September 22, 2004
The opinions expressed in the Mailbag are not necessarily those of BuzzFlash. Read the BuzzFlash FAQ for info on submitting to the Mailbag.
BuzzFlash Note: For the next day or two we'll be catching up on the BuzzFlash Mail you sent us during the Mailbag's short hiatus. Thanks for your patience.
Subject: RE: Sopranos from Maine
Please, as a native Mainer, don't foist this fool off on us... Texas can have him! (PS Maine will go BIG Kerry.)
Jon M.
Subject: Way to go, Sen. Kerry!
Dear Sen. Kerry,
This is music to our ears: Democrat Kerry Slams Bush's 'Excuse Presidency' (Yahoo)
Keep it up, John! We are with you 200%!!!
Elizabeth
Subject: Cheney is Hypocrite For Complaining about LAWSUITS
Isn't it interesting how Dick Cheney tells everybody that if Kerry is elected, we will get attacked? Excuse Me? Who was the "wood-chopper-in-chief" WHEN WE WERE ATTACKED, who ignored a "stupid" August 6, 2001 PDB that said in bold face print - BIN LADEN DETERMINED TO ATTACK US??
Then Cheney gets all over Edwards, because he is a lawyer and Cheney implies that lawsuits will explode in this country.
Seems like Cheney has forgotten his career as CEO at Halliburton. Here is a refresher course for you Dick.
Any guess as to HOW MANY LAWSUITS Cheney made, as CEO of Halliburton? Try 151. This is the source document.
Dick Cheney: Master Litigator (halliburtonwatch.org)
I know the Conservative Media (every news network) WILL NOT REPORT THIS, So I Have to!!
Tom Wieliczka
Windsor Locks, CT
Subject: WHERE IS OSAMA?
Kerry is right not to play up too much the fact that Osama has not been caught. What if Osama is caught before the election? Kerry needs to get out the message that Bush is a bad president for other reasons, just in case.
Kevin Schmidt
Subject: SUPPOSED FORGED CBS DOCUMENTS
Hmmmmm....
Our astute first lady said regarding the CBS documents that they're "probably forged."
Wouldn't she know they were absolutely, positively forged?
UNLESS, she knows some things about Georgie's background that she's not telling and is afraid the actual originals may turn up.
Several people have attested to the authenticity of the CONTENTS as witnessed by them, told to them by Bush himself, etc.
But instead, repubs are debating and debasing the messenger instead of the real culprit, George, the Fratboy Bush!
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: A man of his word
Dear Buzz,
In the headlines, I just read the most wonderful story, of Ms. Gobbell who had a Kerry sticker in her back window of her automobile, and her boss fired her for having it there, yet her boss included a letter of his own in the paycheck envelope to all his employees including Ms. Gobbell saying they should vote for Bush. Her boss told her to get rid of the sticker and work for him, or she could go to work for Kerry.
Well it hit the internet and other news media, and John Kerry called Ms. Gobbell and offered her a job with his campaign! NOW THAT'S A MAN OF HIS WORD!!!!! This kind of story should be on the news everywhere!! A Loyal BuzzFan Forever!
Moulton woman who lost job to tell story, promote Kerry (The Decatur Daily)
Sharon Carlton
Bellevue, Nebraska
Subject: Whoa on the Quakers comment!
Dear Buzz,
Regarding your commentary, "It's time to cream him, John," you mentioned that Quakers do not rely heavily on corporate support. Au contraire. Quakers welcome responsible corporate support for their relief efforts and other work. Quakers are encouraged, however, to be quite careful (seeking a sense of honesty and clearness) about corporate ties. Quakers are quite disillusioned by having been dismissed as a "focus group" before the destructive Iraq war, which was followed by significant and ongoing recovery and relief efforts to mop up from George Bush's corporate party, the Iraq war.
Dinah Pond
Subject: Worse than we thought
Just a quick thought. Has anyone noticed that Bush's politics are so bizarre that Pat Buchanan suddenly appears to be a moderate Republican? After unleashing his new book, "Where the right went wrong," Buchanan joins the Anti-Bush majority. Anyone who can make Buchanan, who is considered to be an anti-Semitic, isolationist, alarmist and ultra-conservative, look like a moderate republican should be reevaluated.
Kyle M.
