{"article":{"id":67183,"heading":"Democrats helped Bush lie about Iraq's","author":"Duane J. Roberts","created":"2003-06-26 19:01:04","modified":"2003-06-26 19:01:04","last_modified":"Fri, 27 Jun 2003 02:01:04","article":"

DEMOCRATS HELPED BUSH LIE ABOUT IRAQ'S \"WMD\"

CAPABILITIES

By Duane J. Roberts

6\/25\/03

Recently, articles have been popping up in various

newspapers across the country alleging that President

George W. Bush basically lied about Saddam Hussein's

possession of \"weapons of mass destruction\" (WMD) to

justify the use of military force against Iraq.

Although I don't disagree with this premise, most of

the articles I've read so far have curiously omitted

one key fact: that prominent members of the Democratic

Party joined along with the Bush to help him

perpetrate this horrendous fraud against the American

people.

Without offering any proof whatsoever, many key

Democrats eagerly jumped aboard the bandwagon and made

statements which implied they too had intimate and

detailed knowledge of Saddam's \"vast arsenal\" of

chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. (see the

brief list I compiled below)

Before the war, some of them spent a considerable

amount of time running around Washington, D.C.

screaming at the top of their lungs claiming that the

United States needed to take \"immediate action\"

against Iraq before we all suffer from another tragedy

like \"9-11.\"

For the most part, the \"WMD\" argument is nothing more

than crude propaganda that was created for the purpose

of scaring the public into blindly supporting military

action around the world that serves the interests of

U.S. imperialism.

In the case of Iraq, both Democrats and Republicans

have spent the past decade whipping up phony

allegations of its \"WMD\" capabilities to justify

imposing harsh economic sanctions against it and to

maintain a heavy U.S. military presence in the Middle

East.

When it finally became feasible for United States to

take possession of Iraq outright, the \"WMD\" lie became

a useful tool in mobilizing public opinion to support

outright aggression against it under the pretext that

the \"Butcher of Baghdad\" was plotting to attack us

first.

The United States doesn't want \"third world\" nations

to develop or possess any kind of \"WMD's\" because it

would prevent it from having unfettered access of

their raw materials and markets -- in the situation of

Iraq, we're talking about control of over more than

110 billion barrels of crude oil.

In the contemporary era, it appears that the only way

a smaller nation can prevent itself from being

swallowed up by a \"great power\" like the United States

is to create a small arsenal of \"WMD's\" it can use to

discourage any would-be future aggressor.

Had Iraq had any \"WMD's\" in its possession, its highly

doubtful that the Bush administration would have

actually risked an invasion for fear that any U.S.

army division racing up the road toward Baghdad might

have been vaporized in a ball of fire.

Given the bi-partisan nature of the lies that have

been spread about Iraq's \"WMD's\", I don't really

expect much of anything to come out of any

Congressional inquiries that might held into this

matter, as both the Democrats and Republicans will

work very hard to cover-up each others role in

perpetuating this fraud.

As an example of this, I point out that Congressman

Dennis Kucinich, while being one of the first

politicians to publicly blast President Bush for lying

to the American people about Iraq, has failed to

criticize any of his fellow Democrats for doing the

exact same thing.

As long as the foxes are delegated with the task of

guarding the hen house, don't ever expect the chickens

to be safe.

duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com<\/a>





STATEMENTS AND QUOTES

\"I share the [Bush] administration's goals in dealing

with Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction.\"

-- Congressman Dick Gephardt (D-Iowa)

September 19, 2002

http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2002\/ALLPOLITICS\/09\/19\/bush.congress.iraq\/<\/a>



\"As we survey the landscape of threats to our security

in the years ahead, the greatest are terrorists like

Al Qaeda and rogue regimes like Saddam Hussein's.

Saddam hates America and Americans and is working

furiously to accumulate deadly weapons of mass

destruction, and the missiles, planes, and unmanned

aerial vehicles to use in attacking distant targets

.... The essential facts are known. We know of the

weapons in Saddam's possession: chemical, biological,

and nuclear in time. We know of his unequaled

willingness to use them. We know his history. His

invasions of his neighbors. His dreams of achieving

hegemonic control over the Arab world. His record of

anti-American rage. His willingness to terrorize, to

slaughter, to suppress his own people and others. We

need not stretch to imagine nightmare scenarios in

which Saddam makes common cause with the terrorists

who want to kill us Americans and destroy our way of

life.\"

-- Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut)

September 13, 2002

http:\/\/www.senate.gov\/~lieberman\/speeches\/02\/09\/2002913614.html<\/a>



\"While the distance between the United States and Iraq

is great, Saddam Hussein's ability to use his chemical

and biological weapons against us is not constrained

by geography - it can be accomplished in a number of

different ways - which is what makes this threat so

real and persuasive.\"

-- Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California)

October 10, 2002

http:\/\/www.senate.gov\/~feinstein\/Releases02\/r-iraq10.htm<\/a>



\"Whether one agrees or disagrees with the

Administration’s policy towards Iraq, I don’t think

there can be any question about Saddam’s conduct. He

has systematically violated, over the course of the

past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that

has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical

and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This

he has refused to do. He lies and cheats; he snubs the

mandate and authority of international weapons

inspectors; and he games the system to keep buying

time against enforcement of the just and legitimate

demands of the United Nations, the Security Council,

the United States and our allies. Those are simply the

facts.\"

-- Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-California)

October 10, 2002

http:\/\/www.waxman.house.gov\/news_files\/news_statements_res_iraq_10_10_02.htm<\/a>



\"In the four years since the inspectors left,

intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has

worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons

stock, his missile delivery capability, and his

nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and

sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members,

though there is apparently no evidence of his

involvement in the terrible events of September 11,

2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked,

Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity

to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep

trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed

in that endeavor, he could alter the political and

security landscape of the Middle East, which as we

know all too well affects American security. Now this

much is undisputed.\"

-- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York)

October 10, 2002

http:\/\/clinton.senate.gov\/speeches\/iraq_101002.html<\/a>



\"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein

is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of

the region. He has ignored the mandates of the United

Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction

and the means of delivering them.\"

-- Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan)

September 19, 2002

http:\/\/levin.senate.gov\/floor\/091902cs1.htm<\/a>



\"Saddam Hussein's regime represents a grave threat to

America and our allies, including our vital ally,

Israel. For more than two decades, Saddam Hussein has

sought weapons of mass destruction through every

available means. We know that he has chemical and

biological weapons. He has already used them against

his neighbors and his own people, and is trying to

build more. We know that he is doing everything he can

to build nuclear weapons, and we know that each day he

gets closer to achieving that goal.\"

-- Senator John Edwards (D-North Carolina)

October 10, 2002

http:\/\/edwards.senate.gov\/statements\/20021010_iraq.html<\/a>



\"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling

evidence that Saddam Hussein has and has had for a

number of years a developing capacity for the

production and storage of weapons of mass destruction.

At what point we do what President Kennedy did in

1962, which is to make that information available to

the American people and to the international community

as a predicate for whatever use of force will follow,

is going to be an important strategic decision for

this administration.\"

-- Senator Bob Graham (D-Florida)

Quoted from \"Meet the Press\"

December 8, 2002

http:\/\/www.npr.org\/programs\/atc\/transcripts\/2002\/dec\/021208.ohara.html<\/a>



\"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is

working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and

will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five

years. And that may happen sooner if he can obtain

access to enriched uranium from foreign sources --

something that is not that difficult in the current

world. We also should remember we have always

underestimated the progress Saddam has made in

development of weapons of mass destruction.\"

-- Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-West Virginia)

October 10, 2002

http:\/\/rockefeller.senate.gov\/2002\/flrstmt0102002.html<\/a>



\"Make no mistake: Saddam Hussein is a ruthless tyrant,

and he must give up his weapons of mass destruction.

We support the President in the course he has followed

so far -- working with Congress, working with the

United Nations, insisting on strong and unfettered

inspections. We need allies today in 2003, just as

much as we needed them in Desert Storm and just as we

needed them on D-Day in 1944, when American soldiers

-- including my father -- fought to vanquish the Nazi

threat. We must convince the world that Saddam Hussein

is not America's problem alone -- he's the world's

problem. And we urge President Bush to stay this

course for we are far stronger when we stand with

other nations than when we stand alone.\"

-- Governor Gary Locke (D-Washington)

Democratic Response to President Bush's

\"State of the Union\" address

January 28, 2003

http:\/\/usembassy-australia.state.gov\/hyper\/2003\/0129\/epf303.htm<\/a>



\"[W]ithout question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein.

He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an

oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his

offenses. He presents a particularly grievous threat

because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation.

He miscalculated an eight-year war with Iran. He

miscalculated the invasion of Kuwait. He miscalculated

America's response to that act of naked aggression. He

miscalculated the result of setting oil rigs on fire.

He miscalculated the impact of sending scuds into

Israel and trying to assassinate an American

President. He miscalculated his own military strength.

He miscalculated the Arab world's response to his

misconduct. And now he is miscalculating America's

response to his continued deceit and his consistent

grasp for weapons of mass destruction. That is why the

world, through the United Nations Security Council,

has spoken with one voice, demanding that Iraq

disclose its weapons programs and disarm. So the

threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass

destruction is real ...\"

-- Senator John Kerry (D-Massachussetts)

January 23, 2003

http:\/\/www.johnkerry.com\/site\/PageServer?pagename=spc_2003_0123<\/a>

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