~~for educational purposes only~~ [Title 17 U.S.C. section 107]
Lying for a Living by Harry Browne December 31, 2003
The Bush administration lied to the American people about many things in order to drag America into a war against a country that posed no threat whatsoever to it.
The biggest lie, of course, was the idea that Iraq had so-called "weapons of mass destruction" (nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons) that could kill millions of Americans.
Now that it's evident that there were no such weapons, the war hawks claim that George Bush never really said the Iraqi threat was imminent. In fact, he supposedly said precisely the opposite that we must stop Saddam Hussein before he can pose a threat to the United States.
In fact, on October 7, 2002, George Bush said to a cheering crowd in Cincinnati:
Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud. [1]
See! He didn't say Hussein was an imminent threat only that we must stop him before he becomes a threat.
Unfortunately, for the war hawks, that isn't what Bush meant as is evident when that statement is placed in its original context:
Knowing these realities, America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud. As President Kennedy said in October of 1962, "Neither the United States of America, nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. We no longer live in a world," he said, "where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum peril." [1]
Bush said that we can't wait for the "actual firing of weapons" before responding. He didn't say we have to respond before the weapons are developed.
If that doesn't convince you that George Bush said Hussein already had weapons that posed a threat, try looking at just some of the statements made by various members of the Bush administration,to wit:
Statements by George Bush
"If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous
weapons today and we do does it make
any sense for the world to wait to confront
him as he grows even stronger and develops
even more dangerous weapons?" [2]
-- Speech in Cincinnati, October 7, 2002 "And we have sources that tell us that Saddam
Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field
commanders to use chemical weapons the
very weapons the dictator tells us he does
not have." [3]
-- Radio address, February 8, 2003 "Saddam Hussein has a long history of
reckless aggression and terrible crimes.
He possesses weapons of terror. He provides
funding and training and safe haven to
terrorists terrorists who would willingly
use weapons of mass destruction against
America and other peace-loving countries.
Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct
threat to this country, to our people,
and to all free people." [4]
-- Press conference, March 6, 2003 "Intelligence gathered by this and other
governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq
regime continues to possess and conceal
some of the most lethal weapons ever
devised." [5]
-- TV Address, March 17, 2003"Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction." [6] -- Press conference at Texas ranch, May 3, 2003
"We found the weapons of mass destruction.
We found biological laboratories . . . and
we'll find more weapons as time goes on.
But for those who say we haven't found the
banned manufacturing devices or banned
weapons, we found them." [7]
-- Polish TV interview, May 30, 2003 "For more than a decade, Saddam Hussein went
to great lengths to hide his weapons from
the world. And in the regime's final days,
documents and suspected weapons sites
were looted and burned. Yet all who know
the dictator's history agree that he
possessed chemical and biological weapons
and that he used chemical weapons in the
past." [8]
-- Radio address, June 21, 2003"I am confident that Saddam Hussein had a weapons of mass destruction program." [9] -- Press conference, South Africa, July 9, 2003
Statements by Richard Cheney
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that
Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass
destruction. There is no doubt he is
amassing them to use against our friends,
against our allies, and against us." [10]
-- Speech at VFW convention,
August 26, 2002 "Simply stated, there is no doubt that
Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass
destruction. There is no doubt that he
is amassing them to use against our friends,
against our allies, and against us." [11]
-- Speech to Veterans of Korean War,
August 29, 2002 "We believe he has, in fact, reconstituted
nuclear weapons." [12]
-- Meet the Press, March 16, 2003 "So I say I'm not willing at all at this
point to buy the proposition that somehow
Saddam Hussein was innocent and he had no
WMD and some guy out at the CIA, because
I called him, cooked up a report saying he
did." [13]
-- Meet the Press, September 14, 2003Statements by Donald Rumsfeld
"We have seen intelligence over many
months that they have chemical and
biological weapons, and that they
have dispersed them and that they're
weaponized and that, in one case at
least, the command and control
arrangements have been established." [14]
-- Face the Nation, March 23, 2003 ". . . the area in the south and the west
and the north that coalition forces
control is substantial. It happens not to
be the area where weapons of mass destruction
were dispersed. We know where they are. They're
in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east,
west, south and north somewhat." [15]
-- Interview with George Stephanopoulos,
March 30, 2003Statement by Colin Powell
"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined
to keep his weapons of mass destruction;
he's determined to make more." [16]
-- Presentation at the United Nations,
February 5, 2003Lies, Lies, Lies
Of course, this is just one part of the Iraqi "threat" about which the politicians lied to us. They also lied about mobile laboratories [17], aluminum tubes[18], unmanned aircraft that could carry WMDs to America's east coast [19], ballistic missiles that could threaten the whole Middle East [20], uranium purchases in Africa [21], Al-Qaeda training camps in Iraq [22], the adventures of Jessica Lynch [23], the toppling of Hussein's statue [24], Hussein kicking the UN inspectors out of Iraq[ 25], and much more.
