Truespeak

Over the last two nights Truespeak has been breaking down the recent report from the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities blah, blah, blah. Why? Because the actual media is too preoccupied with dead people to focus on the fact that we royally fucked up when we went to war in Iraq. After all, what's 1500 soldiers lives worth anyway? Shit, we got a dead Pope, here.

So what have we learned? Basically we've learned that the intelligence community failed to properly validate any information, failed to vet any of their sources, and based their entire conclusion on the testimony of of a person named Curveball who later turned out to be completely unreliable. Oh, and they ignored any evidence that was contrary to their preconceived notions about Iraq's WMD.

By December, 2002, (nearly two months before Powell's presentation to the UN and three months before the beginning of the Iraq invasion) the intelligence community was at odds with itself over the validity of their information. Serious questions were being raised during some heated high-level meetings. Yet time and time again, the American public was told that Iraq was known to possess weapons of "mass destruction/murder." There was no qualifier to any of these statements. They were blatant declarations of fact. We were told, without question, that he had them and would not hesitate to use them against us. We couldn't wait any longer.

Oh, how wrong that was. Let's climb aboard the wayback machine, shall we, and travel back in time to those three months between December, 2002, when the questions first arose and March, 2003, when the invasion began. Let's see just what we were told.

" The burden now is on Iraq's dictator to disclose and destroy his arsenal of weapons. If he refuses, then for the sake of peace, the United States will lead a coalition to disarm the Iraqi regime and free the Iraqi people." - George W. Bush, December 28, 2002

"...an attack from Saddam Hussein or a surrogate of Saddam Hussein would cripple our economy. My biggest job and most important job is to protect the security of the American people, and I am going to do that. And I had made the case and will continue to make the case that Saddam Hussein -- a Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is a threat to the security of the American people." - George W. Bush, December 31, 2002

"[Saddam] is a man who likes to play games and charades. The question is, will Saddam Hussein disarm. The world has asked him to disarm from weapons of mass destruction. The first indication isn't very positive that he will voluntarily disarm. After all, he put out a declaration that the world realized was false. And the inspectors are there to verify whether or not he is disarming. You hear these reports about Iraqi scientists being interviewed, but there's a "minder" in the room.

You know, Saddam Hussein -- hopefully he realizes we're serious, and hopefully he disarms peacefully. He's a danger to the American people, he's a danger to our friends and allies. For 11 long years, the world has dealt with him. And now he's got to understand, his day of reckoning is coming. And therefore, he must disarm voluntarily, I hope he does." - George W. Bush, January 2, 2003

"The Iraqi regime is a grave threat to the United States. The Iraqi regime is a threat to any American and to threats who are friends of America.

Why do I say that? Well, first of all, the leader in Iraq has publicly proclaimed his hatred for our country and what we stand for. The Iraqi regime has a record -- a record of torturing their own people, a brutal record and a record of reckless aggression against those in their neighborhood.

The Iraqi regime has used weapons of mass destruction. They not only had weapons of mass destruction, they used weapons of mass destruction. They used weapons of mass destruction on people in other countries, they have used weapons of mass destruction on their own people. That's why I say Iraq is a threat, a real threat.

Four years ago, U.N. inspectors concluded that Iraq had failed to amount -- account for large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, weapons capable of killing millions. In last month's declaration, Iraq again failed to account for those weapons.

The Iraqi dictator did not even attempt to submit a credible declaration. We can now be certain that he holds the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council and its resolutions in contempt. He really doesn't care about the opinion of mankind. Saddam Hussein was given a path to peace; thus far, he has chosen the path of defiance." - George W. Bush, January3, 2003

"Time is running out on Saddam Hussein. He must disarm. I'm sick and tired of games and deception." - George W. Bush, January 14, 2003

"Why We Know Iraq is Lying" A Column by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, January 23, 2003

"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands. He's not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them -- despite Iraq's recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs. These are designed to produce germ warfare agents, and can be moved from place to a place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein has not disclosed these facilities. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide.

The dictator of Iraq is not disarming. To the contrary; he is deceiving. From intelligence sources we know, for instance, that thousands of Iraqi security personnel are at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors, sanitizing inspection sites and monitoring the inspectors themselves. Iraqi officials accompany the inspectors in order to intimidate witnesses." - George W. Bush, January 28, 2003

"Saddam Hussein is not disarming. He is a danger to the world. He must disarm." - George W. Bush, January 31, 2003

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council - February 5, 2003

"The regime has never accounted for a vast arsenal of deadly biological and chemical weapons. To the contrary; the regime is pursuing an elaborate campaign to conceal its weapons materiels, and to hide or intimidate key experts and scientists, all in direct defiance of Security Council 1441." - George W. Bush, February 6, 2003

"On Wednesday, Secretary of State Powell briefed the United Nations Security Council on Iraq's illegal weapons program, its attempts to hide those weapons, and its links to terrorist groups.

The Iraqi regime's violations of Security Council Resolutions are evident, they are dangerous to America and the world, and they continue to this hour.

