Quote:

Dave said:

Knee-jerk Republican / Bushite defence is concerned with retrospective changes to the rationale for invasion.

Suddenly the Republicans are deeply concerned with human rights in Iraq. Oh-ho, that's why we invaded!

Absolute wank. Bush said Saddam was an immmediate threat because of WMDs. That's why Iraq was invaded. It did not have WMDs. Either Bush was lying, or most of the US intelligence agency heads shuld be sacked (yeah yeah, blame the Brits, but were was the corroborating evidence that even newspaper reports need before they publish a story, let alone politicians need to start a war?)


The invasion of Iraq has produced some great things. Iraq has a chance of being a democratically elected country (even if the occupation is a shoddy affair). Libya has decided to join the human race, and Sudan has stopped its civil war (both Libya and Sudan were shit scared they'd be next). Iran is being nice for the first time in years. Even Syria is trying to behave. The invasion is a big stick to coerce such regimes into line.

But lets be honest about it. Iraq wasn't invaded because they were hundreds of thousands dead at the hands of Saddam's torturers. No one in Washington gave a shit about the dead and tortured, and never have.

Saddam was deposed either because there was a monumental fuck up on intelligence on WMDs, or because the Bush administration decided the Saudis couldn't be counted on after 9/11 (most of the hijackers were Saudis) and it would be good to secure strategic oil interests in the region.




That liberal distortion of the truth is in blatant contrast to the reality of Bush's speeches leading up to the war.

As I already said, in the middle of page 9 of this topic:

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave the Wonder Boy:


And once again, you've misrepresented what Bush clearly listed as the reasons for going to war in Iraq in the first place, again alleging falsely that the SOLE reason we went to war was because of "imminent threat" of WMD's.
As I've pointed out repeatedly OVER AND OVER, that is a deliberate misrepresentation easily disproven by any of Bush's speeches leading up to the war in March, particularly his 1/28/2003 speech, and his 3/17/2003 speeches that the Democrats constantly distort:
www.whitehouse.gov

State of the Union Address, 1/28/2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
(in particular, the concluding 18 minutes of his 60 minute speech )

Saddam Hussein has 48 hours to leave Iraq, on the eve of invasion, clearly stating the reasons for war in Iraq, on 3/17/2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030317-7.html


As is clear in his speeches, the primary reason for the invasion were:
  • years of Iraq's defiance of the U.N.,
  • 10 U.N. resolutions that called for Iraq's disarmament
  • Stockpiles of WMD's that his government's inventory paperwork, and the U.N., said were missing, and Iraq's unwillingness for many years to account for them.
  • Hussein's massive and systematic torture, murder and rape of his own citizens.
  • Saddam Hussein's support of terrorism throughout the Arab region. His support of various Palestinian terror groups is well documented. Saddam Hussein made no secret to the world that he would give $15,000 to the family of any Palestinian who would suicide bomb Israel. I've seen news footage of many ceremonies where the check was given to a Palestinian family, post-bombing.
  • It was no secret for many months before the war that the Bush administration intended this reconstruction of Iraq, in order to plant democracy in Iraq, and have it cause a domino effect, spreading democracy throughout the Arab region.


The allegation that the Iraq invasion/occupation was "SOLELY" because of WMD's is absolutely false, and absolutely completely a lie perpetrated by Democrats, and anti-American liberals worldwide.
Bush's speeches clearly say otherwise, that there were MANY reasons for invading Iraq.




I transcribed the 1/28/2003 address (the relevant 18-minute portion regarding Iraq, Iran and North Korea) here, with Bush's disputed 16 words highlighted in bold:
'Impeach Bush over WMD's"
http://www.rkmbs.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=214362&page=8&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=5&vc=1