The Truth About Iraq II

Smitty0311 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:44 PM

1) Myth: Iraq is an illegal war.

The Senate voted 77 to 23 for a joint resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq. Among those who voted yea were 29 Democrats. Only 21 democrats voted against the bill in the Senate. The 29 senators that did vote for the bill include Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, John Edwards, and John Kerry. The House on the other hand, voted 296 to 133 for the joint resolution. Among house members that voted were 81 democrats. However 126 of the democrats in the House did in fact vote nay. Among those who voted yea was Jack Murtha. The bill passed in both the House and the Senate through the process that Americans call democracy. As if a 70% vote by congress wasn’t enough, the UN and the UK along with others also backed our invasion.

So how could the Iraq war be illegal? Why is the same party that advocated regime change in Iraq during the Clinton administration against it now?

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 107th Congress - 2nd Session U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 455
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml
Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of US Armed Forces Against Iraq.
Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq
Clinton addressing the threat of Saddam.
Transcript: President Clinton explains Iraq strike - December 16, 1998

Smitty0311 · #2 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:46 PM

2) Myth: President Bush lied about Saddam’s WMD’s to trick congress.

The Pentagon, CIA, DIA, MI6, The UN and other foreign intelligence agencies all said that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. They also knew about Saddam’s history of killing his own people with VX nerve agent. These claims go back many years however democrats are quick to forget Bill Clinton’s claims on the same issue. Democrats also forget about their fellow democratic politicians on their respective intelligence comities that also made the case for WMD’s in Iraq. Among the many democrats that made the case for WMD’s are Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, Harry Reid, John Kerry, Wesley Clark, John Edwards, Edward Kennedy, Richard Gephardt, and Al Gore. Hans Blix (the chief UN weapons inspector) also made the same accusation back in January of 2003. Maybe if Saddam allowed for the inspectors to do their job then things would have gone different. But if he had done that where would he have found the time to ship out his WMD’s? At least that’s what his Air Force General Said. Below are a few quotes.
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Foreign Minister Domin¬ique de Villepin told the U.N. Security Council on February 5, 2003:Right now, our attention has to be focused as a priority on the biological and chemical domains. It is there that our presumptions about Iraq are the most significant. Regarding the chemical domain, we have evidence of its capacity to produce VX and Yperite. In the biological domain, the evidence suggests the possible possession of significant stocks of anthrax and botulism toxin, and possibly a production capability.
The German Ambassador to the United States, Wolfgang Ischinger, said on NBC’s “Today” on Feb¬ruary 26, 2003, “I think all of our governments believe that Iraq has produced weapons of mass destruction and that we have to assume that they still have—that they continue to have weapons of mass destruction.”
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In July 2004, the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee issued a report with the following conclusions:
Conclusion 83. The Committee did not find any evidence that Administration officials attempted to coerce, influence or pressure analysts to change their judgments related to Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction capabilities.…
Conclusion 84. The Committee found no evidence that the Vice President’s visits to the Central Intelligence Agency were attempts to pressure analysts, were perceived as intended to pressure analysts by those who participated in the briefings on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs, or did pressure analysts to change their assessments.
In March 2005, the bipartisan Robb–Silverman commission reached the same conclusion:
The Commission found no evidence of political pressure to influence the Intelligence Community’s pre-war assessments of Iraq’s weapons programs. As we discuss in detail in the body of our report, analysts universally asserted that in no instance did political pressure cause them to skew or alter any of their analytical judgments. We conclude that it was the paucity of intelligence and poor analytical tradecraft, rather than political pressure that produced the inaccurate pre-war intelligence assessments.
Dispelling Myths About Iraq
…………………………………………………………
Democrat quotes :
Freedom Agenda - Quotes and Facts on Iraq

"Saddam Hussein certainly has chemical and biological weapons. There's no question about that."

"People can quarrel with whether we should have more troops in Afghanistan or internationalize Iraq or whatever, but it is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted for stocks of biological and chemical weapons."

Former President Clinton
During an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live"
July 22, 2003

Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction
UK’s intelligence agency
BBC NEWS | UK | The UK's intelligence agencies
Iraqi Regime Strategy and WMD Timeline Events
https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/...ne_Events.html
Clinton administrations statements on Iraq’s WMD’s
Text Of Clinton Statement On Iraq - February 17, 1998
CNN.com - Bill Clinton on Bush uranium line: 'Everybody makes mistakes' - Jul. 23, 2003
"Iraq Liberation Act" introduced into Congress
Air Strike Against Iraq
Transcript: President Clinton explains Iraq strike - December 16, 1998
News from the USIA Washington File
CNN - U.S. policy on Iraq draws fire in Ohio - February 18, 1998
USATODAY.com - Text of Gore speech
Al Gore's speech on Iraq | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
Iraq and the war on terrorism - smh.com.au
A NATION CHALLENGED: THE DEMOCRAT; Gore, Championing Bush, Calls For a 'Final Reckoning' With Iraq - New York Times
News from the USIA Washington File
Wide Angle . Saddam's Ultimate Solution | PBS
Hans Blix statements on Iraq’s Wmd’s
UN News Centre - News Focus
CNN.com - Transcript of Blix's remarks - Jan. 27, 2003
Dr. Khidhir Hamza, former Iraqi Nuclear Scientist for 20 years
CNN.com - Khidhir Hamza: Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi weapons program - October 22, 2001
Democrats on Saddam’s WMD’s and Terror
WavSource: September 11 Terrorism 2
YouTube - Hillary Clinton on Saddam's WMD, UN Impotence
YouTube - Hillary Clinton's views on going to war, Saddam, & WMD
YouTube - Hillary Clinton's views on going to war, Saddam & WMD -short
NOW with Bill Moyers. Transcript. Bill Moyers Talks with Joseph C. Wilson, IV. 2.28.03 | PBS
Press Release by Congresswoman Pelosi
The Democrats and Weapons of Mass Destruction -- Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/face_092902.pdf
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030331&s=lizza033103
CNN.com
http://kerry.senate.gov/high/record.cfm?id=191582
CNN.com - Transcripts
JS Online: Kerry criticizes Dean for comments about Hussein's capture
http://edwards.senate.gov/statements/20021010_iraq.html
http://www.vote-smart.org/debate_tra...ts/trans_1.pdf
www.senate.gov - This page cannot be found.
Floor Speech of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on S.J. Res. 45, A Resolution to Authorize the Use of<br>United States Armed Forces Against Iraq
http://www.johnkerry.com/news/speech...2002_1009.html
http://edwards.senate.gov/statements/20020912_iraq.html
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/cf....cfm?id=189831
CBSNews.com: Print This Story
OpinionJournal - Featured Article
White House Mood Is bellicose: Senator Robert C. Byrd [October 3, 2002]
Cooperative Research: Error 404 Page not Found!
Statement of Senator Rockefeller on the Senate floor, October 10, 2002
http://edwards.senate.gov/statements/20020912_iraq.html
http://www.house.gov/ford/12_06_01a.htm
Quotes and Facts on Iraq
Freedom Agenda - Quotes and Facts on Iraq
Saddam’s Air Force General Sada
Saddam Sent WMD to Syria, Former General Alleges -- 02/02/2006

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Smitty0311 · #3 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:48 PM

3)Myth: We went to war for Oil and Halliburton.

You can’t talk to any anti war protester today without hearing the claim that we invaded Iraq so that Bush could make money off of oil and Cheney’s Halliburton buddies. Of course congress is more cautious in making such a accusation. While many have said this claim there isn’t anyone who has proved it. Not to mention that if we went to war for oil then why did so many Democrats vote for it? But what about Halliburton? Halliburton has had long history of defense contracting, both in the Clinton and Bush administrations. However Clinton was never accused of “hooking up his buddies”. The defense contractor had been involved in Somalia, Kosovo, Haiti, Bosnia, and the Balkans. Note that Clinton gave them a no bid contract for the Balkans and Kosovo. In 1999 the Clinton defense department had full scale competitive bidding and of course Halliburton won the bid. In a deal cut in June of 2000 Halliburton was awarded 11 Navy contracts worth $110 million to build jails at Guantanamo Bay, a base in Kuwait, a ferry terminal on Vieques, an air station in Spain, a breakwater in the Azores and facilities hit by a typhoon in Guam under the Clinton administration.

From 1999 to the Present Halliburton has only contributed $406,972 in campaign contributions. That’s hardly enough to bribe their way in to winning 8 years of contracts. From 1990-2002 Halliburton has contributed $2,379,792 dollars to campaigns ranking 8th among post war contractors. The fact of the matter is that Halliburton was the best contractor for the job with experience in putting out oil well fires in the first Gulf war. The reason that they got a no bid contract while on the brink of war is because it would be insane to start the bidding process while the war is going on. In other words the democrats would have accused Bush of improper planning. Democrats can say what they will about the defense contractor but there are few “if any” contractors that can do the same job.

Halliburton campaign contributions from 1999-2007
Halliburton Company - Money,Politics,Campaign Contributions,Halliburton Company

Halliburton campaign contributions from 1990-2002
Windfalls of War - The Center for Public Integrity

Former Clinton Officials Call Halliburton Charges Ridiculous
The Media Fund | Title: "Halliburton"
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Smitty0311 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:49 PM

4)Myth: America’s presence in Iraq has led to 130,000-600,000 innocent civilian deaths.
This is a dangerously misleading statement. This argument is made by people who want to blame our military for the actions of our enemy’s in an effort to advocate withdraw from Iraq. It’s not our troops that are killing the civilians. It’s the insurgents. In an attempt to sway the Iraqi people away from democracy the enemy intimidates them by murdering the families of those who work for the democracy. If you’re an Iraqi police man/ Soldier/ Politician, there is a good chance that you will come home to find your family beheaded in your own house. This is how terror works. This is the only way the enemy can win this war.

