Friday, September 10, 2004

Another Political Rant (You knew it was coming...)

I have tried as hard as I possibly can to stay away from the media lately. To put it bluntly, I don’t know how much more of the bullshit I can listen to. I’m sorry, that’s a nasty word. Let’s try something else. Cow patties. Horse pucky. Buffalo chips. Moose muffins. Merde de vache. (C’est la meme chose, but most people won’t know that…)

The Republican National Convention shamelessly exploited 9/11. As if President Bush has been the most shining example of leadership and determination in the face of this horrible threat. As if the Republican party has a monopoly on patriotism, homeland security, and good ole American values. As if the war in Iraq had ANYTHING to do with the War on Terror.  No matter how many times George Bush, Dick Cheney or Don Rumsfeld look into the camera and solemnly mourn the young men and women who have "given their lives in Iraq for the cause of the War on Terror," it doesn’t make it true. And they know it.

I invite any and all Republican-leaning voters to really take a look at Iraq. What have we done to that country?

PLEASE don’t forget the genesis of this debacle. President Bush was focused on invading Iraq from the moment he took office. We have the voices of several administration insiders telling us as much, in so many words. In this respect, the 9/11 attacks were manna from heaven for the president.  (And I am NOT implying that he somehow caused, or allowed to happen, the events of 9/11 for his own political gain.  But, 15 months down the road, his organization was savvy enough to make use of the situation that had presented itself...)  All he needed to do was find any credible connection between the deaths of these thousands of innocent Americans, on our own soil, and the Sadaam Hussein regime. He threw the massive force of the entire administration, diplomatic corps, and intelligence community behind uncovering Sadaam’s link with Al Quaeda. And they couldn’t find it. Don’t you remember? They couldn’t find it.

THAT was when they dug up this whole WMD thing. That was when they began to suddenly hop up and down about Sadaam not complying with UN weapons inspections, which were part of the treaty ending the first Gulf War.  From that fact, they drew the conclusion that, since Sadaam didn’t want inspectors in his country, he must be doing something dastardly. Trumped that up to read that Sadaam certainly had stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons, and was probably working on a "Bomb." Escalated that to the release of some intelligence from somewhere that Sadaam had WMD at his disposal, battle-ready within 45 minutes, which would constitute some kind of immediate danger to the continental United States. What????

This is what is known as "The Politics of Fear." The Bush administration purposely and calculatedly scared the CRAP out of the American People. Manipulated a constituency who were still reeling and shell-shocked from the horrible, unthinkable events of September 11, 2001. Please, people, don’t forget that, at the time of the invasion, the administration itself admitted that they had found NO link between Iraq and the toppling of the Twin Towers. With a weak bit of sleight of hand, perpetrated on a nation that was hurt, angry, and spoiling for a fight, they turned THEIR agenda into our agenda. The invasion of Iraq never had any more substance than that.

It can be argued that Sadaam was a cruel, despotic criminal dictator who needed overthrowing. I don’t disagree. But was it our place to do so? If the Iraqi people weren’t oppressed enough to foment their own rebellion, did we have any business going in there and doing it for them? Without the blessing of the UN? Without a broad-based coalition of like-minded allies to assist in the overthrow and share the burden of reconstruction?

There is a stock question that is put to the principles of any conflict. A woman contemplating divorce is encouraged to ask, "Will I be better off with him or without him?" Voters in national elections are admonished to answer the question, "Am I better off than I was four years ago?" Better off. Should we ask the Iraqi people, "Are you better off than you were before the American invasion?" What do you think their answer would be? They have gone from living under the suppression of the corrupt Sadaam regime, being afraid that they might "disappear" in the night, never to be heard from again… To a world where they could get blown up on any street corner on any given day. To a world where they are afraid to venture from their homes to go shopping, go to work, or send their children to school. To a world torn apart by the warring factions made bold by the absence of any real, credible government, ready to erupt into civil war, if it hasn’t already deteriorated to that point. And a US presence that promises to "stay the course," even as it makes preparations to hand a shattered country over to a powerless interim government, upheld by a slipshod, unprepared military.

In Iraq since March of 2003, one thousand five Americans have died; 1136 total "coalition" lives, all lost because of the determination of our "Oil President" to establish a strong presence in the Middle East, source of too large of a percentage of the life’s blood of our military-industrial complex. And Iraqis? Between 11,000 and 14,000 have perished. We don’t even know the exact number. The latest official death toll of the 9/11 attacks stands at 2880. Have we paid "them" back yet? Have we wrung enough blood from these people who had nothing whatsoever to do with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?

