Archive for category Proof Bush Lied
The Consequences of the Invasion of Iraq – Exactly the Opposite of What the Bushies Proposed
Posted by Glenden Brown in American People, Bush Administration, Bush Failures, Disgrace to the Military, Iraq, Liars (politics), Military, Military Industrial Complex, Neocons, Proof Bush Lied on July 14, 2012
In a devastating article, Dan Froomkin observes:
Ten bloody and grueling years later, Iraq is finally emerging from its ruins and establishing itself as a geopolitical player in the Middle East — but not the way the neocons envisioned.
Though technically a democracy, Iraq’s floundering government has degenerated into a tottering quasi-dictatorship. The costs of the war (more than $800 billion) and reconstruction (more than $50 billion) have been staggeringly high. And while Iraq is finally producing oil at pre-war levels, it is trying its best to drive oil prices as high as possible.
Most disturbing to many American foreign policy experts, however, is Iraq’s extremely close relationship with Iran. Today, the country that was formerly Iran’s deadliest rival is its strongest ally.
In other words, the Neo Cons were not just wrong but absolutely 100% wrong, their predictions turned out exactly 180 degrees from what actually happened.
Predicting what’s next in Iraq is next to impossible. In virtually no scenario, however, do things turn out how the neocons intended.
“Whatever [the war] was about, which was never entirely explained, it hasn’t worked out terribly well,” said Freeman, “and in fact Iraq continues to evolve in ways that are, if not fatal to American interests, certainly negative.”
At this point, I’m even more certain the Iraq war was not worth what it cost. It was a colossal waste of time, resources, lives – an exercise in imperial vanity and posturing that was so destructive in every imaginable way, more costly, more ruinous than anyone predicted.
We need a national truth and reconciliation commission. We need it now.
Yes, Iraq Definitely Had WMD, Vast Majority Of Polled Republicans Insist
Posted by Richard Warnick in Barack Obama, Biological Weapons, Bush Failures, Foreign Policy, Iraq, Lying, Military, National Politics, Proof Bush Lied, Republicans, This Blog, War on June 22, 2012
To this day, the U.S. government has not come up with a credible reason why our military was ordered to invade Iraq in March 2003. One thing is certain, the invasion had nothing to do with so-called “weapons of mass destruction,” also known as nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. President Bush was informed unequivocally, well in advance of the invasion, that there were no such weapons in Iraq. The claim that the Iraqis posed an immediate threat to U.S. national security has been called “one of the greatest lies in modern American political history.”
How potent a lie was it? A recent foreign policy poll (PDF) by Dartmouth government professor Benjamin Valentino and conducted by YouGov from April 26 to May 2, found that fully 63 percent of Republican respondents still believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the U.S. invaded in 2003. Even 27 percent of independents and 15 percent of Democrats still buy the story about the nonexistent WMDs, eight years after it was disproved.
President Bill Clinton had the best explanation of how Americans get fooled. “When people are insecure, they’d rather have somebody who is strong and wrong than someone who’s weak and right.”
Also: 55.6% of Republicans agree with the statement, “I have always believed President Obama was born in another country,” while 14.7% say they don’t know. Another 8% of Republicans say, “I used to think President Obama was born in the United States, but now I think he was born in another country.” That adds up to 78.3 percent.
The entire poll is worth reading. It asks a lot of interesting questions, such as whether we want to be the world’s number one military power (Yes), and whether we’re willing to pay more taxes to keep the United States military the strongest in the world (Not so much).
h/t Dan Froomkin, HuffPo.
UPDATE: According to the Gallup Poll, 18% of Republicans believe President Obama is a Muslim, 24% say Christian and 47% don’t know.
Rocky Anderson vs Sean Hannity. Live Debate at University of Utah – Entire Show – Fox News
Posted by Cliff Lyon in Abu Ghraib, Corruption, Crimes, Disgrace to the Military, Fox Lies, George W. Bush, Greatest Hits, Human Rights, Impeachment, Iraq, Neocons, Political Corruption, Proof Bush Lied, Republicans, Rocky Anderson, Salt Lake City, Sean Hannity, Tribalism & Blind Obedience to Authority, War, War Crimes on November 30, 2011
University of Utah, May 4, 2007. Two Hours. Moderated by Ken Verdoia.