I cant tell you how many Iraqi Governors, Asst Governors, Policemen, Soldiers, Senators, and their family’s have been kidnapped or executed due to there association with their new democracy. But there is one message that has been made clear to the Iraqis. That message is that if you advocate democracy the insurgents will kill you and if they can’t get to you they will kill your family! They sway the votes of politicians by kidnapping their families and threatening to kill them, they blow up IED’s in crowded market places or voting areas, they stuff the dead bodies of children with explosives in an effort to destroy Americans, and they steal money from Iraqi businesses to fund their death machine.

Our troops aren’t murderers. Our Troops aren’t torturing people. They immunize the Iraqi families, they play with the Iraqi children, they drink chai “Black Tea” and smoke cigarettes with Iraqi men, and they weep over fallen Iraqi children! Our troops are fighting and sacrificing everything they can for someone else’s freedom simply because it’s the right thing to do and there is no greater love for humanism than that. Our troops are in no way shape or form killing innocent Iraqis on purpose. The ones that they do kill are a scratch in comparison to the ten to hundreds of thousands murdered by our enemy who is hiding behind the innocent! We should always keep in mind that letting this enemy win is not in the best interest of the Iraqi people and it isn’t in the best interest of the Iraqis!

Insurgent attacks
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feat...ttacks_big.gif
Baghdad governor assassinated
CNN.com - Baghdad governor assassinated - Jan 4, 2005
Brother of governor assassinated in Baghdad
CNN.com - Gunmen assassinate two in Baghdad - Aug 29, 2005
Iraqi Prime Minister assassination attempt
CNN.com - Ex-Iraqi leader*claims assassination attempt - Dec 4, 2005
Iraqi Cleric survives assassination attempt
Powerful Iraqi cleric survives assassination bid - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Baghdad Governor shot dead. Zarquawi takes responsibility.
2ND LD: Baghdad governor shot dead, Zarqawi claims responsibility Asian Political News - Find Articles
Bomb kills southern Iraqi Governor
Bomb kills southern Iraqi governor - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com
Bomb kills 14
Baghdad blasts kill at least 14 - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com
Car bomb outside Mosque kills 7
CNN.com - Car bomb outside mosque kills seven - Jan 13, 2005
Suicide bomber kills 30 Iraqi police recruits
Bike-riding suicide bomber kills 30 Iraqi police - Yahoo! News
Gunman kidnaps 11 tribal leaders
washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines
Sheiks kidnapped after reconciliation meeting
Sheiks snatched returning from reconciliation meeting - CNN.com
Gunmen kidnap 24 in Baghdad within 30 minutes
Gunmen kidnap 24 in Baghdad - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com
Iraqi school built with bombs as a trap
Military: New Iraqi school had bombs built in - CNN.com
IED kills children
Iraqi bomb kills four children on the way to school | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Children used as bomb decoys.
Children reportedly used as bomb decoys - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com
Bomb hidden in toy cart kills Iraqi children
ABC News: Iraq bomb in toy cart hits children in playground
26 Iraqis mostly children die in car bomb
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Children die in Baghdad car bomb
Bomb kills 18 women and children
Iraq bomb kills 18 women and children AFP - Find Articles
Suicide bomber kills children in school
Lorry bomb kills children in school - Times Online
Car bomb near soccer field kills 16 children and 2 women
Car Bomb Near Soccer Field Kills 16 Children, 2 Women in Ramadi - washingtonpost.com
Children killed in Iraqi bombing
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Children killed in Iraq bombing
Decapitated bodies found in Iraq
Three decapitated bodies found in Iraq - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com

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Smitty0311 · #5 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:51 PM

5)Myth: Iraqis don’t want democracy
An ABC Poll that was conducted in Iraq 2007 shows completely the opposite. Most Iraqis want democracy and who are we to leave them without one? Iraq had a higher registered voter turn out than the United States. If that doesn’t send a message loud and clear throughout the world then nothing does. 70% of Iraqis voted during the election despite the bomb threats, which tells me that they don’t take their new democracy for granted. The insurgents on the other hand view free elections as a threat to the oppressive Islamic government that they want to install if America should leave too early. This is why we should maintain a presence in Iraq until the Iraqis can protect themselves.