And do we now reward the "Commander-in-Chief" of this abomination with another four years as "leader of the free world?"

18 comments:

  1. ...who couldn't even have constructed this argument himself?  no.  i hope we don't see 4 more years.

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  2. Well said!  Thanks

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  3. Hi Lisa-
    Man I love how you write about politics! You are the best! What this country needs is for W to go back to oil and leave politics in his past. He is a liar, war happy and permanetely confused. Did I say that? Yep, sure did.

    Thank you, thank you Lisa!

    Gayla
    http://journals.aol.com/schoolgal040/SoMuchMore

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  4. I heard the other day that some estimates are as high as 30,000 Iraqi deaths. And, we wonder why terrorists emerge who hate us. It has nothing to do with destroying our way of life. They just want us to mind our business for once. They realize that we use their nations as pawns and they are tired of it. I don't think reacting the way they do by blowing up innocent non-military people is the answer but I understand their motivation. I wish we did more to address the symptoms instead of the disease. Great entry! :-) ---Robbie

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  5. What amazes me is that so many people are buying into the bullshit. I feel like I'm living in a bad horror movie.

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  6. 30,000 dead Iraqis, that's what I've heard too.  Gee, do you think that has anything to do with why they HATE US?  The Republicans seem to think that they should be GRATEFUL that we are killing them for their own good. I've been staying away from the media too, it's too disheartening sometimes.

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  7. Problem with sending W back to the private sector is that he's never succeeded there either. His dad's buddies had to keep bailing him out there too. Do you sense a pattern here?

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  8. Geez, a political rant. I thought your next entry was going to be how excited you were about your trip to meet me on Monday!  When we meet for lunch, you can tell me how you really feel on this issue.  LOL!  Lisa

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  9. LOL what a great page, however wrong it may be.  Dubya has made mistakes but I truly believe has stepped up to become a great president.  IN the wake of 9/11, How can they NOT discuss it?  We are under attack and the world has changed.  He just happened to be the one in charge at that time.   What I find funny is how liberals think that was a one time incident.  They want to hug everyone and make the bad people go away.  Come on, its real life!  John Kerry would be great running a flower shop or skating rink but not the country.  No liberla has the guts to stop terrorists before they hit us.  Its about time that Russia saw what happens when you dont strike first and wait for them to get you.  Sad way to learn but maybe the hostage crisis will help save tens of thousands more down the road as 9/11 will save how many future because we struck back.  9/11 is political no matter how you slice it.  Thanks for the page, it gave me a good laugh.  Sincerely. Frank

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  10. Okay, what will Kerry do, and I mean down to the absolute specifics, differently? Yes, Bush was focused on making Suddam comply with UN resolution-because Clinton couldn't or wouldn't get the job done.  Our nation showed no guts for that 8 year period and what happened?  They brought the fight to our soil- The same thing that has now happened to Russia.  Has it happened again to us since making our presence strongly felt? Nope. Your Republican Buddy, Kristi

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  11. Saddam did not bring the "fight to our soil."  duh.

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  12. This was incredibly well said.  I am so sick of this war that I am beginning to sound like a broken record.  We have the blood of a lot of innocents on our nation's hands, and what separates us for terrorists when we bomb and raze an Iraqi wedding...

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  13. I have to comment on "Frank's" comment.  I checked this guy out...he's an MD.  I hope to god he's not practicing on people.  He is in NO WAY a healer.  I wouldn't let him touch me or anyone I know with a twenty-foot pole.  The comment alluding to the terror attack in Russia is SO objectionable, I am absolutely speechless.  Lisa  :-]  

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  14. It is incredibly insane.  There is no connection what so ever to 9-11 and Hussein, but the blind masses continue to be stirred into an emotional frenzy feeling all warm and fuzzy that all the murdering that we are committing in Iraq will compensate for the 9-11 victims.  Stupid stupid stupid.

    I cannot comprehend the arrogance that most Americans have regarding terrorism.  How is it that every country in the world can have terrorism, but we expect to be totally free of it.  Even though we commit terror on other countries every minute of every hour?  Hubris is every great power’s weakness.  And like every great power in the past, we are falling prey to Hubris.

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  15. I can't even believe you had the stomach to *watch* any of the Republican National Convention.  I heard about 10 minutes of a conservative speaker on CNN, who was bashing Kerry and making up all kinds of lies and pseudo-lies.  I needed an Alka Seltzer after that.  The convention was definitely out. ;-)

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  16. I'm sure his Daddy is proud.........Go Kerry!

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