The Unpatriotic Invasion of Iraq

Some videos posted in another thread by ATS member "seedofchucky" really opened my eyes to exactly how soldiers feel about the Iraq war, and gave me a perspective that we don't hear on the mainstream news or during political speeches.

First of all, let's examine the invasion of Iraq. Here's the speech given by Bush announcing it: He says the reasons were to "disarm Iraq", "to free it's people", "to defend the world from grave danger", and to "undermine Saddam Husseins ability to wage war". Sounds nice, huh?

He took the stance that we were defending America by invading a country across an ocean and thousands of miles away, but what is the real threat? The only actual threat that Iraq could possibly pose to citizens living within America are the nuclear weapons that he claimed Saddam possessed. How did finding those WMDs work out? Why don't you ask Bush: Well the "weapons of mass murder" that he claimed were such a threat and required the presence our Air Force, Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and Marines, as well as $720 million daily DIDN'T EXIST! In this conference he claims that the oppression of the people and bringing them freedom was another motivator for the invasion of Iraq. However the invasion only brought more oppression to an already troubled people as you're about to hear. Let's view the Iraq war through the perspective of the veterans: Quotes from the videos will be compared with quotes (the ones in red) from Bush's speech, as well as some things that really stood out to me:

I feel guilt anytime I see a mother with her children, like the one who cried hysterically and [color=limegreen]screamed that we were worse than Saddam as we forced her from her home.

The peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you

We were told we were fighting terrorists, but the real terrorist was me and the real terrorism is this occupation

Racism within the military has long been an important tool to justify the destruction and occupation of another country. It has long been used to justify the killing, subjugation, and torture of another people. Racism is a vital weapon employed by this government.

We come to iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization, and for the religious faiths they practice

Poor and working people in this country are sent to kill poor and working people in another country to make the rich richer, and without racism, soldiers would realize that they have more in common than the Iraqi people than they do with the billionaires who send us to war.

Then along comes Obama to get us out of this pointless war: October 27, 2007:

I will [color=limegreen]promise you this: that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the [color=limegreen]first thing I will do. I will get our troops home, we will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank!

February 18, 2009:

President Obama has ordered 17,000 more American troops to Afghanistan. It's the first stage of a buildup that will eventually see 60,000 US troops deployed to the country

A huge campaign promise, something that gained massive amounts of support from most American citizens, whether Democrat, Republican, black, white, asian, elderly, or student, was a BIG FAT LIE. He lied to us in order to get himself elected as President, and then he went 180 degrees on his promises and did the exact opposite. Rather than getting our troops out, he put more in.

What kind of a president is that? Why didn't millions of American citizens march to the White House and demand that he be impeached? Are we just so braindead and ignorant that we don't even care? Has the flouridated water made us lazy?

Obama isn't entirely at fault here, the American people are to blame because we might as well have let him take a crap on every American citizens face and laugh. We knew he lied, and we did nothing about it.

Here are some quotes from that video compared with Bush's speech:

I saw and at times participated in the dehumanization and the degredation of the Iraqi people. By [color=limegreen]robbing others of their inherent dignity, by [color=limegreen]denying them respect, and by [color=limegreen]treating them as a less than human other, we ultimately robbed ourselves of our own dignity, humanity, and compassion.

We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization, and for the religious faiths they practice

I was ordered multiple times by commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers to shoot unarmed civilians if their presence made me feel uncomfortable.

Coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm

Every single apartment building in Baghdad has been broken to the ground by artillery and airplanes bombing. You cannot meet someone in Iraq that has not lost a family member. Could you image what we would have done in America if on 9/11 everybody in America lost a family member? What would we be doing? Would we be talking about war? No we'd be in the streets with weapons. And so people talk about "Oh these people killing American soldiers in Iraq, they're terrorists", they're not terrorists, they're wearing sandles! And they got an AK, and they've got 14 year old boys building bombs to kill these American soldiers 'cause we've killed their family

In this conflict, America faces an enemy that has no regard for conventions of war or rules for morality

Here is a video that exposes the corruption of Halliburton and how poorly they treat the soldiers over seas: I've only seen part one of it but I plan to watch the rest soon.

I hope this thread and those videos helped to expose the hypocrisy of the justification of the invasion of Iraq used by George Bush, and showed you what it's really like through the eyes of the people who have been there. We went there with the idea that we would keep Americans safe from WMDs and help the people, but the WMDs were never there to begin with and in reality we only caused more harm and made life hell for the Iraqi people.

We were lied to by George Bush and Barack Obama, and American citizens continue to pay for these lies by dying a pointless death in a pointless war, and the Iraqi people continue to suffer from these lies day and night as we remain in their country.

Liberating 30 million people is patriotic, and noble.

Well to be fair to bush he was going on intelligence information and everyone involved in the decision also believed it. NATO and the democrats all agreed it was a legitimate threat and a good enough reason to go in. Obviously that information was false so you can debate on whether he was set up or part of it I suppose.

