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July 16, 2008
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Here we go again.
Today, wonderful headlines about Obama
vs. McCain on Iraq. The primaries centered around Iraq, Iraq,
and then the economy a little toward the end. Heck, the
massive mortgage crisis didn't exist in anyone's mind or policies
when until about half way through the primaries (even though the
looming situation was obvious to M/I.)
If you visit John McCain's campaign
website today, under the "News" section, here are the headlines:
Notice anything?
Yes, Iraq, Iraq, and, oh, look, more
war, Afghanistan.
A while back M/I reviewed
Newt Gingrich's latest book. One of the most interesting
parts of it was when he talked about his take on the War on Terror.
He didn't say it had to be smart. He didn't say strong,
successful. No, what he said is it had to be "long."
If you recall the "rollout" of Iraq as
an issue, it was specifically timed to coincide with the 2002
mid-term elections. Specifically, it was the week before the
election that George W. Bush told the UN it had to pass the Iraq
resolution. The week before.
In fact, let's look at what John McCain
told us from the Senate floor in 2002 - October 2002, that is, just
weeks before the election, as seen on
this video of his speech on the Senate floor from October 2002.
McCain jumped on the bandwagon and called Saddam a "clear and
present danger" who had "his weapons of mass destruction in tact...
the interaction we believe to have occurred between members of al
Queda and members of Saddam's regime may increasingly take the form
of active cooperation to target the United States... Saddam
Hussein unquestionably has strong incentives to cooperate with al
Queda."
Democratic attempts to make the sagging
economy and health care the focus of the electionn were squashed.
Flash forward two years, to the 2004
election. No one should ever forget what happened in the weeks
before that election. It has become a mantra at M/I:
never forget Fallujah. The GOP rolled out a pending attack on
Fallujah that, we were told in the last weeks before the election,
would "break the back of the insurgency." It was to be carried
out right after the elction. George Bush had to be re-elected
or else this assault wouldn't happen and the insurgency wouldn't
have it's back broken. In addition to costing American lives
by making the assault so public (see
NEVER FORGET FALLJUAH), there's the bigger picture.
You see, Iraq was not just entered into
for oil. It was not just entered into to avenge Saddam.
The Iraq War, since before it was even
launched, was set to be undertaken and sustained for one main reason
beyond all: because Republicans wanted to restore a war
setting, like had existed during the Cold War, because they felt
they could use it to win elections.
Flash forward now to 2008. Things
we know: there was never any justified reason for invading
Iraq. This war was pushed with fraud and propaganda - which,
as can be seen in the above video, John McCain was central to. It
has dominated 3 straight elections, and now the non-M/I media and GOP are
trying to make it center again.
Today on CNN, and in other places on the
media, they are starting to hammer away. Obama didn't support
"The Surge." McCain did. McCain was showed
better judgement.
A few days back: Obama is altering
his position on Iraq.
Will he talk to generals? We he
alter his timetable? Is victory now in sight thanks to "The
Surge"?
The reality is, Obama should refuse to
spend five seconds talking about Iraq. Iraq was undertaken to
create a distracting election issue. He was right on to call
it a distraction today, not just from Afghanistan, but from the
economy, Global Warming, the national infrastructure, education.
John McCain is asserting - as is the
non-M/I media - that some sort of "victory" is possible in Iraq, and
more likely now because of "The Surge."
The reality is, that more than half a
trillion dollars - and still a billion a day - thousands of American
lives, and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian lives, and three
elections, and countless other hours of national discussion that
should have been focused on actual issues, have all been lost to a
war that never had any reason and which was only undertaken under
the false premises told to us by, as we see come from his own mouth,
John McCain.
Not one more minute should be wasted
talking about Iraq. The situation is simple - there was no
threat. There is no excuse for continuing another day.
We've lost billions and billions and thousands and thousands of
lives. There's nothing to say. It's over, and it's not a
legitimate topic of discussion. Iraq and anything to do with
it is just a GOP manufactured intentional distraction from actual
issues. And as Obama has said, all that is left to do now is
set the mission to end the nonsense and carry out that mission.
More violence, less violence.
Agreements, no agreements. America is crumbling around us.
And all of us be damned if we tolerate another election where this
fake, manufactured subject is given time and attention.
Since 2002, John McCain took to lying to
America about Iraq to aid GOP election chances. It is time we
take this subject off the table. It is not legitimate.
And John McCain can be seen on video as just another liar who pushed
this unjustified war, and still seeks to milk it to distract from
the fact he has voted for the policies that have our nation
crumbling.
John McCain trumpeted all of the lies
the Bush administration used to sell the war. He said Saddam's
WMD's were 'in tact." That there were ties to al Queda.
And that these things made him a "clear and present danger."
And as for how John McCain should be
judged for his role in needlessly causing the death of thousands of
American soldiers, let's hear John say it in his own words, again
from the video:
"By voting to give the President the
ability to wage war, we assume and share his responsibility for the
war's outcome... we have a choice - the men and women who wear the
uniform of our country, and might lose their lives in service to our
cause do not... we have the responsibility to these men and women
to judge responsibly...when we call them to serve, they will
make us proud... we should make them proud by showing by showing
deliberation, judgment, and statesmanship in the debate that will
determine their mission..."
John McCain now dares to question Barack
Obama's judgment. He tries to say supporting a "Surge" five
years into the war shows he has better judgment.
John has the blood of our soldiers at
his feet. By his own admission, he had "the responsibility to
these men and women to judge responsibly." Instead, he echoed
lies. He took their lives in doing so.
This topic should be entirely off the
table. As should John McCain as a credible candidate.
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