Rocky laid out a bullet-proof prima-facie case for the impeachment of George W. Bush.
Hannity retreated into his hallmark pandering strategy refusing to address the facts in the case for impeachment of Bush. Not one word about Bush, the Constitution, illegal rendition, torture, wiretapping US citizens illegally, or the suspension of Habeas Corpus. Just personal attacks on Rocky as if labeling Rocky will somehow make the fact that Bush is impeachable go away.
Some still support Bush. They need to ask themselves:
Is your patriotism strong enough to hold a president you love accountable for his crimes and impeachable offenses? Or are you making an exception? Are you a full time American Patriot, or does it “depend?”
Part 1 of 3
Part 2 of 3
Part 3 of 3
Full Show Broadband (137mg) / Smaller Dial-up (37mg) version here
Play or download full high quality MP4 (525MG) here.
Thanks as always to Norm at OneGoodMove for providing this video.
Sorry, False Alarm: ‘Curveball’ Confesses He Lied About Iraq WMD
Posted by Richard Warnick in American History, Biological Weapons, Bush Failures, Disaster, Iraq, Lying, National Politics, Proof Bush Lied, This Blog, War on February 15, 2011
From The Guardian (why don’t we see these stories in the U.S. media?)
The defector who convinced the White House that Iraq had a secret biological weapons program has admitted for the first time that he lied about his story, then watched in shock as it was used to justify the war.
Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, codenamed “Curveball” by German and American intelligence officials who dealt with his claims, has told the Guardian that he fabricated tales of mobile bioweapons trucks and clandestine factories in an attempt to bring down the Saddam Hussein regime, from which he had fled in 1995.
Eight years ago, then Secretary of State Colin Powell relied heavily on “Curveball’s” lies in a high-stakes presentation to the United Nations. He should have been more skeptical of a guy named “Curveball,” don’t you think? U.S. intelligence had far better sources, including none other than Hussein Kamel Hassan al-Majid, the top official who had been in charge of all of Iraq’s weapons programs until they were dismantled. “All weapons—biological, chemical, missile, nuclear—were destroyed,” Kamel told the CIA.
“Curveball’s” bioweapons allegations were subsequently proven to be false by the Iraq Survey Group’s final report published in 2004.
UPDATE: From FDL: Truth finally puts on its dockers, few notice.
Iraq Pre-Invasion Lies: Will the Media Apologize?
Posted by Richard Warnick in 4th Estate (Media), Disaster, Iraq, Lying, National Politics, Proof Bush Lied, War on December 10, 2009
Via Glenn Greenwald:
An Iraqi taxi driver may have been the source of the discredited claim that Saddam Hussein could unleash weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes, a Tory MP claimed today.
Adam Holloway, a defense specialist, said MI6 obtained information indirectly from a taxi driver who had overheard two Iraqi military commanders talking about Saddam’s weapons.
The 45-minute claim was a key feature of the dossier about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction that was released by Tony Blair in September 2002. Blair published the information to bolster public support for war.
Once the British PM said it, the media was off to the races. Just one example among many:
CNN’s David Ensor, December 7, 2002:
British and U.S. intelligence officials believe Saddam Hussein has continued to produce a variety of chemical and biological agents with at least some of those weapons capable of being deployed in as little as 45 minutes.
Greenwald:
The people who mindlessly passed on claims like Tony Blair’s “45-minute” hysteria did it without regard to whether it was true. At best, they didn’t care. They wanted the invasion and were willing to say anything to justify it. The ones who were most unquestioning were “journalists” whose only ostensible function is to question… What’s most remarkable about all of it is that virtually none has even acknowledged wrongdoing and none has suffered any consequences of any kind. This British investigation is underscoring just how extreme all of this was.
