August 27, 2005

The sun came up today, the truth remains worth fighting for. I have seen over the past few weeks the evolution of the GOP talking points to confront the very real saga of Cindy Sheehan, the failings in Iraq and the horrific nosedive in the poll numbers for this administration. It is time to cut through the most popular talking points with the realities.

1) Lie # 1 - We are spreading democracy.

Truth – Iraq was a secular Islamic nation prior to our intervention, in fact it was the only secular Islamic nation in the region. Women did not have to cover their faces; kids listened to secular music, etc. It has now been confirmed that the drafts of the new Iraq constitution is in fact setting up a theocracy based on Islamic fundamentalism, similar to the system set up in Iran. Today GOP Senator Mitch McConnell tried to mislead about the upcoming constitution saying that while Islam was "mentioned", it was not the controlling law of the land. Well, reading the constitution finds this direct quote: "No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam."

2) Lie # 2 – This is about freedom and the Iraqi people.

Truth – While certainly multi-faceted, it appears that this is largely an economic venture. I urge you to review this article:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9698.htm

To sum it up, Saddam Hussein had decided in 2000 to stop using the dollar as the currency for buying and selling his oil. The US had a monopoly on the dollar as the currency for oil trade and this move by Hussein was potentially devastating, especially when you consider the decline of the dollar versus the euro. As soon as we took over the country after ousting Saddam, we switched the exchange back to dollars to protect the hegemony. By the way, Iran is planning on not only doing the same thing, but they will be opening the Iranian Bourse in 2006, which will allow other countries to choose if the would prefer a petroeuro or a petrodollar. Given the continued decline of the dollar and the fact that the Euro is now beating the dollar, this will be far worse than what Iraq had tried to do. Think about that when you start hearing nonsense about Iran having nuclear ambitions.

3) Lie # 3 - We Must Finish the Mission

Truth - The "stay the course" defense is fatally flawed. We live in a system where the war powers reside in Congress not the president and while the right is fond of pointing out that we voted on this already, they omit a large secret. We voted on the war based on the rationale Bush used, which was Weapons of Mass Destruction. Now that we know there are no WMD, the mission, is over. The Machiavellian response of "Saddam was a bad guy" is not American. You cannot give a president that much power where he can decide after a war, why he led the country to war.

4) Lie # 4 – There were free elections in Iraq

Truth – The elections were as free as ours, which is to say they were rigged. The ultimate goal was not to have free elections, but to put a puppet regime in power that would be friendly toward the administration in Washington. Here is a link to these facts:

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050725fa_fact

If you want to know what is going on in Iraq for real, check out this link:

http://www.juancole.com/

5) Lie # 5 – Protestors weaken troop morale.

Truth – This is a most insidious lie. Troop morale is low because we have not provided the troops with enough support, equipment or body armor. Troop morale is low because they realize they are in a mess. Troop morale is low because they realize their Commander in Chief sent them into harms way for lies. Soldiers fight to protect the very right of dissent so it is completely disingenuous to then say dissent lowers morale.

6) Lie # 6 – Criticism should not come during a time of war. Protestors do not support the troops.

Truth – This is completely nonsensical. By definition then, all wars are good. I can point to plenty of GOP quotes against Clinton going into Bosnia, including from Mr. Bush himself. In fact, during a time of war is when we should be the most critical as lives are at risk and we need to ensure the utmost of integrity for the lives that will be lost. The fact of the matter is that the antiwar lobby supports the troops more that the pro war lobby. We want the troops home alive, whereas the pro-war folks want to continue to risk their lives for what we now know were lies. You can absolutely support the troops, but protest the policies that put them in harms way when they should not be.

7) Lie # 7 – The anti-war crowd is advocating "cutting and running".

Truth – This is designed to make you feel like a coward. The fact is no one is suggesting leaving Iraq to its own devices. What we do not want is the permanent military bases they are building and the Army planning for a minimum of four more years in Iraq. There is an international community who will gladly assist in any transitional process.

8) Lie # 8 – Leaving Iraq would send the wrong message to "the enemy".

Truth – Booga-booga! The enemy is the insurgents, who are Iraqis. If there is an international effort to pull the country together that might actually be the best way to avoid civil war. The notion that most of the fighters are from other countries is not supported and not accurate. Iraq has three majority ethnicities. Under Saddam one ruled and one was persecuted. Under us, we have flipped those two groups. The group that was in control does not like that, so they fight for their country. We in turn call them "insurgents." Leaving Iraq would send the right message to everyone, most importantly the troops.

9) Lie # 9 – The Iraq-911-al Qaeda connection that isn’t.

Truth - A favorite of the right wing, they often mix their message to confuse you. When discussing the need to continue the war, they will invoke 911, which had absolutely nothing to do with Iraq, as even the stacked 911 commission had to admit to. Not satisfied with perpetuating that lie, often you will hear about how al Qaeda was in Iraq because that was where Zarqawi was prior to us taking Saddam out. What they omit is that Zarqawi was in the northern territories, which Saddam had no control over. In fact, we were in charge of that section and could have take Zarqawi out whenever we wanted to, but Bush did not. The facts are clear. Bin Laden and al Qaeda hated Saddam because of the secular nature of his country. There simply was no connection between Iraq and terror against this country.

10) Lie # 10 – We must honor the sacrifice of the dead, by killing more people.

Truth – This is at the heart of Cindy Sheehan’s protest. There is nothing honorable about killing more young men and women to somehow make up for the others who died before them. The issue is simple. If you have a just cause, and the mission is not over, then you honor your dead by completing the mission. In this case however, the war was based on lies, making the mission dishonorable. You do not honor the fallen by allowing anymore unnecessary deaths to occur for the same lie. Instead, you honor the dead by prosecuting the criminals who lied to congress to go to war, that led to their deaths. You honor their memory by assuming their mother knows a bit more about them then you do. You honor them by bringing them home before one more child dies for the lies that started this war.

Be prepared America. The war machine will stop at nothing to continue to perpetuate their wars. They will wrap themselves up in the flag while they gut your civil liberties. They will lie again to cover up the lies they have already told. A nation has been stirred from its slumber from a most unlikely of sources, a grieving mother who simply wanted to ask why her son had to die. She knows the answers she would have received would have been untruths and she was prepared to call the president on those lies. Knowing this, Bush decided to take what he thought was the easy way out and just ignore her, hoping she would go away after some time in the blistering sun of Texas in August. What he had not anticipated was her plight, her grief, and something he does not understand, her honesty has galvanized this nation. The more they lie about her, the stronger she becomes. The more they smear her, the more desperate they appear. America is on to the talking points and spin. They are no longer persuaded. The next time someone tries to spout these lies to you, use this as your response and always end with giving them this link:

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/images/military_enlistment
.pdf

This is the official enlistment form for the armed forces. If this war is so damn noble, then ask them to put their blood where their mouth is. The quickest way to silence a bully is to challenge them directly. It is always someone else’s kid that has to die for their cause. Old men make war, but it is young men that die in them. Not one more drop of the blood of the innocents should be shed for the lies of men who will not risk their own, knowing the cause is ignoble at its core.




Anthony Wade, a contributing writer to opednews.com, is dedicated to educating the populace to the lies and abuses of the government. He is a 37-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive and professional Rehabilitation Counselor working with the poor and disabled, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess. Anthony Wade’s Archive: http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm
Email Anthony: takebacktheus@yahoo.com