If true, W. has a lot of explaining to do to the American people, and the rest of the world.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/09/8834/

"On the evening of October 7, 2002, the very latest CIA intelligence was that Hussein was not an imminent threat to the U.S. This same information was delivered to the Bush administration as early as October 1, 2002, in the NIE, including input from the CIA and 15 other U.S. intelligence agencies. In addition, CIA director George Tenet briefed Bush in the Oval Office on the morning of October 7th.

According to the October 1, 2002 NIE, “Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting terrorist attacks with conventional or CBW [chemical and biological warfare] against the United States, fearing that exposure of Iraqi involvement would provide Washington a stronger case for making war.” The report concluded that Hussein was not planning to use any weapons of mass destruction; further, Hussein would only use weapons of mass destruction he was believed to have if he were first attacked, that is, he would only use them in self-defense.

Preparing its declassified version of the NIE for Congress, which became known as the White Paper, the Bush administration edited the classified NIE document in ways that significantly changed its inference and meaning, making the threat seem imminent and ominous.

In the original NIE report, members of the U.S. intelligence community vigorously disagreed with the CIA’s bloated and inaccurate conclusions. All such opposing commentary was eliminated from the declassified White Paper prepared for Congress and the American people.

The Manning Memo

On January 31, 2003, Bush met in the Oval Office with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In a memo summarizing the meeting discussion, Blair’s chief foreign policy advisor David Manning wrote that Bush and Blair expressed their doubts that any chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons would ever be found in Iraq, and that there was tension between Bush and Blair over finding some justification for the war that would be acceptable to other nations. Bush was so worried about the failure of the UN inspectors to find hard evidence against Hussein that he talked about three possible ways, Manning wrote, to “provoke a confrontation” with Hussein. One way, Bush said, was to fly “U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, [falsely] painted in UN colors. If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach” of UN resolutions and that would justify war. Bush was calculating to create a war, not prevent one.

Dream on Bookemdono. If you'd quit hanging around those radical left wing liberal blogs, your mind wouldn't get so screwed up with useless propaganda.

Thanks for your useless radical right wing advice. But as W says:

"You got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

Speak or be spoken for. This is exactly why I now spend time with political matters. This President has made it extremely clear that his party will do what it wants, via any means possible, unless checked.

So, it's speak out, let others know they are not alone, or lose. I don't like losing, so here I am, along with others all over the place.

If anything, Republicans have shown everybody this. It is after all, their construct:

If you say it often enough, people will believe it to be true.

This kind of device is not needed, unless there is a systemic problem with the public discourse, or a deliberate attempt to manipulate people through it in progress and having an impact.

Saddam was not an immediate threat. Saddam did present what we thought to be an easy mark to control that region of the world and the oil. (peak oil does significantly impact the incentive to have some control over it --don't blame him for that)

Saddam also was going to start to attack the petrodollar with trading in Euros.

That was a threat, but not one we were likely to deal with on a pure military basis.

The decision to go to Iraq was made January of 2001. George Bush asked for a Public apology from Saddam Hussein for his assasination attempt on the elder Bush. When Hussein refused, The younger Bush challenged the Iraqi leader to a STEEL CAGE DEATH MATCH to be televised pay per view. In one final bid to avoid a conflict, Bush sent special envoys, Dan Rather, and later Sean Penn, with an offer of Best two out of three, Rock Paper Scissors. Hussein countered with an offer of Broad swords or AK-47s (seen in videos)
Bush, unfamiliar with either politely declined and sent, "The United States Army All Star Shock and Awe Review and Marching Band" on a tour of Iraq to show the Iraqi people what they were missing by not having democracy.

AND THAT, is how the whole Iraq thing happened.

The admistration is pleased with the performances and hopes this show will run longer than "CATS"...

Roger, that makes far more sense than the dribble the radical left wing blogs spew forth.

You want to know what is really scary? Shrub is now on record as the dumbest and least liked president in the history of this country, but someday we are certain to have a president who will be worse than him, as all records are made to be broken. Of course, the invasion of Canada will by then have the support of at least 25 percent of the country, which would be enough for the president to justify the use of nuclear weapons.

Deane, I'm afraid YOU'RE the one who falls for the useless propaganda...had the people in charge listened and learned rather than ignored and manipulated, we wouldn't be knee deep in shit over in Iraq and over 4000 US troops would still be alive to be moms, dads, sons, and daughters.

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but war with Iraq was a strategy set out almost immediately after the close of the first Gulf War. Neo-conservative Paul Wolfowitz wrote a rather detailed paper in the early 1990’s on making war with Iraq. Nearly a decade later, Wolfowitz, along with many neo-con terrorists found a captive audience in George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. In fact, Bush appointed Wolfowitz Deputy Secretary of Defense. Wolfowitz, along with Donald Rumsfeld and others inside a variety of federal agencies used 9/11 as an excuse for war. They falsified intelligence as well as bullied intelligence gathering agencies to promote an agenda which would justify war against Iraq.

I won’t go into the details because I’ve done it so many times previously, but the sad truth is we were lied to by officials at all levels and the end result is an ongoing conflict with no end in sight. Someday, those who perpetrated this on the American people will be forced to atone for it. Similar to Robert McNamara spending most of his post-Pentagon career atoning for the sins of Vietnam. It’s just all very tragic and in my opinion George W. Bush should have been impeached and removed from office because he was grossly dishonest and in the end, tens of thousands have died or been injured because of his misdeeds as president.

"Deane, I'm afraid YOU'RE the one who falls for the useless propaganda...had the people in charge listened and learned rather than ignored and manipulated, we wouldn't be knee deep in shit over in Iraq and over 4000 US troops would still be alive to be moms, dads, sons, and daughters."

Deja Moo

Deja Moo....Whats That? You mean Deja Vu...Right?

Deja Vu - When you feel like you've been there before.

Vu Ja de - When you know you haven't been there and you're sure you don't want to go!

Well, I for one am sorry that Deane has such little respect for the 4000+ soldiers who sacrificed their lives for a bullshit war. I guess they're just collateral damage, eh?