Thousands of Americans and Iraqis are dead because millions of Americans believed those lies.
We should never let the politicians' statements lure us into war again.
They Lie about Everything
But lying isn't confined to matters of war and peace. Those matters are simply the most dangerous areas in which politicians lie.
They lie to us about virtually everything.
o They lied when they said they were phasing out farm subsidies with the "Freedom to Farm" act in 1996. Since then, farm subsidies have more than doubled. [26]
o They lied when they said they reformed welfare in the mid-1990s. Since then, the annual federal cost of "income security" has increased by 40%. [27]
o They lied when they said the federal budget was in surplus during 1998-2001, as the federal debt increased every year during that period (they stole the money from Social Security to paper over the deficits). [28]
o They lied in 1965 when the Medicare Act said that "Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize any Federal officer or employee to exercise any supervision or control over the practice of medicine or the manner in which medical services are provided," as doctors are routinely terrorized by Medicare bureaucrats. [29]
o They lie whenever they take an oath to obey the Constitution of the United States.
o They lie when they claim to be protecting our freedom.
They lie because that's what a politician does for a living lie to convince us to give him more power over our lives.
And Americans fall for the lies over and over again.
What to Do
How do you deal with this?
Simple: Whenever a politician starts talking, just close your innocent little ears and pay no attention to him. He's most likely lying simply telling you what he hopes will persuade you to give him another chunk of your life.
There is probably no more important lesson that you can learn and take to heart than the simple lesson that politicians don't tell the truth and the government program the politicians promise will cure some problem will in fact almost certainly make matters worse.
More government means trouble. There's only one thing a politician can do to help us: repeal laws.
Repeal thousands and thousands of laws.
And I don't mean promise to repeal laws, but actually do it.
Only their actions are meaningful.
Pay no attention to what they say. They make their living by lying.
xxxx
[1] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html [2] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html [3] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030208.html [4] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030306-8.html [5] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030317-7.html [6] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030503-1.html [7] http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/5984212.htm [8] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/06/20030621.html [9] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030709.html [10] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020826.html [11] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020829-5.html [12] http://www.msnbc.com/news/886068.asp [13] http://www.msnbc.com/news/966470.asp [14] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/23/ftn/main545616.shtml [15] http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2003/t03302003_t0330sdabcsteph.html [16] http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2003/17300.htm [17] http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/15/sprj.irq.no.labs/index.html [18] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17707-2003Oct25.html [19] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5385.htm [20] http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/16/sprj.irq.us.un/index.html [21] http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-06-12-niger-usat_x.htm [22] http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/bush-address-6thmarch.html [23] http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1051643375850 [24] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2859.htm [25] http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20020928/71804.html [26] http://www.usatoday.com/money/bcovthu.htm [27] http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=economic_indicators&docid=33oc03.txt [28] http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=economic_indicators&docid=32oc03.txt [29] http://aapsonline.org/press/getoutmc.htm
www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
