The next book I buy will be “Mission Accomplished: Or How We Won the War in Iraq” by Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky.
Several excerpts from the book can be read here, but among the gems are:
“Oh, no, we’re not going to have any casualties.”
- President George W. Bush, response attributed to him by the Reverend Pat Robertson, when Robertson warned the president to prepare the nation for “heavy casualties” in the event of an Iraq war, 3/2003
“Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? Oh, I mean, it’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”
- Barbara Bush, former First Lady (and the current president’s mother), on Good Morning America, 3/18/03
“The likely economic effects [of the war in Iraq] would be relatively small… Under every plausible scenario, the negative effect will be quite small relative to the economic benefits.”
- Lawrence Lindsey, White House Economic Advisor, 9/16/02
“I think it will go relatively quickly…weeks rather than months.”
- Vice President Dick Cheney, 3/16/03
The majority of the American public bought this package at one time, and the results have been disastrous. Nearly 4000 Americans are dead, along with several thousand more Iraqi civilians. Our nation is nine trillion dollars in debt, and our economy — despite White House claims to the contrary — is at the start of a recession.
As we get closer to the Democratic Convention, it seems we are getting more prone to forget why this election season became such a source of excitement and encouragement for many of us, and why our involvement seemed so crucial. We started out reaching for the sun, and have gotten waylaid and distracted by all the mud being slung in our path.
If you have not seen yet seen it, I would encourage everyone to watch Rosie O’Donnell’s very poignant and moving tribute to our soldiers in Iraq, 4000Dead. Let the images of those brave young men and women be your beacon.
Cheney’s flippant “so?” was another reminder of the arrogance of the Bush administration, which has acted or sought to act against the real interests of America, and with impunity. It should have caused a cry of pain and outrage across the land, especially among those who, like me, have children or other relatives who serve in the military.
Cheney called Bush “courageous.” It is easy to have courage behind a desk, while ensconced in a privileged White House existence. Bush himself never showed any military courage. He neglected even his stateside service in the National Guard. The real courage belongs to those soldiers who didn’t shirk their commitments, and who have bravely served in Afghanistan and Iraq, even while their own President lied to them and the American people.
Nearly 4000 dead is 4000 too many. We should not forget the how and the why even in the thick of an election season. Our voices must continue to speak out against this war, and we need to keep demanding answers and accountability from our politicians while this administration is still in place. A lot of damage can be done in the 305 remaining days.
7 responses so far ↓
1 rose // Mar 21, 2008 at 11:42 am
i am ashamed to say i voted for him.
2 Alison // Mar 21, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I watched 4000Dead and it’s heart wrenching to see. I hope as these soldiers return home over time that they come to see how they were used and lied to. And I mostly hope that the Bush administration is one day made to pay for what they’ve done to us and to Iraq.
3 peejays // Mar 22, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Hi, Rose. I wonder if you would mind sharing what influenced you most to vote for him? Was it a particular book or news outlet, his speeches, your friends and family? Thanks.
4 rose // Mar 23, 2008 at 2:00 pm
it’s embarassing now peejays, but none of the above. i was sad & angry over 9/11 & wanted revenge. i’m not proud of that but it’s the truth.
5 peejays // Mar 23, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Thanks so much for responding, Rose. It’s not easy to admit our mistakes in judgment, especially if we are embarrassed about them. It’s not easy to answer someone who asks a question about it like I did. I admire your honesty, and that you trusted that I wasn’t asking just to be snarky.
I don’t know any former GWB supporter who admits now they think they were wrong. It’s scary. In 2004 some told me the bloom was off the rose, they didn’t like him so much…but they ended up sitting out the election or else voting for him anyway because they believed the swiftboating mud flung at Kerry. Now, they shrug and change the subject when GWB comes up. As if he is old news. A Cheney “So?” kind of response.
I am embarrassed myself about something huge: that I did not automatically join the antiwar bandwagon regarding the war in Iraq. I was a heavy hearted, foot dragging, quasi-hawk at that time. 9/11 fears. I so wanted to have an open mind about “national defense” that I fooled myself into believing the pro-war views of left wingers (or left of centers). I’ve since seen the light but I’ve never forgiven myself. My hat is off to everyone on the antiwar side who knew right away what folly that war would turn out to be.
6 Ann Parker // Mar 27, 2008 at 9:37 am
Jane, I always read your blog. I don’t always comment, I guess I think you can read my mind. You are an inspiration. When this war started and I saw the twenty mile long army marching into Iraq I had a horrible vision of the slaughter of women and children. I hated when Bush was elected the first time but the second time I felt ill. Fixed elections and lies fostered on the Americans, it could not be true. At that time I was living in Tenneessee where people rallied in the streets for their hero George Bush. Pro war, Religeous zelots, and die hard republicans surrounded me. I counted the days when I could see the last of them in my rear view mirror and that day finally came. During those days Tom DeLay spoke to a huge convention of Baptists in Nashville all drinking the kool aid. In disbelief I watched things happen that I never thought possible. John Kerry was on a late night talk show and the Nashville station ran the “test of the American broadcast system” over and over until he was no longer on. They did it whenever someone was speaking out against Bush on any show. There were always a scant handful of protesters when Bush came to town for a fundraiser (every two months). The newspapers and TV cameras covered the protesters briefly by showing them from the back so the words on the signs could not be seen. This is how George Bush got elected. By people who were blind to the truth. They were blind because it was being hidden from them and because they did not seek it out . I heard people laugh at the voters who complained about waiting six hours in the rain to cast their vote in Ohio. I stood behind a man in line at a store who said to the person with him about Kerry, “Ain’t no Yankee gonna come down here and tell us what to do”. How can you fight that kind of ignorance? How can we stand it?
7 Jan.M.M. // Mar 30, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Having grown up in a rural area where conservative was the norm- I welcomed the socially liberal 60s/70s, (still had hawkish gov’t policies). It was then that I found my own voice. It has been depressing to watch the same old prejudices & bloodlust rear their ugly heads. I finally realized that the same battles have to be fought again & again- in every new generation. We hold onto just a small bit of progress before the reactionaries attack. At this rate, we will not be able to call our culture civilized for centuries. My problem is anger- my anger- I feel like a speck of powerless nothingness. I have lost patience w/ the lack of common sense. Politics has everything to do w/ our lives. I imagine a revolution- but that would probably end in chaos. Too many people’s lack of a sense of urgency to change the awful present- drives me nuts! But then, I have always been close to the edge of sanity.
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