Kyle-Anne Shiver: “How many soldiers home from Iraq have you spoken to regarding this so-called “senseless” war?”
The person I would have most cared to speak to died in that senseless war. He was a patriot and a good man and I miss him dearly. And he died for a lie.
Kyle-Anne Shiver: “You are a product of brainwashing by the mass media industrial complex controlled by leftist ideologues. The Joint Resolution is available online and lists 23 separate reasons, was overwhelmingly approved by your House and Senate representative lawmakers…”
‘Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.’ –Dick Cheney, August 26, 2002
‘We know where [the WMDs] are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.’ –Donald Rumsfeld, March 30, 2003
Oct. 7, 2002, that Iraq posed an imminent threat was beaten into the nation’s psyche: “Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof.” Yet the president possessed directly opposing information from the top-secret National Intelligence Estimate, released days earlier. Prepared by the CIA with input from 16 U.S. intelligence agencies: “Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting terrorist attacks with conventional CBW [chemical and biological weapons] against the United States.”
The declassified summary of the NIE — released by the administration for public and media review shortly after the full report — was another lie in that it was grotesquely altered. The above point was not included. Also missing were several forceful statements from other intelligence agencies disputing the CIA’s horribly overblown and inaccurate assessments. Finally, in at least half a dozen instances, conclusions were altered to make Iraq’s threat more compelling. Language was added or omitted that changed CIA opinions to incontrovertible facts.
Another example is the now infamous nuclear reference from Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address: “Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” Not only was this refuted twice in early 2002 — by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV and by French intelligence — but the CIA’s National Intelligence Council investigated and told the White House four days before the address that “the Niger [Africa] story is baseless and should be laid to rest.” So the administration knew the claim was false, used it anyway and when caught, issued a collective “oops.” Although these speeches are vetted by Bush staffers, State, Defense, National Security and the CIA, it just slipped through.
I, my Senate and House Representatives, and the rest of the American people put their faith and trust in the president and his administration, and we were repaid with complete betrayal. So, you can take your 23 resolutions and cram them.