Subject: CBS Documents Were Not Forged
The BuzzFlash article by Mike Burke suggesting that Karl Rove forged documents and gave them to CBS is quite silly. It assumes the charge that the documents are forged is correct. In fact, the charges that the documents are forged is wrong. The charges against the documents are based on the observation that the proportional spacing and superscripts in the documents could only have been done on a computer. In fact, it has been established beyond doubt that IBM Selectric Typewriters in 1972 could do proportional spacing and superscripts.
Yesterday, the secretary involved, named Knox, said that Barnes did use such a typewriter. This is a fact that no forger would have known. The proportional spacing and superscripts are proof of the authenticity of the documents. While Ms. Barnes does not remember typing the memos, at age 86, it is quite unlikely that she would remember the contents of each of the thousands of memos she typed. On the other hand, she does remember the model typewriter she wrote on 30 years ago, just as most workers know the tools they use.
BuzzFlash should not be involved in spreading the false notion that these documents are forged. I hope that you will take Mike Burke's article off the website as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Jay Raskin
Subject: Karl Rove - scurvy spider wraps Bush's brain in web of deceit
You remember Joseph Goebbels minister of propaganda in the Third Reich. Well Karl Rove is fulfilling the same function in the Bush administration. Everything -- and I mean 100% of information -- coming out of the White house is all spin, which is just a cute and fuzzy word for propaganda. Just like 1930s Germany, propaganda is incredibly disruptive to any democracy. These guys don't want to talk about what has happened in the last four years because Bush's record is relentlessly negative. So they keep drawing the spotlight to things that did or didn't happen 30 years ago. If you are stupid enough to fall for this distraction, God help your soul, because you have been sucked into a vortex of deceit. I would apologize for laying this stuff on a little thick, but I don't think I am. What is most scary to me isn't that Karl Rove is this kind of person, it is the fact that for how mean spirited Rove is, Bush is that much meaner and nastier.
Mike in Seattle
Subject: Talking points
Dear Buzz,
Did you happen to catch Zbigniew Brzezinski on Charlie Rose? If you didn't, then shame on you! In a masterfully dispassionate polemical presentation, Brzezinski demolished the half baked myth that is being relentlessly fobbed off on the American people by Rove and his agents in the mainstream media; to wit, George W. Bush is a preeminently "strong" leader, particularly in the realm of international relations and foreign policy. The interview concluded with Brzezinski issuing the following laconic and blistering critique of the aforementioned canard, which critique should now become the centerpiece of John Kerry's campaign.
In a nutshell, Brzezinski said that the key to strength in the sphere of international affairs lies in dividing your enemies and uniting your friends. Under Bush, we are doing precisely the opposite of this; i.e., dividing our friends and uniting our enemies. Ergo, Bush is a weak leader who is weakening, not strengthening the position of America in the world. This needs to become our relentless talking point, which we hammer home, 24/7, from now through November. Until then, keep the faith, compadre! And on to victory!
Best regards,
G. Will Hunter
P.S. Hey, Buzz. So, do you think the Kerry campaign could use a speech writer, perchance? I could sure use the extra income about now, as I am one of those "invisible" unemployed of Bush's miracle economy. If not, would you happen to have any ideas how I might bring in a few extra bucks to make ends meet? I would be open to, not to mention eternally grateful for, any suggestions that you might have to offer. Thanks a million!
Subject: Hypocrisy of GOP breathtaking
Hypocrisy of GOP breathtaking This is what you get when the same political party controls both the executive and legislative branches of government. They spent millions of dollars investigating Clinton and the worst they can come up with is he lied about sex. Bush lies, cheats, steals, is derelict in his duties, asleep at the wheel during 9/11, thousands of Americans dead or wounded in a mistake war in Iraq, and what does the congress choose to investigate - the CBS memos they claim are forgeries. The hypocrisy of the GOP is absolutely breathtaking.
Michael Reinholz
Seattle, WA
Subject: Audacity
Congressional Republicans are attacking CBS News and Dan Rather regarding their assertion that the documents recently released and alleging to be memos written by Bush's former Texas Air National Guard commander are clearly forgeries. See Judge: Release Bush Guard Files (CBS News).
Among other demands, these Republicans are demanding that CBS reveal the source of the documents as exemplified by the following quote by the House majority whip: "I think at the very least CBS should characterize the source," said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri. "I think it's amazing that they haven't already done that."