There is plenty to blame him for without having to make stuff up.

Guess all these Democrats were unpatriotic also?

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
--Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
--Sandy Bergler, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by:
-- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
-Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
-- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by:
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
-- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
-- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"
-- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

Hey I like your thread and admire the work you put into compiling it!! If I may say ( Not trying to nit pick )

IT WAS AN ILLEGAL INVASION!!! The Bush Administration had the wrong intel. That's true BUT The intel was the Brainchild of The Cia and The Bush Administration. Why do you think Colin Powell resigned and looked like he had been punked on national tv after the Truth Came Out !!

I think a simple lie detector test for the elected officials would be a good start to "Helping Them Tell The Truth" and alot of crap would begin to end.. Maybe throw in a Drug Test or Two annually !!

The war has been a horror for the innocent, our soldiers as well and the countless other victims. Not to mention the approx 3 trillion dollars we have spent !! And the suffering still continues!!!!

Yes well, the good old OIF campaign. You know what they say, there's two sides to every story.
And each unit that's been there has their own. You presented two sides to this one, so good on you.

I will be a bit candid and say I spent some time there, over a year. Seen all seasons, Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi and so on. In my unit, we frequently went on humanitarian missions and if I had a dollar for every pop tart muffin, bottled water, wave, hand shake that I've given to iraqi children and adults, I'd be a rich man. Oh by the way, the Iraqi populace welcomed us with open arms and smiles 95% of the time. Utilizing show of force may have played a part in that as well.

Of course the original reasons we were told we were going there ended up being a farce, what with all those silly mobile chemicle weapon lab powerpoint shown to the UN by Colin Powell, and such. This has been the nature of war since WWII, but let's move on and look at today's and tomorrow's wars. There's a lot going on and much more to come in our future, Iraq is so yesterday's news. Btw we should have been out of Afghanistan on May 2nd, seriously. No excuse to remain there now.

Nice comparisons there, though I felt the need to toss in my $.02 and weigh in also.

reply to post by Carseller4

Liberating 30 million people is patriotic, and noble.

Kicking in doors and taking families out of their homes, blowing up their homes with artillery and airstrikes, killing their family members, and treating them like second class citizens is unpatriotic and not noble.

Skip to 5:13 in the fourth YouTube video and hear about the "nobility" and "patriotism". Better yet, skip anywhere in the third or fourth video and see if you hear them talking about the nobility and patriotism of the occupation of Iraq.

reply to post by Sek82

I will be a bit candid and say I spent some time there, over a year. Seen all seasons, Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi and so on. In my unit, we frequently went on humanitarian missions and if I had a dollar for every pop tart muffin, bottled water, wave, hand shake that I've given to iraqi children and adults, I'd be a rich man. Oh by the way, the Iraqi populace welcomed us with open arms and smiles 95% of the time. Utilizing show of force may have played a part in that as well.

That makes me feel much better knowing that American troops did some good over there and helped people out. You didn't have any troubling encounters like the troops in those videos? It was all smiles and handshakes? That sounds more like an Invasion of Iraq that I could support, actually helping people in need rather than killing them and taking their homes away.

reply to post by Carseller4

Guess all these Democrats were unpatriotic also?

No, because those people didn't get us into a several year, multi-trillion dollar war in Iraq at taxpayer expense that had little support from the people who fund it.

And according to this link, CIA director George Tenet told George Bush directly that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction yet he still pushed that lie onto the American people.

reply to post by TupacShakur


Well once again we have to be true to the situation. Your claiming this false information that was legally acted upon was given on purpose without supplying any evidence to that fact. You also do not seem to realize that the country would have been far worse off had we taken down Saddam's regime that just left the country to be fought over violently by seperate factions instead of trying to clean up the chaos we inflicted.

You also are blaming the U.S. for the exact same things that Saddam was guilty of but at least there is an end in sight with America. Saddam would have handed it over to his sons. And you also don't recognize the fact that the Cia and other intel services have a long history of being wrong.

Alot of what they provide is a best guess but the entire collection of people who were in charge of the decision to invade from all over the world saw this evidence and believed it supported an invasion. Once there we couldn't just say whoops and leave as that would have been irresponsible.

reply to post by TupacShakur
Due to the thorough training we went through before our deployment, we were able to exercise restraint throughout the numerous missions we conducted there, and we always utilized what we call escalation of force in everything we did to avoid having to take a life. I was in a Cavalry unit and spent most of my time out in the field, and yes, there were times that we did have to occupy the homes of Iraqi families, but can tell you right now that not only did we do so in the most professional manner possible, we also compensated them financially when those situations arose. They got paid handsomely. Also, they seemed to have an understanding that we were doing so for good reason. I personally witnessed entire villages transform from ied ridden ghost towns to villages bustling with life. When my unit would occupy a region, it certainly stimulated the populace for the bettter, every time. Keep in mind we were a forward reconnaissance unit, and our leadership was never in the mindset where they were looking for an opportunity for a combat engagement. Quite the opposite. We were more concerned about establishing security of the region, and always worked directly with the populace to help bolster the infrastructure and quality of life of the AO we were in charge of. I take great pride in our acccomplishments during our stay in Iraq in OIF 5 (2007-2008).

