Anyone watched or watching this documentary? It's on Current TV right now direct tv channel 358. Truly a disgrace.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v0wbpKCdkkQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Thanks for the history lesson General Clark. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m58jF8_KgzI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Up next: Syria & Iran
At the start of the Iraq offensive, most sane and rational people realized it was an unnecessary war designed to establish a massive source of revenue for the corporations that Cheney and the Bush family had an interest in. In accord with that, most sane and rational people were decried for their failure to 'support the troops.' The Bush supporters didn't realize that the Iraq war was a problem until Obama was in office.
The whole thing was absurd. The Dems lacked the back bone to stand up for what the believed in (no war with Iraq) and the Republicans were a cadre of mutant militant Christians and corrupt money driven immoral monsters than knowingly lied and let poor folks die for profits. History will note the cowardice of the Dems and immorality of the Republicans from that era... We are paying the price right now.
thadeus, if most sane and rational people realized it then why didn't or couldn't they stop it? I'm not sure if you were implying there weren't many sane and rational people. I'm fairly certain that due to the "bipartisan" nightmare politics which plague America, at least half the voters were on board with the Iraq war.
Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/E_Ie1cdTHlU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Here is another related documentary. John Pilger is awesome, his documentaries are up front about their bias, and tackle really important issues. Breaking the Silence Truth and Lies in the War on Terror <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NxvLc48SoEw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I think this is vague. How are you sure the Dems were cowards who wanted no war, rather than wanting what the Republicans wanted and acting furious to appease their own voters?
The no-bid contracts were probably given out in order to streamline war operations. I believe Saddam sealed his fate years before the war, and all that was needed was a wink-and-a-nod from the executive branch's top leaders to the companies receiving no bids. There is plenty of accusation that the war was planned before the 2000 election - Classic, I believe Clark states that in the video.
A lot of the Dems did not want war with Iraq but were afraid to be labeled as unpatriotic and soft on foreign policy. I am not giving them a pass, they were more concerned with being re-elected than what was right... it is disgusting. The Bush administration controlled the narrative, and were very good at bombarding the American people with known lies, and very few were willing to stick their neck out.
Convenient retro history to say that all sane and rational people and all dems were really against the war but were either powerless to stop it or politically handicapped.
Halliburton was awarded the no bid LOGCAP III contract less than 2 months after 9/11. Yeah they planned the Iraq invasion well before coming into office and 9/11 was opportunity knocking on the door.
Also I was in military boarding school @ NMMI at the time. It was amazing to see everybody cheering on the war. I was skeptical due to my foreign background.
The most important thing is that Cheney and Bush knew exactly what they were going to do, regardless of what people thought. Against the wishes of many (some would say the majority) of Americans. The one control in place is congress, and they spat on the spirit of those rules to impose their baseless beliefs on everyone else. They made a killing. To understand just how commercially succesful this was, understand how awesome it would be if you could make your circle of friendsa buttload of money.
Like a blind man in a room full of deaf people <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gpaq3Vr95oU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EAIKgF5ff8s?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
the act itself is almost not as bad as the sick tactics. This was one of them. No shame..um I mean HO HO HO
I was (am) a left leaning centrist who was for the war. I wanted it to be the catalyst for a coalition of the free democracies of the world to systematically eliminate tyranny. A bold step for mankind. I failed to account for weaknesses of human beings.
But even the stated goal was not to eliminate tyranny, so how did you get comfortable with the idea that your wish had any chance of materializing? Not being critical, just wondering.
A murderous tyrant gained control of a nation, it's army, press and secret police, and had heirs ready willing and able to continue his dynasty. For the people of Iraq, those being tortured and killed, I felt like the only chance to enter the modern world of freedom and democracy was for an outside intervention to change the regime. I feel like it is the duty of free people everywhere to promote freedom for everyone. But people in this real world are not interested in grand ideals. They are greedy, corrupt, tribal & sectarian and driven by fear. It's an evolutionary adaptation we may be another 500 years evolving out of. I am a pretty idealistic romantic person, but then again, I never have to worry about where my next meal is coming from either.