Really? Perhaps Roy Blunt thinks that Robert Novak should reveal his source for exposing Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. After all, he would be a grotesque hypocrite otherwise. I encourage citizens to write Rep. Blunt and ask him to climb on Robert Novak's back as well. After all, what Novak and his White House source did was a Federal crime constituting a grave threat to national security. What Dan Rather and CBS did isn't.
Rep. Blunt can be reached at: http://majoritywhip.house.gov/contact.asp
Should he decide to respond to me, I'll share his polite comments with you all later.
Rob
Subject: ALERT: Bush May Have Lied on Federal Application
To assume the federal government job of President requires an applicant to certify that he or she has been drug-free for a period of fifteen years prior to his or her inauguration. If George W. Bush did cocaine at Camp David during his father's Presidency he may have committed fraud during his security screening -- a felony -- and be subject to impeachment and prosecution.
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Why isn't the media demanding the truth from Bush?
Dear BuzzFlash,
RE: Secretary doubts memos, but says gist accurate (NY Times News Service, Chicago Tribune)
I just sent the following letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune:
I am continually amazed by the media's fascination with everything except George W. Bush's actual history and performance. Fonts! Memos! How much bleeding did Kerry do? What did the secretary say?
Everything: the vast minutiae of meaningless distractions. Everything except:
George W. Bush failed to take a required flight physical. Why? He has still never answered this question.
George W. Bush claimed in the past that he did not take his physical because his personal physician was unavailable. That was not true. Period. No equivocation. It was not true. What is the truth?
Mr. Bush also claimed that he did not take his flight physical because he was no longer going to be flying. How did Mr. Bush know he would no longer be flying? If he wasn't going to be flying anymore, it would have been reflected in paperwork, where is it?
Mr. Bush signed an agreement saying he would find a Guard unit in Massachusetts and complete his obligation to the Guard. Did he? What unit did he join? Where is the paperwork from his time there?
In other words, instead of this bizarre fascination with superscripts, why isn't the press demanding straight answers from the only man who can answer and who should answer: George W. Bush.
This is the man who should stand up and tell us the truth. Because our children, our sons, our daughters, sisters, brothers, moms and dads are dying in a desert hell. This man sent them there. He owes us the truth.
Mr. Bush claimed in his 1978 Congressional campaign literature that he completed Yale and Harvard Business School, joined the United States Air Force, then joined the Texas Air National Guard, where, according to his biography, he flew for "several years." In other words, he let others go to Vietnam in his place, he let others pick up the slack when he quit, he let the taxpayers pick up the tab for his training, and then he lied and claimed service he had never actually served.
This is a matter of public record. Why isn't the media demanding the truth?
The media owes it to all of us to demand the answers.
Ruth Lopez
Orlando, FL
Subject: Mary Beth Cahill has to go
Dear Buzz,
Have you read Mary Beth Cahill's interview with Ellen Goodman? If you haven't, take a deep breath first.
Calm in Kerry camp (workingforchange.com)
Cahill shows us why Kerry is close to or behind Bush when he should be winning. Does she really think it is bad for a campaign to enlarge its base? Is her biggest concern that Kerry will be "tarred" like Bush 41 if he takes off the gloves? Bush 41 is also tarred with the title Mr. President. If Kerry is tarred that way I will be happy. Unbelievable.
Margaret
Kimberley
New York, NY
Dear Buzz--
Love you!! Shouldn't we be calling for people to e-mail to support Dan Rather? (Especially in view of his comments about the job of the press being to ask hard questions.) I understand that the right is calling for his head. Please give us your thoughts!! Thank you so much for your work.
Mel
Subject: Annenberg Center
I note that in your Bloomberg piece about the "undecideds," the political director, Adam Clymer, of the Annenberg Center is quoted. Remember Adam Clymer? Former NY Times reporter, who was pointed out by Bush at a campaign rally. He said to Cheney, "There's Adam Clymer of The New York Times, he's a real asshole," to which Cheney replied, "Big time." Same Adam Clymer.
Bush Ratings Drop Among Uncommitted Voters, Annenberg Poll Says (Bloomberg.com)
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: CNN and Ivan
Dear BuzzFlash,
Ok. I've had it. I am officially fed up with CNN. I have just lived through two disturbing phenomena.
First, 24/7 coverage of a single storm. Isn't it so strange that the networks have finally developed a conscience? After providing tons of free airings of the Swift Bloat crap, now all we can talk about is Ivan. I have had the tube on from 7:15 for over an hour and not so much as mention, other than the crawl, of any other story.
