Lies and the War That Has Not Ended

[unhappycamper]

Lies and the War That Has Not Ended
James Zogby
President of the Arab American Institute, Author of Arab Voices (Palgrave Macmillan 10/10)
Posted: September 4, 2010 11:09 AM

During the past week, as President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, there was considerable media commentary focusing on the lies that had been utilized to build public support for the war. The two that received almost exclusive attention were the argument that Saddam had an active WMD program and the assertion, made most vigorously by Vice President Richard Cheney, that there were "proven links" connecting the Iraqi leadership to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Both were, of course, deliberate fabrications but both did play important roles in shaping public opinion and justifying the invasion of Iraq. But the propaganda effort to win support for the war involved much more.

As I note in my forthcoming book Arab Voices, proponents for the war, preying on the public's lack of basic information about Iraq and its people, made exaggerated claims expressing confidence that the effort would be relatively painless. A former Pentagon official termed it a "cakewalk". Cheney said "it'll go... quickly. Weeks rather than months". Paul Wolfowitz estimated the cost of the entire enterprise not to exceed one or two billion dollars, with Iraq's oil revenues quickly kicking in to "finance its own reconstruction". President Bush and others added that "we would be greeted as liberators" ushering in a new democracy that would be "a beacon for a new Middle East".

Throughout the media universe, commentators echoed these boasts, regularly churning out outrageous claims on par with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's pre-Gulf War outrageous warning that that conflict would be the "mother of all battles."

~snip~

And the story doesn't end there. At some point in our history those who brought this disaster down on us all must be called to account for the fabrications, the embarrassment to our honor, and the death and waste of so many lives and resources. Until that occurs, the conclusion to this sad chapter will not have been written.

[Skittles]

1. they are STILL lying about it

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

2. From Zogby's Article...

"As the nation responsible for this calamity, America will continue to have a role in Iraq's future. Vice President Joseph Biden was right when he noted that "American engagement with Iraq will continue" with a new mission to help the country through reconstruction and reconciliation."