Really they will never apologize. But perhaps the media could try and find out what was the real reason we attacked Iraq in 2003. I’m still curious.
How Much of the ‘Holy Grail’ Torture Report Will We Get to Read?
Posted by Richard Warnick in Bush Administration, CIA, Crimes, Human Rights, Lying, National Politics, Proof Bush Lied, This Blog, Torture, Transparency on June 19, 2009
We thought it might happen last Friday, but we’re still waiting. The Obama administration is preparing to declassify much of the 150-page top secret May 7, 2004 CIA inspector general’s report on torture. This report, written by now-retired CIA Inspector General John L. Helgerson, is the subject of an ACLU lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. A heavily redacted version was released by the Bush administration last year.
Some of the findings and information from the inspector general’s report has appeared in other documents, but the report itself is known as the “Holy Grail.” Based on more than 100 interviews, a review of torture videotapes (since illegally destroyed) and 38,000 pages of documents, it contains unprecedented details about the torture of detainees, and reveals that no valuable intelligence was obtained through the use of torture.
Helgerson concluded in his report that CIA-approved interrogation procedures constituted cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as defined by the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by the United States in 1994. This finding of illegality, even in an internal document, caused alarm in the Bush administration. Helgerson was summoned repeatedly to meet privately with Vice President Cheney, then was ordered to cease his investigation.
In October 2007, CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden ordered an unusual internal inquiry into Helgerson’s office, focusing on complaints that Helgerson was on “a crusade against those who have participated in controversial detention programs.”
If we get to read most of it, the “Holy Grail” report ought to definitively (if not for the first time) expose the lies told by former President Bush and former VP Cheney. What the report won’t do is send anyone to prison– for that, we need the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor.
It’s important to remember that the CIA torture program was only one part of the Bush torture regime. The Department of Defense also tortured detainees at Guantanamo, at various Iraqi prison camps, at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, and various other installations.
UPDATE: The CIA says no report today, but it will be provided “soon.”
UPDATE: Spencer Ackerman reports that the judge has granted the CIA an extension until August 24 to release the report.
Accountability for Torture: Restore the Rule of Law
Posted by Richard Warnick in Barack Obama, Bush Administration, Guantanamo, Human Rights, Lying, National Politics, Proof Bush Lied, Terrorism, The Constitution, Torture, Transparency, War Crimes on June 12, 2009
Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched a new website dedicated to forcing accountability from our government.
The ACLU campaign is devoted principally to the restoration of the rule of law and the appointment by the DOJ of a Special Prosecutor to prosecute Bush administration torture and war crimes.
Glenn Greenwald has more, including a podcast with international human rights lawyer Philippe Sands (author of Torture Team) and ACLU litigator Amrit Singh (co-author of Administration of Torture).
The ACLU has led the way on lawsuits that have revealed secret memos and other evidence pointing to grave breaches of U.S. and international law regarding the treatment of “war on terror” detainees and prisoners in Guantanamo, Iraq, Afghanistan and CIA secret “black sites.”
We are finally beginning to learn the full scope of the Bush administration’s torture program. Government documents show that hundreds of prisoners were tortured in the custody of the CIA and Department of Defense, some of them killed in the course of interrogations. Justice Department memos show that the torture policies were devised and developed at the highest levels of the Bush administration.
The ACLU is committed to restoring the rule of law. We will fight for the disclosure of the torture files that are still secret. We will advocate for the victims of the Bush administration’s unlawful policies. We will press Congress to appoint a select committee that can investigate the roots of the torture program and recommend legislative changes to ensure that the abuses of the last eight years are not repeated. And we will advocate for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to examine issues of criminal responsibility.
We can’t sweep the abuses of the last eight years under the rug. Accountability for torture is a legal, political, and moral imperative.
