the weapons has turned out to be false.
But, it wasn't "faulty intelligence" as the liars keep telling
us. War against Iraq was the product of a witch's brew of disinformation,
distortions, spin, and lies given by people interested in the US invasion of
Iraq.
The non-existent weapons of mass destruction weren't the only falsehood.
There were the phony uranium purchases, lies about al-Qaeda training camps in
Iraq, mobile weapons labs, and drones that were going to attack the East Coast
of the US.
Remember the lies about babies being thrown out of incubators? The
propaganda started years ago. Even the claims of Saddam's brutality are
suspect. Why? Because most of these claims come from the same people that have
already discredited themselves.
No one would call you na�ve for distrusting someone who lies to you over
and over and over.
New reasons for war
So, when confronted with the charge that he lied about the reasons to go
to war with Iraq, President Bush simply went into spin mode and said, "The
defense of freedom is always worth it."
Was it worth it to the thousands of Americans who have been wounded or
killed?
Was it worth it to the countless Iraqi men, women and children who have
died?
Was it worth it to their families?
Foreign entanglements
The reality of the situation is that the US government -- from Bush Sr.,
to Bill Clinton, to G.W. -- decided on its own that Saddam should no longer be
the president of Iraq. This is the very thing that the Constitution and
International Law were designed to prevent.
America was never threatened by Saddam Hussein. Iraq had absolutely no
capability to attack the United States, and never was there indicated a desire
to do so.
In short, American "freedom" was never threatened by Iraq or
Saddam Hussein. So how can anyone consider an unprovoked attack on another
nation as "defending freedom"? The absurdity of such lies will ring
on for centuries.
It's not America's calling to choose who should or should not be in
charge of another country. But, obviously, the Iraqi war was worth it to George
Bush.
If George wants to donate his own money to revolutionary movements in
foreign countries, he has the right as a free person to do so. If he wants to
quit his job (wishful thinking) and go fight in one of those countries, he has
a right to do so as well.
But, he has absolutely no constitutional authority to use American money
and American lives to fight for "freedom" in other countries.
So, in order to continue war, the lies must continue.
Truth and lies
The result of all this was that the "Butcher of Baghdad" was
right and that the "President of the United States" was wrong. Saddam
Hussein was given the death penalty for "war crimes," while George
Bush and his accomplices in our two-party Congress continue to rule over us.
We're living in sad times, indeed, times when you can trust what Saddam
Hussein said more than your own government.
In practice, being honest or lying doesn't matter. It's might that's
right.
And that's the sad truth.
Michael Boldin (mboldin@populistamerica.com),
an outspoken critic of the American political system, is a senior editor
and contributing writer for the Populist Party of America.