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The Daily Sceptic

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Lies about Iraq

category international | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis author Monday September 27, 2004 14:52author by Dorothy Report this post to the editors

A President who lied?

In every presidential campaign, there is an issue, which rises to the surface and dominates the debate.

In 1992, it was the economy. In 1980, it was inflation, unemployment, and a tarnished national image. In 2004, it is the war on terror, and in particular, the Democrats are attempting to make this election a referendum on the war in Iraq. Time and time again, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry has said his opponent has "misled" the American people on Iraq. At the Democratic National Convention, President Jimmy Carter made the same claim. DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe has gone even further, saying that the president "lied" to the American people about weapons of mass destruction. The question thus remains: did the president lie about Iraq?

Some time ago, while speaking from the Oval Office, the president looked into the eyes of the American public and said, "Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors."


The president added that the purpose of this military action was "to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world." The president explained that Saddam Hussein "must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas, or biological weapons."

During the course of his Oval Office address, the president said that other countries possess weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, but with Saddam, there is one big difference. "He has used them," the president said. "Not once, but repeatedly." "Unleashing chemical weapons against Iranian troops during a decade-long war. Not only against soldiers, but against civilians, firing Scud missiles at the citizens of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iran. And not only against a foreign enemy, but even against his own people, gassing Kurdish civilians in Northern Iraq," the president explained.

Setting an ominous tone, the president declared, "The international community had little doubt then, and I have no doubt today, that left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again."

So... is the president lying? According to the Democrats, led by Sen. Kerry and Terry McAuliffe, because no weapons of mass destruction have been found, the president must be lying to the American public. It is the centerpiece of their presidential campaign. It doesn't seem to make a difference that information on Iraq's WMD program was supported by the CIA, Great Britain's MI6, and Russian Intelligence operatives. No, people simply compare the president's public statements and the lack of current WMDs as evidence that the president lied.

Continuing with our examination of the president's actual statements, the president noted that by working through the United Nations, "The UN Security Council voted 15 to zero to condemn Saddam's actions and to demand that he immediately come into compliance."

"I made it very clear at that time what unconditional cooperation meant, based on existing UN resolutions and Iraq's own commitments," the president said. "And along with Prime Minister Blair of Great Britain, I made it equally clear that if Saddam failed to cooperate fully, we would be prepared to act without delay, diplomacy or warning."

The president added, "This situation presents a clear and present danger to the stability of the Persian Gulf and the safety of people everywhere. The international community gave Saddam one last chance to resume cooperation with the weapons inspectors. Saddam has failed to seize the chance."

Based on these words, some Democrats may already be feeling that churning in their stomachs -- the feeling of a hawkish president building a misleading case against Iraq in order to rush the country to war. But before judgment is passed, a more complete review of the president's statements is in order.



In taking questions from reporters following his Oval Office address, the president was asked whether military action was the right thing to do. "This was the right thing for the country," the president said. "We have given Saddam Hussein chance after chance to cooperate. We said in November that this was the last chance. We acted swiftly because we were ready, thanks to the very fine work of the Defense Department in leaving our assets properly deployed. We had the strong support of the British."

In looking forward regarding the situation in Iraq, the president added, "I hope Saddam will come into cooperation with the inspection system now and comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. But we have to be prepared that he will not, and we must deal with the very real danger he poses. So we will pursue a long-term strategy to contain Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction and work toward the day when Iraq has a government worthy of its people."

In talking about regime change, did the president "show his hand?" Did he want Saddam out of power simply for personal reasons, perhaps to the extent that he would lie to the American people about Iraq's weapons programs?

Regardless of the intelligence gathered and studied by American sources regarding Iraq's WMD programs and the fact that conclusions were supported by both British and Russian intelligence sources, the question still remains as to whether the president lied. Based on the strong and definitive statements cited here by the president, he must be called to account before the American people. The brave servicemen and women who are called into harm's way by the president of the United States must have confidence that their commander-in-chief is acting on credible information and not "lying" to the American public.

Thus, PRESIDENT CLINTON, please come clean. Were you lying about Iraq and WMDs? The American people have a right to know.