The regime has never accounted for a vast arsenal of deadly, biological and chemical weapons. To the contrary, the regime is pursuing an elaborate campaign to conceal its weapons materials and to hide or intimidate key experts and scientists. This effort of deception is directed from the highest levels of the Iraqi regime, including Saddam Hussein, his son, Iraq's vice president and the very official responsible for cooperating with inspectors.

The Iraqi regime has actively and secretly attempted to obtain equipment needed to produce chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Firsthand witnesses have informed us that Iraq has at least seven mobile factories for the production of biological agents -- equipment mounted on trucks and rails to evade discovery. " - George W. Bush, February 8, 2003

"...when we hear of stories about weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a brutal dictator, who hates America, we need to take that seriously, and we are. And when we find out there's links between Baghdad and a killer who actually ordered the killing of one of our fellow citizens, we've got to realize the -- what that means to our future." - George W. Bush, February 9, 2003

"This war requires us to understand that terror is broader than one international network, that these terrorist networks have got connections -- in some cases, to countries run by outlaw dictators. And that's the issue with Iraq. When I speak about the war on terror, I not only talk about al Qaeda, I talk about Iraq -- because, after all, Saddam Hussein has got weapons of mass destruction and he's used them." - George W. Bush, February 14, 2003

"In Iraq, a dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilized world -- and we will not allow it. This same tyrant has close ties to terrorist organizations, and could supply them with the terrible means to strike this country -- and America will not permit it. The danger posed by Saddam Hussein and his weapons cannot be ignored or wished away. The danger must be confronted. We hope that the Iraqi regime will meet the demands of the United Nations and disarm, fully and peacefully. If it does not, we are prepared to disarm Iraq by force. Either way, this danger will be removed.

The safety of the American people depends on ending this direct and growing threat." - George W. Bush, February 26, 2003

" America is determined to enforce the demands of the United Nations Security Council by confronting the grave and growing danger of Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction. This dictator will not be allowed to intimidate and blackmail the civilized world, or to supply his terrible weapons to terrorist groups, who would not hesitate to use them against us. The safety of the American people depends on ending this threat." - George W. Bush, March 1, 2003

"it is clear that Saddam Hussein is still violating the demands of the United Nations by refusing to disarm.

Iraqi's dictator has made a public show of producing and destroying a few prohibited missiles. Yet, our intelligence shows that even as he is destroying these few missiles, he has ordered the continued production of the very same type of missiles. Iraqi operatives continue to play a shell game with inspectors, moving suspected prohibited materials to different locations every 12 to 24 hours." - George W. Bush, March 8, 2003

"The chemical attack on Halabja -- just one of 40 targeted at Iraq's own people -- provided a glimpse of the crimes Saddam Hussein is willing to commit, and the kind of threat he now presents to the entire world. He is among history's cruelest dictators, and he is arming himself with the world's most terrible weapons." - George W. Bush, March 15, 2003

"The dictator of Iraq and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the security of free nations. He is a danger to his neighbors. He's a sponsor of terrorism. He's an obstacle to progress in the Middle East. For decades he has been the cruel, cruel oppressor of the Iraq people.

[... ]

Saddam Hussein has a history of mass murder. He possesses the weapons of mass murder." - George W. Bush, March 16, 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." - George W. Bush, March 17, 2003

Nineteen times in three months and this doesn't include any statements from Cheney or Rumsfeld. And all this time, there were questions about the veracity of the intelligence.

Now some have argued that you can't blame Bush because he was given bad information. But I think Ickabod says it best when he says:

Let's assume i'm the CEO of Company X, and the CFO and the 3 Vice Presidents of the company all come to me and say we need to acquire Company Y. Our stock will double and we'll be leading the high life if we do. I ask them if they're sure. They say yes. I tell them to go back and re-run the numbers to make doubly sure. They come back after having done so and tell me they're triply sure. So i sign off on the purchase of Company Y based on their triply sure recommendation. And of course, my company, Company X then goes bankrupt in 8 months after the acquisition. And i'm gonna go around telling people the fault lies with the CFO and the 3 Vice Presidents? I had nothing to do with it? I was misled? And i'm gonna expect that to fly with the shareholders??

Clearly not.

Look, Bill Clinton was in favor of regime change in Iraq. I think most people would have been happy to see Saddam removed from power, but regime change alone was not going to sell this war to the American people. Bush knew that. Without the charges of WMD, this was a dead issue. During the run-up to the invasion, Bush and the rest of his administration sold this war to the American public using false claims. For the last three months prior to the war the intelligence community couldn't come to a consensus on whether or not the information was reliable. We clearly could have waited another couple of months to know for sure. But had we waited and found out the information was unreliable, the invasion wouldn't have happened. Bush had to act when he did whether he had good information or not.

What it comes down to is this: George W. Bush, his administration, and the intelligence community misled the American public into a war that has cost our nation over 1500 lives. This was either a fuck-up of colossal proportion or this was the deadliest lie ever told to the American people. Either way, this administration should be ashamed.

But don't you all worry your pretty little heads about this little old report. Shit, we got a dead Pope, here.