As I write, some official is talking about the fact that he only found three felled trees on a trip he took to his command center. Not to diminish the damage, loss of life and suffering, but other than regular updates, it is a local issue not within the strength of a huge international news service. Let's talk about the 200 or more lost in the past several days in Iraq.
Meanwhile, we are getting the shit kicked out of us by freedom fighters in Iraq. Let's face it, not only have we increased the incidence of worldwide terror, but now we are stuck in the middle of civil war. Pakistan (WMD exporter) claims to be clashing with Al Qaeda. Putin is clamping down on civil liberties al a BuSh style (ever think you would live to see the day?) and the price of oil surges again. (Storm related news you won't hear on CNN unless they know it will not reflect on BuSh's failed foreign policies.)
Election? What election.
The second phenomenon is the imbalance of time afforded on the air, the Dems vs. the Repukes. I watched Marc (screw Montana) Racicot ad nausea following mere sound bites of the Kerry campaign. And isn't it special that the tagline for Kerry's responses to non-stop denigration of his three decades of service to this country has been "Political Assault"?
No shame. They don't even pretend any more.
God save us all!
Mark Richey
P.S. I stand corrected. I just caught less than 3 minutes of "other" news including Kofi Annan calling the war in Iraq illegal. How much airplay do you suppose that will get?
Subject: not good
that kitty kelley woman said bush by executive order sealed all of his and his father's records..............i don't remember hearing that, is it true?
shorty in tn
ps.....can it be un-done? and doing that (if true) sure took a lot of nerve!
[BuzzFlash Note: Bush did seal his records as governor. Hopefully, this lawsuit will help matters: "Release Guard files, judge says" (Chicago Tribune).]
Subject: Shirker.....
Dear Buzz,
This evening on MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olberman, Carl Bernstein was on talking about the candidates, and called Kerry a hero who served two terms in Vietnam, and Bush who is a shirker. Someone who shirked his duty in the National Guard! I was totally caught off guard and I loved it!! Finally someone with the balls to call a spade a spade! KUDOS to Carl Bernstein!!
A Loyal Buzz Fan Forever!
Sharon Carlton
Bellevue, Nebraska
[BuzzFlash Note: In this interview, Bernstein also recommends reading Nicholas Kristoff's Mr. Bush's Glass House.]
Subject: Resident Evil
Buzz,
Here in Los Angeles a strike force of seven protesters pulled a great move to call attention to bush.
In the L.A./ Hollywood area at the intersection of Pico and Centinela there is a huge billboard advertising the movie Resident Evil. Typical of that part of town. Armed with an exact sized and style P and a large cut out of w's head they climbed the billboard and added the P to the word Resident and covered the head of its star Milla Jovovich with the head of bush. The result ...President Evil-Apocalypse.. with a picture of bush holding an assault weapon. You couldn't tell the difference from the real thing!!
They then made this same "improvement" on several bus stop versions of the same ad.
BRAVO!!!
LA Weekly has the image here: http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/42/snap.php
Phil Rowland
South Pasadena, CA
Subject: The positive / negative thing
Please pass this message on to the Kerry Campaign: On going positive / negative, it isn't rocket science, guys. Go VERY NEGATIVE on your opponent and GO VERY POSITIVE on yourself. The goal is to paint the other side as a black thundercloud that will rain on the American parade for the next 4 years, while painting yourself as an unstoppable ray of sunshine that will help America grow and blossom for the next 4 years.
Bottom line: NEGATIVE on your opponent; POSITIVE on you.
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Anthrax killers
Can BuzzFlash resurrect some news on the anthrax killings that terrorized us all so much after 9/11......these killings seem to have vanished from the national memory and media completely.
Am a dedicated BuzzFlasher!
TP
Subject: U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT
Hello,
Even if the CBS documents are forgeries, why isn't anyone covering the U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT article about Bush's guard record? From what I have read that article is more damning than the CBS report.
The service question: A review of President Bush's Guard years raises issues about the time he served (U.S. News & World Report)
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: Bush scored in the lowest 10 percent of the class
Students who challenged and embarrassed Bush in class would then become the subject of a whispering campaign by him, Tsurumi said. "In class, he couldn't challenge them. But after class, he sometimes came up to me in the hallway and started bad-mouthing those students who had challenged him. He would complain that someone was drinking too much. It was innuendo and lies. So that's how I knew, behind his smile and his smirk, that he was a very insecure, cunning and vengeful guy."
