No Truth, No Consequences

Is the War on Iraq helping or hurting efforts to keep Americans safe from terrorist attacks?

Last week, the federal government partially declassified a National Intelligence Estimate, wherein all 16 government intelligence agencies concluded that the war against Iraq not only isn’t helping to stop terrorism, it’s making everything worse. “I strongly disagree,” said the President.

Bush maintains that Iraq is the central front in the War on Terror, even as he conceded on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 that “Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the attacks.” If only now he would concede: Saddam Hussein had not threatened the United States; Saddam Hussein had no WMD’s, certainly not anywhere near the stockpiles of which he was officially accused in 2003; Saddam Hussein had no relationship with al-Qaeda, nor could he have had one, if you understand what al-Qaeda’s motives are; the Clinton policy of containment was effective.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis – some of them bad, misguided people, to be sure, but many of them innocent bystanders, women, children, pro-democracy types – are dead. There have been dire consequences, but not for the people responsible for either 9/11 or the invasion of Iraq.

More Iraqi civilians died per month, every month, this summer than American casualties on 9/11; American military casualties in Iraq have now surpassed the 9/11 toll.

Who is responsible for 9/11? The hijackers are dead, of their own free will. Osama bin Laden is still free, five years later, most likely in the mountains on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; both countries the President considers “allies” in the War on Terror.

Who is responsible for the War on Iraq? Saddam Hussein is in prison, but the violence continues. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead, but the violence escalates.

President Bush told the world that Saddam Hussein possessed: “as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent”; “25,000 liters of anthrax – enough doses to kill several million people”; “38,000 liters of botulinum toxin”; and “30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents.” None of this was true. President Bush was re-elected.

Of those enormous quantities of deadly weapons, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said, "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." He remains in office, soon to be the longest-serving Secretary of Defense in history. CIA Director George Tenet called the intelligence on Iraq’s WMD capability a “slam-dunk.” He was given a Medal of Honor.

In March 2003, Vice President Cheney said, Saddam Hussein was "trying once again to produce nuclear weapons.” “We know that when the inspectors assessed this after the Gulf War, he was far, far closer to a crude nuclear device than anybody thought -- maybe six months from a crude nuclear device,” said Condoleezza Rice. Cheney is still in office; Rice was promoted to Secretary of State.

“We do not torture,” said President Bush. But we do. And we send completely innocent people to nations we accuse of being terror supporters to be tortured. This week we legalized torture and banned habeas corpus.

Who will stand up for the victims of this lethal folly? Until we hold our government accountable, and see our President condemned for his crimes, we ourselves will be guilty of gross negligence. American democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people. You have the power. You have the responsibility. Take it.