Just the other day, in a floor speech, former U.S. attorney Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) explained that we have been lied to extensively. What we think we know about the Bush torture regime is only a small fraction of the truth (emphasis added):
[T]here has been a campaign of falsehood about this whole sorry episode. It has disserved the American public. As I said earlier, facing up to the questions of our use of torture is hard enough. It is worse when people are misled and don’t know the whole truth and so can’t form an informed opinion and instead quarrel over irrelevancies and false premises. Much debunking of falsehood remains to be done but cannot be done now because the accurate and complete information is classified.
…At the heart of all these falsehoods lies a particular and specific problem: The “declassifiers” in the U.S. Government are all in the executive branch. No Senator can declassify, and the procedure for the Senate as an institution to declassify something is so cumbersome that it has never been used.
There is another big question that isn’t being discussed enough. Can the guilty parties (and their protectors in the Obama administration) employ secrecy and lies to run out the clock on the eight-year federal statute of limitations for torture? This is open to debate. According to Elizabeth de la Vega, the USA PATRIOT Act amended the U.S. Code (18 U.S. C. 3286) so as to eliminate the statute of limitations entirely in the case of terrorism offenses that “resulted in, or created a foreseeable risk of, death or serious bodily injury to another person.” And violation of the federal anti-torture statute is in included on the list of terrorism offenses.
Can We Believe the CIA?
Posted by Richard Warnick in CIA, George W. Bush, Iraq, National Politics, Proof Bush Lied, Republicans, This Blog, Utah Politics on May 18, 2009
Not hardly. In 2003, the CIA staked its reputation on the claim that Iraq possessed usable weapons of mass destruction (WMD – the catch-all term meant to imply nuclear armaments). In reality, they knew for a fact no such weapons existed. Former President Bush then ordered an illegal invasion of a country that had not attacked us and posed no threat. More than a million people died.
“[T]he agency, fearful above all else of dismemberment by politicians outraged by its appalling track record, has lied with pathological consistency to Presidents and Congresses,” wrote Spencer Ackerman last June.
What, then, to make of the current media obsession about whether or not the CIA lied to Rep. Nancy Pelosi in a September 2002 briefing? The question ought to answer itself.
Just when it seemed to many that the right had lost its mojo, give conservatives credit: They’re still enormously good at ginning up controversies and controlling the news cycle. Thus a story that was once about the Bush administration’s decision to authorize barbaric and illegal acts of torture has successfully been morphed into a to-do about Nancy Pelosi’s account of CIA briefings.
As political gamesmanship, it’s been masterful. I particularly like the way the right has managed to trot out an endless procession of figures willing to express outrage that anyone would ever hint that the CIA might mislead a member of Congress.
…Obviously, I wasn’t in the room with Pelosi and whoever briefed her, but anyone with any recollection of history should be aware that it would hardly be unusual for the country’s marquee intelligence agency to do something like that. Indeed, deception of Congress has been a common occurrence in the agency’s history, and one former director, Richard Helms, was even convicted of lying to Congress.
The CIA has zero credibility. In fact, there’s no reason to maintain an expensive intelligence agency that can’t be believed. The U.S. government has 17 other intelligence agencies that do a better job than the CIA.
Oh, and the CIA is guilty of torturing detainees in order to coerce false information linking Iraq to the 9/11 attacks. Some were tortured to death.
Read the rest of this entry »
Updated with video: Dick Cheney Goes Rogue. Upstages Palin, Indicts Bush
Posted by Cliff Lyon in Dick Cheney, Disgrace to the Military, George W. Bush, Proof Bush Lied, Republicans, Torture, War Crimes on May 14, 2009
Cheney has gone rogue. Mark my words. For Christ sake, he just indicted Bush on torture.
Cheney has replaced Sarah Palin as Rogue Diva. Just as Jeb Bush and other Republicans are trying to get kinder and gentler, Cheney has popped out of his dungeon, scary organ music blaring, to carry on his nasty campaign of fear and loathing.
The man who never talked is now the man who won’t shut up. — Read on.
Here’s the evidence:
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More Americans have been murdered by terrorists and continue to die under Dick Cheney’s watch than any other administration in history.
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