I TOLD YOU SO !!! THE FACTS AND 31% PREZ PROVE I WAS RIGHT !!!

I TOLD YOU SO !!! THE FACTS AND 31% PREZ PROVE I WAS RIGHT !!!

The following text in black was written and published in a daily newspaper BEFORE "Operation Iraqi Freedom" began. Like many other dissenting voices at that time, the facts have proven my concerns to have been CORRECT and the neocon "patriots" WRONG. Text in Red are inserts to remind readers of the original date and additions at the time of this publication.
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originally published in Spring of 2003 BEFORE Bush invaded Iraq:

In the 1950s, I grew up watching John Wayne (and others) WWII action genre movies on local TV. Those films made during the war were clearly patriotic propaganda for the home-front, and properly so, and many films of that genre made after the war were homages to the sacrifices by my parents' generation. There was never any doubt about who were the "good guys" and "bad guys." America and its allies were clearly justified in prosecuting an officially delcared war against brutal imperialistic and totalitarian aggression.

Our world today is no less brutal and there is certainly no shortage of "bad guys" of which Saddam Hussein is the current poster-boy. But the complexity of today's world is ironically evident since Saddam was not long ago a "good guy" when he used weapons of mass destruction (acquired with the help of the western powers) against the Iranian soldiers of Ayatollah Khomeini(remember the hostages ?) who was then the poster-boy of evil's menace to the world.

(published early Spring 2003)
President Bush now preaches it is Saddam who is so evil immediate military action is necessary, and W's supporters are constantly on TV seeking to rally a "Coalition of the Willing," true believers in the need for a first strike invasion of Iraq. Their message increasingly has the tone of religious zeal, a call to the faithful to mount a crusade ... the "willing" who proclaim a moral certitude so profound it supercedes any consideration of the cost of blood, treasure, and long-term consequences of an invasion and occupation of Iraq. ( 31% Prez rating PROVES how correct I was)The NeoCon hawks often deride opponents of immediate war as appeasers and morally too weak to take action against the evil Saddam. Apparently even conservative Pope John Paul II (R.I.P.)lacks such moral courage.

The debate is ever more being presented ("spun" by W's minions)as between those who believe in the necessary righteousness of the proposed war and those who are against the efforts of the righteous.
But any implication by the war zealots that opposition to the immediate invasion of Iraq is unpatriotic, weak-willed, and unconcerned about the safety of Americans is jingoism of the worst kind and creative of an unnecessary bitterness within our body politic.

The crusaders constantly assure us the vast oil reserves in Iraq have nothing to do with their desire to replace Saddam with a regime more friendly to American interests. The President says the oil wealth of Iraq will be used to build a model democracy in the Middle East. (this is really working out well, isn't it ???) But just who is going to buy and then resell the black gold beneath the sands of Iraq? Could it be American and British oil companies? And which of this administration's corporate supporters will land the huge contracts to rebuild what our militray destroys in Iraq?? (I was more correct than could be expected on this one, with VP Cheney's old company, Halliburton, reaping the lion's share ... and sadly, the Iraqi oil STILL is NOT flowing, current gasoline prices are soaring, and our serivce people are still dying and the taxpayers still paying)

But forget the oil ! We are told this war is about WMDs and Saddam's evil willingness to have them used against Americans by terrorists. If this is true, is the best strategy to protect Americans from Saddam's WMDs the deployment of hundreds of thousands of Americans closer to them? (actually far less than that, and now generally conceded as one of the reasons for the current mess) Is there any doubt Saddam would use WMDs at his disposal against an invading army intending to depose his regime ? But if Saddam does NOT use WMDs against our troops, where is the justification for invasion of Iraq ? (of course, we now know for sure there NEVER were any WMDs as the UN weapons inspectors asserted at the time, and the administration's hand-picked inspector, Mr Kay, came to the same conclusion. And the ultimate irony is the Director of CIA (Tenet) who confirmed false information to W was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his incompetance.)
And, will this Bush Administration, its Pentagon and Veterans Adminstration guarantee long-term care to our veterans from a war involving WMDs ?

Let us hope an internal coup against Saddam will make ground action unnecessary for our military personnel and that the new regime will comply with destruction of whatever WMDs (repeat, NONE) exist. In such a case, the saber rattling will have served a useful purpose.

But if oil and handing out huge construction contracts are not reasons for our military presence in Iraq, there would no need for occupation forces which would be prime targets for terrorists and a recruitment tool for new terrorists by those who hate the West. The battle may be short, but the aftermath may drag on for years and billions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of American lives.(how more correct could I have been on the last sentence???????)

Surely this administration does not have greater hubris than the Roman Empire which thought its destiny was to bring a higher level of civilization to the Middle East through military conquest. Are we that arrogant ? (obviously the neocon ideologues and W are) Are we willing for our troops to endure terrorist snipers and bombers as a consequence? (Insurgency, anyone ... if this dog-loving good ol' boy in Tennessee could foresee this possibilty, how stupid is this crowd now running the show ???) Do we really want a budding American Gestapo in the name of Homeland Security designed to thwart highly motivated terrorists which our current foreign policy of invading the Middle East will surely increase in numbers, and yes, increase their own sense of righteous zeal ?

Please remember the black text was written and published BEFORE the Invasion of Iraq.

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