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Re: Bush led U.S. to war on false pretences
And to think I was this close to joining the army over this shit a few years ago. Could you imagine sitting in a tent in Iraq as a soldier reading news stories like this, while your friends are getting killed over lies? It's unimaginable how this just continues on with no one being held accountable.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22794451/?GT1=10755
WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration's position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.
"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.
WMD, al-Qaida links debunked
The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.
"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."
Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.
Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.
Media 'validation'
The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.
"The cumulative effect of these false statements '” amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts '” was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war," the study concluded.
"Some journalists '” indeed, even some entire news organizations '” have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, 'independent' validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it said.
Re: Bush led U.S. to war on false pretences
Well, no shit.
Yeah, its funny that people are now just starting to wake up to this bullshit. He should have been impeached right when this war started. Congress shouldn't have funded this quagmire in the first place. They would have faced a backlash in the beginning, but it would have been for the best in the long run. We would have saved lives and close to a trillion dollars. Also would have a better standing in the world.
Its amazing how much Bush and Cheney were dying to go to war at any cost, and how people went along with it even though it was gonna have dire consequences.
When we finally do pull out of there, people are gonna realize not one good thing got accomplished because of the conflict.
I understand people supporting this country as it went to war, but eventually the public was gonna wake up and say, "Hey, wait a minute...". Unfortunately they woke up too late. Only thing causing them to wake up is their houses aren't worth as much as they thought and its getting harder to fill the tank up on that SUV.
Re: Bush led U.S. to war on false pretences
Well, whatever the reason, Saddam is out and I won't shed any tears over that. The better option would have been to send in a special forces unit to kill him, but it's too late for that. Don't forget Clinton was dying to go to war as well. This isn't anything new - it's just taken to a new extreme. Someone along the lines will top this unfrotunately. Hopefully we won't have a prsident that weakens our military before that happens.
Re: Bush led U.S. to war on false pretences
Clinton wasn't "dying to go to war". It was like pulling teeth to get him to do anything. Clinton was sitting on the war machine that Reagan built, yet was always too scared to use it. Should have bombed the living shit out of Yugoslavia in 93, but wouldn't do it. Ran from Somalia with our tails between our legs. Had a perfect chance to put troops into a quagmire in Rwanda, but didn't pull the trigger.
Clinton's only Iraq strategy consisted of a bombing as retaliation for Saddam attempting to kill Bush, and for no no fly zone infractions. I think there was also some limited bombing in 98.
Clinton was actually smart regarding Iraq. He kept Saddam boxed in to where he wasn't a threat to the region.
Like you said, if Clinton or Bush was gonna take out Saddam, there were better ways to do it.
Re: Bush led U.S. to war on false pretences
Funny, Iraq is in worse shape now with Saddam gone. Sure, Saddam was evil. But now, EVERYBODY in Iraq has a chance of dying on a daily basis. That wasn't the case when he was in power. You had to piss Saddam off or be a minority to face the tyrant.
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