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   Excellant piece!!!     j    Mon Sep 27, 2004 15:41 
   sure     Dorothy    Mon Sep 27, 2004 17:03 
   Good article     Joe    Mon Sep 27, 2004 17:22 
   A President who lied?     Michael Hennigan    Mon Sep 27, 2004 18:03 
   the defintion of is, is     redjade    Mon Sep 27, 2004 18:08 
   as i was saying...     redjade    Mon Sep 27, 2004 18:37 
   A new way of lying....     David C.    Mon Sep 27, 2004 19:01 
   Which NAZI?     R. Isible    Mon Sep 27, 2004 19:43 
   What's wrong with the draft?     Anon    Mon Sep 27, 2004 19:55 
 10   Draftees make poor soldiers     righteous pragmatist    Tue Sep 28, 2004 12:08 
 11   The Draft     Bocty    Tue Sep 28, 2004 12:21 
 12   Agree with RP     Agreeable    Tue Sep 28, 2004 12:24 
 13   What military purpose does killing civilians serve?     righteous pragmatist    Tue Sep 28, 2004 14:17 
 14   Thanx     Lerner    Tue Sep 28, 2004 15:05 
 15   A Word from Saint Chomsky     redjade    Tue Sep 28, 2004 17:01 
 16   Huzzah!!     Rebel    Tue Sep 28, 2004 17:22 
 17   Chomsky's funny     Anon    Tue Sep 28, 2004 17:43 
 18   Chomsky has remarkably little to say on this point     R. Isible    Tue Sep 28, 2004 18:40 
 19   That's rich coming from Chomsky     righteous pragmatist    Tue Sep 28, 2004 18:46 
 20   re: RIGHTEOUS PRAGMATIST     ZXBarcalow    Tue Sep 28, 2004 19:36 
 21   Ha ha ha ha ha     righteous pragmatist    Wed Sep 29, 2004 12:26 
 22   And Nicaragua.     righteous pragmatist    Wed Sep 29, 2004 12:32 
 23   Nicaragua de do de do de Nicaragua di do de do     Dorothy    Wed Sep 29, 2004 16:52 
 24   Off the deep end     Joe    Wed Sep 29, 2004 17:06 
 25   Not one single source from Righteous Pragmatist     R. Isible    Wed Sep 29, 2004 17:21 
 26   Another take on the article     James    Wed Sep 29, 2004 18:20 
 27   Dates of the Clinton statements are important     R. Isible    Wed Sep 29, 2004 19:20 
 28   Lies, damned lies     Noel    Wed Sep 29, 2004 19:28 
 29   Analogies, inaccurate analogies     R. Isible    Thu Sep 30, 2004 19:11 
 30   Everyone a liar     Noel    Thu Sep 30, 2004 19:24 
 31   Yes, that's right Noel, those are also liars.     R. Isible    Thu Sep 30, 2004 19:34 
 32   It's all a conspiracy     Noel    Thu Sep 30, 2004 19:49 
 33   Lots of WMDs right here     R. Isible    Thu Sep 30, 2004 19:57 
 34   Big weapons. Big big weapons     Noel    Thu Sep 30, 2004 20:17 
 35   You what?     Slarti    Thu Sep 30, 2004 20:26 
 36   possibilities     Nordie    Thu Sep 30, 2004 21:53 
 37   Pearls before swine     Noel    Thu Sep 30, 2004 22:00 
 38   .     Nordie    Thu Sep 30, 2004 22:32 
 39   re; Righteous Pragmatist     ZXBarcalow    Tue Oct 05, 2004 21:13 
 40   noel nescience     kintama    Wed Oct 06, 2004 00:03 
 41   you're right     me    Wed Oct 06, 2004 08:31 
 42   Emails to Michael Moore from US Troops     redjade    Wed Oct 06, 2004 14:57 
 43   ?     Nordie    Sat Oct 09, 2004 00:34 
 44   noel rumsfeld     kintama    Sun Oct 10, 2004 02:08 
 45   Changing in a phone booth     Noel    Sun Oct 10, 2004 13:09 
 46   gargoyles     kintama    Sun Oct 10, 2004 13:53 
 47   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3738368.stm     toneore    Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:12 
 48   oz     Nordie    Wed Oct 13, 2004 19:21 
 49   donald of oz     kintama    Wed Oct 13, 2004 23:47 
 50   Wild at heart     Noel    Thu Oct 14, 2004 08:46 
 51   noxious gas     kintama    Thu Oct 14, 2004 20:04 
 52   Bush IS hearing a voice.     Tim    Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:17 
 53   voices     kintama    Fri Oct 15, 2004 13:46 
 54   oh magog     believer    Sun Oct 17, 2004 01:02 


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