Fear-mongers and War-mongers

Thanks to Jim Dwyer.


Fear-mongers and War-mongers.
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It looks like the Republican fear mongers are at it again slinging political mud on the internet to scare the American voter. Only this year they're starting a little earlier than four years ago when they launched the "Swift Boat" attacks against Kerry. It seems like the Republicans' favorite campaign tactic is: "If you're trailing in the polls and can't win an election on the issues, then do anything you can to scare people into voting for you."

Four years ago in 2004, Bush's "Campaign of Lies and Terror" told the American electorate to fear the terrorists. We were told that we went to war against Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction. We were told its better to fight the terrorists over there than over here. Then, when no weapons of mass destruction were found, we were told Iraq and the world were better off without Saddam Hussein. We were lead to believe that Iraq and Saddam were somehow responsible for 9/11. Another lie.

We've been told we were in Iraq to bring democracy to a country whose Sheite and Sunni people only seem to be interested in fighting over control of their country's oil reserves. We've been told all was going well with the war in Iraq and that the insurgency wouldn't last. We've been told there was no civil war. We've been told that we're in Iraq to fight al Qaeda in spite of the fact that al Qaeda never existed in Iraq until Bush & Cheney started this war. We've been told that "the surge"
would give the Iraqi politicians time to take control of their government, to quell the insurgency, and to stop the fighting between the Sunni and Sheite militias. But the Iraqi government has yet to respond.

Four years ago during the 2004 campaign,Bush said that terrorists would never attack the United States on his watch. Incredible! The man must have amnesia! The attacks of September 11, 2001 happened on his watch.

Maybe he should have paid some attention to terrorism when he took office on January 20, 2001. But, of course, he did nothing to address terrorism in the first 7 months of his first term. Then he stood at the foot of the collapsed twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and hypocritically promised to bring the terrorists to justice. Seven years later bin Laden is still a free man taunting and threatening the rest of the world.

Instead of focusing on the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban, al Qaeda, and bin Laden, Bush insisted on attacking Iraq based on overblown and false "intelligence" and stretching our military resources so thin we couldn't do a good job in either war. How many tours of duty do our men and women in uniform have to make to Iraq or Afghanistan? How many families have suffered because a mother or father in the National Guard has been sent on multiple tours to fight these wars. Over 4000 Americangirls and boys have been killed in the Iraq war alone and tens of thousands have suffered serious injuries. Many others have returned home suffering psychological trauma, and many of them have committed suicide.
Altogether, bush is seen as a monster who has killed over one million
people-- often, women and kids-- in the Middle East, in his useless greedbased war.

What have been the costs and gains for Iraq? Iraq is in chaos; businesses, hospitals, and schools are closed; oil production in Iraq is down and continues to be threatened by insurgent attacks; millions of Iraqis and their children are refuges in Jordan, Syria, and other countries; hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead; the "democratic" Iraqi government is completely ineffective and might well become another Sheite theocracy like Iran; and Iran -- our nemesis in the Middle East -- is now the dominant power in the region.

Bush has squandered thousands of billions of dollars fighting this useless and hateful war in Iraq. Our national debt has spiraled out of control. The US dollar is worth half of its value against the Euro 10 years ago. Oil prices are outrageous. Food prices are sky-rocketing.

Our international image has been tarnished by the war and the disgraceful actions at Abu Graib and Guantanamo. And george bush, concerned about only his legacy, is feebly trying to negotiate peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Way to go George! Just like "Browney" (head of FEMA) after Hurricane Katrina, your doing one helluva job! And according to recent polls a whopping 23% of the American public agrees with that. The dismal record of the Bush/Cheny administration has been atrocious, and at 23% GW's approval ratings are at an all-time low for a US President. Maybe the great majority of the American public has at last become tired of the Bush administration's lies; tired of being manipulated by fear.

But the Republicans want Americans to forget all about the failures of this administration. They want us to fear putting a black man in the White House and to vote instead for John McCain who wouldn't care if we spent another 100 years in Iraq. Really! He wants to keep American troops in Iraq permanently just like we did after WWII in Europe!

Bush and Cheney have been fighting this war for 5 years and 3 months, longer than the US fought in WWII (3 years & 8 months), and there is no end in sight. The Republicans don't even talk about an exit strategy. So why should Americans elect another President who wants to stay in Iraq indefinitely? Is it because we fear electing a black man?

I don't fear a black man in the White House, especially one that says we shouldn't send our young men and women to fight stupid, unnecessary, treasury-draining wars. What I fear is the stupidity and arrogance of this administration. What I fear is the inability of the American electorate to wake up and take an honest look at what this administration has done or failed to do for this country and its citizens in the last 7 and a half years. I fear what continued occupation of Iraq will do to our military, our economy, the value of the US dollar, our national debt, and taxes for current and future generations. I fear what will happen if the next President doesn't address these issues and chooses to keep American forces in Iraq.

What I fear is that Americans will be swayed by baseless mud-slinging and ignore the critically important issues facing the country. I fear that they will let themselves be intimidated by racial or religious slurs, stereotypes, or quotes taken out of context.

We all know that solitary or paraphrased quotes... often take on distorted meanings and can't be taken at face value especially when presented by political pundits. If a quote is to be fully understood, then it must be read in context with the text or speech from which it was taken.

So I'm sending this in hopes that everyone will try to investigate the legitimacy of these statements and act accordingly. We all have to form our own conclusions, but if these are accurate, I would hate to see this guy in office!

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