'A Moral Catastrophe': The Final Reasons for Going to War are Being Swept Away

[unhappycamper]

'A Moral Catastrophe': The Final Reasons for Going to War are Being Swept Away
Editorial/Sunday Observer
Published on Sunday, October 24, 2010 by the Sunday Observer/UK

There was no single reason why Britain and the US went to war in Iraq. The motives that inspired George W Bush and Tony Blair have been variously dissected, analyzed and psychoanalyzed. It is too early for history to have formed a settled view on the war, but the case that it was a monumental error gets ever more compelling.

Most of the official justifications for war, on grounds of security from terror and weapons of mass destruction, have been discredited. The only element of moral authority left in the decision might be that Saddam Hussein ran a murderous regime, characterized by torture and extra-judicial killing. It could indeed have been the duty of western powers to intervene against such atrocity. But the western occupiers quickly became complicit in atrocities of their own, as new leaked military documents reveal.

The files, passed to WikiLeaks and reported in today's Observer, reveal how allied forces turned a blind eye to torture and murder of prisoners held by the Iraqi army. Reports of appalling treatment of detainees were verified by the US army and deemed unworthy of further investigation. Responsibility for disciplinary action was passed to the Iraqi units that had perpetrated the abuse. In a handful of cases, allied soldiers are directly implicated in abuse.

The leaked files expose a cavalier attitude towards international law with regard to the treatment of enemy soldiers and disgraceful tolerance of civilian casualties.

The thrust of these allegations is not new. But each extra piece of evidence builds a portrait of a military occupation deeply implicated in practices that were illegal under international law and unconscionable in the eyes of any reasonable observer.

[ixion]

1. There was never a reason to illegally invade Iraq. Not one. Ever.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "We had a damn good reason. Sneer." - xVP Dickie 'Five-Military-Deferments' Cheney (R)

"RepubliCrony munitions & mercenary corps (R) made massive beaucoup war profits. Sneer."

- xVP Dickie 'Five-Military-Deferments' Cheney (R)

[yellowwood]

3. Don't Forget the PNAC and their Role

PNAC Statement of principles. Remember these names of the signers
http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htmNA

Their letter to Clinton urging the policy on Iraq
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm

I know it all seems so long ago, but we should remember who and what got us into the pickle that we're in.

[JohnnyLib2]

7. I couldn't get the first link to work.

Thanks ahead for help with that.

[yellowwood]

8. Sorry--here it is

http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm

[yellowwood]

9. And here are their names

Elliott Abrams Gary Bauer William J. Bennett Jeb Bush

Dick Cheney Eliot A. Cohen Midge Decter Paula Dobriansky Steve Forbes

Aaron Friedberg Francis Fukuyama Frank Gaffney Fred C. Ikle

Donald Kagan Zalmay Khalilzad I. Lewis Libby Norman Podhoretz

Dan Quayle Peter W. Rodman Stephen P. Rosen Henry S. Rowen

Donald Rumsfeld Vin Weber George Weigel Paul Wolfowitz


Quite a collection, isn't it?

[jimlup]

4. But we already know that the reasons for Operation Iraqi Liberation were a lie

It's all about Operation Iraqi Liberation and everyone paying attention including most within the administration (perhaps excluding the clueless POTUS) and Pentagon understood it well.

[CJCRANE]

11. IIRC

Wolfowitz flat out admitted that in an interview (that it was mainly about oil and that the WMD was just a convenient pretext).

[malaise]

5. Allied forces also tortured people in Iraq n/t

[tabatha]

6. Hopefully Wikileaks

will make George Bush's new book look like trash.

[Raksha]

10. K & R

[Solly Mack]

12. k/r

[eomer]

13. Bullshit.

They walk right up to the brink of seeing this for what it really is but can't seem to make that final obvious conclusion. This war was no error. It did exactly what was wanted from it by the deep state powers who pulled the trigger.

I believe the name for this bullshit is "limited hangout".