Friends, we Americans know that the Bush group of American policymakers either “got it wrong” or worse yet lied to us and the world about claims that led us into Iraq–a huge debacle of a war resulting in up to half a million deaths and refugees. Before that it was Afghanistan, America’s longest ever war and still raging. Prior to that it was Vietnam, also with millions of deaths and 50,000 American boys who perished needlessly in that hell hole. And others in-between. And now with South Korea and Iran being threatened with war.
Why do we continue, even now, to believe “short term” American policy makers when they give us a storyline about other wars they intend to start. Stop reading and visit this link. It shows General Wesley Clark confirming in 2003 that the Pentagon had made plans to invade 7 countries in 5 years––Iran being one of them, Syria another. Why in the world do we believe these short-term policy makers. Some of whom haven’t even been voted into office … many are appointees who are driving policy. They come and go …. and leave a trail of bad judgements and devastation in their wake. Not to mention presidents that are in office for four to eight years and leave the rest of us to deal with the consequences of their initiated debacles.
We are good solid American citizens, we are building good local communities, we are raising good children, we are Rotarians and Kiwanians, we tell the truth to our friends and fellow citizens. Why do we instinctively believe those whose names and recommendations we read in our newspapers ?
Where can we get the facts? Not in our mainstream media which apparently has been co-opted by policy makers for decades. Fortunately we have Internet these days. There are investigative journalists who have been given awards by Harvard and other institutions. We need to use them daily. Google Consortium News which has received numerous awards including the Harvard Neiman I.F. Stone award for the top investigative journalism. Request to be put on their email list.
Below Mark Fitzpatrick bases his article on Iraq and Iran, but the same can be said for any of several countries where the long arm of US military is presently involved to one degree or another.
Sharon
IISS Voices
August 1, 2017
Don’t repeat the Iraq War false WMD claims with Iran
Washington’s confrontational approach could wreck the Iran nuclear deal and trigger war in the Middle East, Mark Fitzpatrick says. He calls for cooperation to replace unfounded assumptions, false claims and ideologically-driven judgements.
By Mark Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, IISS-Americas
Where were you when the US invaded Iraq 15 years ago? I was an acting Deputy Assistant Secretary at the State Department, with an inside view on the decision-making process. My colleagues in the department’s Intelligence and Research (INR) Bureau disputed supposed evidence about a reconstituted Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme that served as the justification for the invasion. I was not forceful in siding with them, thinking the president and his senior advisors must have had some special compartmented information that guided their judgement.
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