1,000 Americans are dead in Iraq.And we are less safe because of it.
Before continuing, let us finally separate those who serve from those who order. The young (and sometimes not so young) men and women who died in Iraq gave their lives in service to the country, and we should honor their service. This does not mean, however, that we cannot impugn the motives behind the political leaders who send our troops into action. We can, and in this case we should.
George W. Bush sent over 100,000 troops into Iraq based solely on a lie. Boiled down, that lie was that Saddam Hussein was some sort of threat to the United States.
Let's look at some specifics:
- In his 2003 state of the union address, George W. Bush claimed that Hussein had attempted to obtain uranium from Niger in order to further his nuclear program. This claim was a lie; in fact, well before the address, it was well known that the papers that made this claim were forgeries.
- In his address to the U.N. Security Council, Secretary of State Colin Powell (under orders from George W. Bush) claimed that certain trucks were laboratories for chemical and biological weapons. Another lie. The trucks were separating hydrogen from oxygen in water, so that the hydrogen could fill balloons that were used for low-tech target practice by conventional - that's right, conventional - weapons.
- Time and time again, George W. Bush and his minions tried to connect Saddam Hussein with Osama bin Laden. The truth was that Hussein and bin Laden never got along, and there was no connection whatsoever. Furthermore, the Bush administration knew that.
In short, Iraq was never a threat, immediate, impending or any other kind, to the United States. Furthermore, by invading a country that was no threat to us, George W. Bush has become the poster child for Al Qaeda recruitment. Thanks to Bush's lies, America is less safe than ever before.
And 1,000 Americans are dead in Iraq.
And we are less safe.
All because of a lie.
Copyright 2004, Dan Jacoby
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