A BuzzFlash Reader
Dear Sir
or Madam:
I am [attaching a link to] an article from the 9-16-04 Washington Post. In
the last paragraph of the article, there is a paragraph mentioning that more
records of Bush's service may be released soon. Is it possible that Karl Rove
and company spread the above to create an air of disbelief when the real records
are finally released?
CBS Guard Documents Traced to Tex. Kinko's Records Reportedly Faxed From Abilene
C. M. Callahan
Jonesville, VA
Subject: KERRY SHOULD SUGGEST A SECRETARY OF HISTORY
There are less than two months until the presidential election and Bush still hasn't offered any answers for our nation's problems. The deficit is larger than ever, jobs remain scarce, Medicare costs are skyrocketing, and instability in Iraq is undoubtedly getting worse. Meanwhile, the Bush campaign is offering equal parts of "Vote for us or die," and "Can't we agree what a great job the president is doing?" and hoping that the American public doesn't realize how that fuzzy math doesn't add up!
We all know the Bush approach isn't working. We're heading in the wrong direction on a lot of issues under the Bush administration, but none is as troubling as the deteriorating situation in Iraq.
-- Even as elections are scheduled for January, whole sections of the struggling nation are under the control of insurgents.
-- The rate of attacks on US and Iraqi forces is increasing. Last month, the average was 87 attacks per day.
-- Already, this week has seen more than its share of violence. Eighty insurgents and civilians were killed on Monday and another 200 were injured. At least 47 more were killed today, with another 114 wounded.
-- The goal of "winning the hearts and minds" appears farther and farther out of reach. There simply aren't enough soldiers on the ground to do anything but try to keep some semblance of order.
Despite the obvious shortcomings in his administration's (lack of a) postwar plan, President Bush hasn't offered any real solutions to these ongoing problems. In fact, true to form, he's barely acknowledged the true extent of the situation. Simply reminding people that we won't cut and run isn't a strategy - it does nothing to reverse the multiple errors made by this administration in Iraq.
Sadly, that's not surprising - this administration has failed to even fully admit or apologize for all the mistakes it made in selling the war almost two years ago.
I saw Wm. Buckley' son on Hardball last night who is right leaning--a little less so than his dad--who said we shouldn't have gone to war with Iraq & are mishandling it completely.
He said we need a Secretary of History to sit on the cabinet and when a subject such as going to war with Iraq comes up, the president can turn to him or her and say, "What do you think"?
In the case of Iraq it would be something like, the British tried to occupy Iraq for many decades and split it into three factions or areas who war with each other. They were defeated in 1953 and shortly thereafter is when Saddam Hussein began his power grab.
Lessons of history show us that warring and occupying a country, esp. in the ME, is not the answer.
George Bush, who is FAR from a student of history should have known this on his own but because he's so narrow minded, not well studied or curious, etc. he gets this country into very dogmatic and myopic situations, strategies and messes.
Jonell Belke
Subject: Bush is No Churchill
Dear BuzzFlash,
During the Republican convention, we heard George W. Bush likened to Winston Churchill. In that case, perhaps Mr. Bush should ruminate on these comments by his supposed alter ego:
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." -- Winston Churchill
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/winstonchu156894.html
and
"Their insatiable lust for power is only equaled by their incurable incompetence in exercising it." -- Winston Churchill
www.bartleby.com/63/49/49.html
Keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
A BuzzFlash Reader
Subject: the Mark of Rove, redux
"In the interview, Knox said she believed the documents were fake but their content accurately reflected Killian's opinions.
"I know that I didn't type them," she said. "However, the information in those is correct."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl...
If the information is correct but the document is a forgery, then whoever forged the document probably was looking at the original. Or knew Killian well enough to know what he was thinking. (Dan Bartlett repeatedly emphasized the "Who knows what a dead guy was thinking?" line in the interview.)
And if they had the original, and their intent was to discredit Bush, why would they release a bad photocopy instead of the original?
Unless, of course, the intent was not to discredit Bush, but to discredit the truth about him.
For instance, if I am cheating on my wife and I think she suspects me, I could Photoshop my own head onto onto my own body in a picture with my actual mistress. Then email it to her. Then prove to her that the photo has been altered, with the obvious assumption that someone is going to extraordinary lengths to try to break us up.