70% voter turnout
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/in...st/22iraq.html
Votes prove stronger than bullets in Iraqi elections
DefenseLink News Article: Votes Prove Stronger Than Bullets in Iraqi Elections
Heighten security enables a higher voter turnout
Heightened Iraq security enables high voter turnout
Voter turnout in Iraq
U.S. Lauds Voter Turnout in Iraq
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Smitty0311 · #6 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:51 PM

6)Myth: pulling out of Iraq is in America’s best interest

A premature pullout of American forces in Iraq will cause an enormously negative effect on world security. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of Iraqis will die under an oppressive Islamic extremist regime. No Iraqi will enjoy the basic rights that we take for granted under an Islamo fascist government. Those who are associated with the Iraqi democracy will pay with their lives. Al-Qaeda and other terrorist’s organizations will capitalize on their new victory over the United States and use their new momentum to recruit more terrorists to kill more Americans/Europeans. Iraq will become a great source of income for funding terror with oil revenues. If Iraq’s neighboring countries of Syria or Iran intervene they will have more money to fund terrorists and work for the destruction of Israel. Iran and Syria will use their new power and influence to gain a better foothold in the world and continue to strive for nuclear technology. None of these examples are in America’s best interests and thus pulling out of Iraq too early isn’t in America’s best interest!

Smitty0311 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:53 PM

7)Myth: Iraq’s economy and infrastructure is getting worse

Despite terrorist attacks and sabotage Iraq’s economy has grown much faster than post war Germany and Japan.

1) The Iraqi unemployment rate is at 25-40%. That’s down from 50-60% back in 2003.
2) The electricity production level is 15% above pre war levels and the goal set by the US for average electricity generated has been reached years ago.
3) 8,997,000 more people have phone service than before the war.
4) Before the war there were no commercial TV stations, no commercial radio stations, and no independent news papers or magazines. Now there are 54 commercial TV stations 114 commercial radio stations and, 268 independent newspapers and magazines.
5) There are 5.7% more children in elementary school since pre war levels and there is an 27% increase of children in middle/high schools since before the war.
6) People with access to potable water before the war was 12.9 million but now 9.7 million with an 4.2 million increase since the war started. 6.2 million people had sewage before the war as opposed to the 5.6 million that have it now. However the CPA’s goal was 2.5 million.
7) Iraq has managed to make 21 billion dollars in Oil revenues despite the insurgent sabotages and the number will only rise each year.
8) Iraq’s GDP has more than doubled its growth since prewar levels making Iraq the fastest growing economy in the world.

Iraq Electricity Production at All-time High
Iraq Electricity Production at Alltime High
Brookings institute Iraq Study
http://www3.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
Washington Institute
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/p...icyFocus50.pdf
CIA Iraq
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/iz.html

Smitty0311 · #8 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:54 PM

8)Myth: there has been no political progress in Iraq

This myth is half true. Iraq has passed more legislation in the past 9 months than our own legislators despite the threats, kidnappings, and murders. So I find it funny how America can complain about Iraq’s lack of political progress when they are having more progress than we are. I also find it funny that democrats have gone from the position of “there will be no reduction of violence in Iraq” to “no political progress in Iraq” to “the political progress in Iraq is too slow”. Either way Iraq will continue to improve every day despite what democrats say. How easy we forget that it took 8 years to win the American Revolution and 11 years ratify our own constitution.

Iraq’s Political Healing Requires Time, Effort, U.S. Envoy Says
Iraqâ€™s Political Healing Requires Time, Effort, U.S. Envoy Says
Iraq sees political progress at local level: Bush
But provincial elections, oil revenue-sharing law must follow, president says
Bush sees political progress at local level in Iraq - MarketWatch
US constitution
United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American Revolution
American Revolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Upton · #9 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:54 PM

http://www.wastedirony.com/

Smitty0311 · #10 (**permalink**) 10-31-2007, 02:55 PM

9)Myth: The Insurgents have the right to defend against an invading Force.
This is the argument made by the most extreme liberals and leftist groups. In question format they would ask you “Wouldn’t you defend against an invading force if they invaded your home?”. This is a stupid argument because we aren’t forcing the Iraqis in to an oppressive regime or government through murder, torture, and kidnapping as our enemy’s are. Were giving them democracy! We even give first aid to our enemies after we shoot them!

If that wasn’t outrageous enough, you will also hear the Liberals say “Didn’t we do the same thing in the American revolution?”. Of course the answer is no. We didn’t murder, kidnap, and torture the innocent families of those sympathetic to the British simply because the head of the household fought or worked for the British. And we know there were plenty of them.

Here is what they need to understand. The insurgents are murdering people and their families who support the Americans and the Iraqi democracy. They are going from neighborhood to neighborhood telling people that if they side on the side of democratic freedom as opposed to Islam, they will be killed! That is the difference between us and them. We don’t rule through terror or a religious ideology that mandates that we kill infidels. And the poll below shows that the Iraqis do not want to be ruled by a religious Ideology.