reply to post by Sek82

Due to the thorough training we went through before our deployment, we were able to exercise restraint throughout the numerous missions we conducted there, and we always utilized what we call escalation of force in everything we did to avoid having to take a life. I was in a Cavalry unit and spent most of my time out in the field, and yes, there were times that we did have to occupy the homes of Iraqi families, but can tell you right now that not only did we do so in the most professional manner possible, we also compensated them financially when those situations arose. They got paid handsomely. Also, they seemed to have an understanding that we were doing so for good reason. I personally witnessed entire villages transform from ied ridden ghost towns to villages bustling with life. When my unit would occupy a region, it certainly stimulated the populace for the bettter, every time. Keep in mind we were a forward reconnaissance unit, and our leadership was never in the mindset where they were looking for an opportunity for a combat engagement. Quite the opposite. We were more concerned about establishing security of the region, and always worked directly with the populace to help bolster the infrastructure and quality of life of the AO we were in charge of. I take great pride in our acccomplishments during our stay in Iraq in OIF 5 (2007-2008).

That's great to hear and it's good that many soldiers actually accomplished what they set out to do and stayed true.

We're helping many Iraqis in many different ways and that can't be overlooked, however on the other hand many Iraqis are also being harmed by our occupation as those interviews describe.

But that was definitely an overstatement in the OP when I said we only made things worse and turned it into hell, because as your experience illustrates we definitely helped Iraqis there and made things better in the regions that you were involved in.

Good thread, Tupac.

Originally posted by kro32
Well to be fair to bush he was going on intelligence information and everyone involved in the decision also believed it. NATO and the democrats all agreed it was a legitimate threat and a good enough reason to go in. Obviously that information was false so you can debate on whether he was set up or part of it I suppose.

There is plenty to blame him for without having to make stuff up.

I'm tired of hearing that arguement. NO HE WASN'T. All of the intelligence at the time was saying that they had no weapons. Hans Blix and the UN told Bush they could find no evidence of weapons and Bush said, "yes there are, they move them when we look. Valerie Plame was outed by Cheney because her husband told them there were no weapons. You don't remember the truth? Were you even old enough to remember this? They knew there were no weapons. They needed an excuse for this war so they could fill their pockets with money and our young men and women died for it. I'm even suspicious of Bush and company being the instigator of the 9/11 attacks themselves. It's just damn convienent

Originally posted by Carseller4
Liberating 30 million people is patriotic, and noble.

If what you call their state of affairs and quality of life over there "liberating", I'll take oppression any day.

Please explain how they've been "liberated".

Great thread btw Tupac. Thanks for taking the time to put together and sharing. * & F

Guess all these Democrats were unpatriotic also?

And that's another thing. The democrats may have had no balls to stand up against this horror but you can hardly blame them. Anyone who said anything against this action were attacked immediately by right wing pundits. I called it "dixie-chicking" at the time. The Dixie Chicks spoke against Bush and the war and right wingnuts burned their records. How dare you speak against OUR President during a time of war? (Funny the same people have no trouble calling up Obama during the same war. It's called hypocracy) and cries of Why do you HATE America? The thing to do was wrap yourself in the flag and close your eyes screaming "My country, right or wrong". It was a sad time for America and a reminder to me to never take our leadership for granted. You know Hitler was elected too. To top it all off I sit here every day and watch people seriously consider Palin and Bachman as candidates for POTUS, God help us.

Ya gotta try harder, surely you can come up with yet another "I hate Americans" thread and go for yet another star and flag fest. Grow up and make the change you keep bitching about or shut the hell up son.

WMD's were in Iraq.

Iran filed a Formal Protest at the Chemical Weapons Convention over the United States BOMBING the Chemical Weapon Bunkers in Iraq. Saying the US failed to allow Iraq to safely dispose of those chemicals weapons per the Treaty.

What was the US response? Go to Page 5:

www.opcw.org...


There were WMD's in Iraq. Read the link above.

reply to post by adifferentbreed

Ya gotta try harder, surely you can come up with yet another "I hate Americans" thread and go for yet another star and flag fest. Grow up and make the change you keep bitching about or shut the hell up son.

I don't hate Americans, I hate the wars that Americans are fighting and dying in and I hate that taxpayers have to pay for something that only a small fraction of them support.

How would you recommend that I go about making the change that I keep bitching about? Would you like me to call up Obama, schedule an appointment, and try to convince him to end the wars? Maybe I could organize a protest, because it's not like there haven't been dozens of unsuccessful anti-war protests in the past decade.