From then on, if she finds any actual evidence, she has to ask herself, is this another attempt to frame my husband? Someone is obviously out to get him. I have the proof - an altered photo.
I'm just saying.
Jeff Crook
Subject: RECALL BUSH TO ACTIVE DUTY-- HE OWES US THE TIME!
Let Bush complete the contract he slithered out of with the National Guard (for which he really could have been court martialed and dishonorably discharged had he not had his famous connections).
He should go to Iraq for the 24 months active duty he owes this country and bring down his mighty sword to defeat the evil-doers over there.
They're calling up some retired reservists who are in their late 50's and early 60's, so why not Bush?
He started it. Let him finish it!
J. Belke
Hello BuzzFlash,
Well I attempted to watch the second installment of the Bush Guard memos on 60 minutes II last night but our local CBS affiliate opted to run a Billy Graham special movie. (That's what happens when you live in the buckle of the bible belt).
This morning I immediately surfed my way to BuzzFlash so that I could get the real scoop and you didn't disappoint me with your excellent coverage. As I was reading the story of Killian's Secretary who said she didn't type the memos, but that the content of the memos reflected the situation, I wondered aloud if maybe, just maybe, Lt.Col. Killian typed some of the memos himself after hours?
Having worked in an office environment for 40 years and in management for 20 years I can assure you that many managers keep CYA files to protect themselves against retribution from employees they are unable to control. From my experience CYA files are kept as a way for a manager to defend themselves against an employee who is circumventing the system thereby creating work conditions that favor their personal or professional ambitions. These people are often disruptive to the morale of the office.
Often times these CYA files are typed by the managers themselves and would explain abbreviation errors, etc., in the memos in question. Managers have many reasons for doing the typing themselves but the most common reason would be they don't want their secretary or administrative assistant to know the details or to get involved in the situation, especially if the situation could cost jobs or careers.
As you might imagine the most common way for an employee to circumvent the system is by sleeping with someone in senior management or having a close personal relationship with a senior manager. I've seen this situation more times then I care to recall and have kept CYA files on numerous employees over the years. For the record I always typed them or wrote them out in long hand myself to avoid pulling in a third party.
Well Buzz, we're on the downhill slope, just 6 ½ more weeks until election day. You keep carrying the torch for your readers and we'll keep being a voice for John Kerry.
Thanks,
Carolyn in Tennessee
Subject: Bush guilty of war crimes against humanity?
With the UN spokesman just claiming that the war in Iraq was illegal, this leads us to the logical question: Is Bush guilty of war crimes against humanity?
Many people think that if Bush loses this election, all the corrupt and dirty deeds of his administration will be exposed to the harsh light of day. When this happens, Bush might be tried for war crimes against humanity before The Hague international court. This is one reason Bush is fighting down and dirty, resorting to the lowest of gutter smear politics. He and his cronies have resorted to biting and scratching because he is campaigning for his very life.
A leader of the UN has just declared that the war in Iraq was "illegal." This illegal war against Iraq has killed countless innocent Iraqi civilians, including thousands of children. This can be viewed as a terrorist act, depending on your point of view. Bush and his subordinates have willfully violated the Geneva Conventions, which are designed to protect all prisoners of war, not just foreigners, but Americans also. Deaths have resulted from these gross violations of the Geneva Conventions.
All the justifications for the premeditated attack and invasion of Iraq have been proved wrong. There were no WMDs. There was no imminent threat to the American homeland by Iraq. There was no nuclear program. There was no connection between Iraq and 9/11 terrorism. We were not greeted as conquering heroes with flowers and kisses. The war is not paying for itself with Iraqi oil revenue. Lies after lies were paraded in front of the American people.
Willfully pursuing an unjust war based on cherry-picked and false information is a war crime against humanity because countless innocent people have died because of this deception and incompetence. Bush and his cronies are guilty as hell.
With the insurgency getting stronger and stronger, the nasty hornets' nest that is Iraq will only get worse, and Bush will have more blood on his hands. Just like Pontius Pilate, he continues to wash his hands, but the blood will leave a huge stain on his administration.
Add the Halliburton kickbacks and you have a toxic witch's brew of deception, corruption and death. Bush really is the ultimate pro-death candidate. I am sure much of the world, including all of the Arab world, view him as such.
Michael Reinholz
CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2004 BUZZFLASH MAILBAG.