Did Bush manipulate Iraq data?

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

I'm getting a bit tired of the "No War for Oil" drum. If that were an issue, why are we not poking our noses into Canada, Nigeria, or Venezuela?

I have no illusions that were Canada a non-democracy, with its political geography dominated by a religious fundamentalism, there would have been US troops in here long ago. Yes, you get alot of oil from Canada; most of it from my own province. If we ever shut the tap off, I firmly believe I would see the wondrous parade of Abrahms tanks down my own town's main street.

The 43 Administration is setting a bad precedent for premeditation. But, then again, that's what the New American Century and the Neo-Reaganites are all about: Hit them before they hit us. In fact, hit them before we even really know if they COULD hit us. Can't be too careful, y'know. <_<

There is an overwhelming amount of shrugging shoulders in both the White House and DoD these days. Yes, we didn't actually have proof. Yes, we exaggerated our claims to the UN. Yes, we wanted a war and decided to come up with the reasons after the fact. Wolfowitz's doctrine is in full swing, and the "Intelligence" gathered isn't real. It is more of a "what is theoretically possible in all probability" than "what we have seen and heard and found proof of". It's the B Team's oblivious posturing of intelligence gathering drowning out the A Team's actual data. This is the same sort of drivel that led to the US's assertions of the strengths of the USSR when it was actually rotting away from the inside and about to collapse.

You have some scary-assed bastards running your country, boys. And they're listening to some scary-assed advisers that are presenting rhetoric as fact.

And what's scarier: The US population as a whole, even presented with the proof and actual admissions that their government was propagating lies and marketing falsehoods in an attempt to garner popular support for the war.... STILL think the war was okely-dokely by them. All hail Freedom™ and the right to have your own opinion, no matter how many 30 second commercials it takes to buy you off. :huh:

Hey, you won! I'm sure you'll be comfortable with whatever reasons you can make up. "It needed to be done, anyway." "He was a megalomaniacal mass-murderer". "He wanted to invade the neighboring states and set himself up as a God." "Oh, the war? Give me a second, I'll turn on CNN and find out what my opinion should be today." :blink:

At least the British have the good sense to crucify a Leader that was so inept as to be led astray. With any luck, they'll remove all the cronies that supported and reinforced said leader as well. But the US? Well no... we still like our president: premeditation, manipulation and outright lying. That's okay. We won.

It's a funny fact that if an individual were demonstrating the facets of personality that the 43 Administration and DoD are demonstrating, he would be locked up for being a dangerously threatening paranoid schizophrenic. :ph34r:

**Freedom™ is a solely American ideal, not following any actual definition within a world paradigm, and subject to change with such piss-assed reasons as the price of oil, if the Democrats are in Office, if Hollywood feels a need to expand their creative roots, or if anyone feels they didn't get paid enough money this week, or if someone says "boo" before you've had your first morning coffee. Patent pending, but we don't really give a hoot about patents**