Mr. Bush and his 10 ever-changing positions on Iraq

Mr. Bush and his 10 ever-changing positions on Iraq
Michael Moore - michaelmoore.com
09.23.04 -
Dear Mr. Bush,
I am so confused. Where exactly do you stand on the issue of Iraq? You, your
Dad, Rummy, Condi, Colin, and Wolfie -- you have all changed your minds so
many times, I am out of breath just trying to keep up with you!
Which of these 10 positions that you, your family and your cabinet have
taken
over the years represents your CURRENT thinking:
1983-88: WE LOVE SADDAM. On December 19, 1983, Donald Rumsfeld was sent by
your dad and Mr. Reagan to go and have a friendly meeting with Saddam
Hussein,
the dictator of Iraq. Rummy looked so happy in the picture. Just twelve days
after this visit, Saddam gassed thousands of Iranian troops. Your dad and
Rummy
seemed pretty happy with the results because The Donald R. went back to
have another chummy hang-out with Saddams right-hand man, Tariq Aziz, just
four
months later. All of this resulted in the U.S. providing credits and loans
to
Iraq that enabled Saddam to buy billions of dollars worth of weapons and
chemical agents. The Washington Post reported that your dad and Reagan let
it be
known to their Arab allies that the Reagan/Bush administration wanted Iraq
to
win its war with Iran and anyone who helped Saddam accomplish this was a
friend
of ours.
1990: WE HATE SADDAM. In 1990, when Saddam invaded Kuwait, your dad and his
defense secretary, Dick Cheney, decided they didn't like Saddam anymore so
they
attacked Iraq and returned Kuwait to its rightful dictators.
1991: WE WANT SADDAM TO LIVE. After the war, your dad and Cheney and Colin
Powell told the Shiites to rise up against Saddam and we would support them.
So
they rose up. But then we changed our minds. When the Shiites rose up
against
Saddam, the Bush inner circle changed its mind and decided NOT to help the
Shiites. Thus, they were massacred by Saddam.
1998: WE WANT SADDAM TO DIE. In 1998, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and others, as
part
of the Project for the New American Century, wrote an open letter to
President Clinton insisting he invade and topple Saddam Hussein.
2000: WE DON'T BELIEVE IN WAR AND NATION BUILDING. Just three years later,
during your debate with Al Gore in the 2000 election, when asked by the
moderator Jim Lehrer where you stood when it came to using force for regime
change,
you turned out to be a downright pacifist:
I--I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my
approach. I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I
think
we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president
[Al Gore] and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in
nation building. I--I would be very careful about using our troops as nation
builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and,
therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place. And so I take
my--I take
my--my responsibility seriously. --October 3, 2000
2001 (early): WE DON'T BELIEVE SADDAM IS A THREAT. When you took office in
2001, you sent your Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and your National
Security
Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, in front of the cameras to assure the American
people they need not worry about Saddam Hussein. Here is what they said:
Powell: We should constantly be reviewing our policies, constantly be
looking at those sanctions to make sure that they have directed that
purpose. That
purpose is every bit as important now as it was 10 years ago when we began
it.
And frankly, they have worked. He has not developed any significant
capability
with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project
conventional power against his neighbors. --February 24, 2001
Rice: But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let's remember that his
country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his
country. We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not
been
rebuilt. --July 29, 2001
2001 (late): WE BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US! Just a few months later,
in the hours and days after the 9/11 tragedy, you had no interest in going
after Osama bin Laden. You wanted only to bomb Iraq and kill Saddam and you
then
told all of America we were under imminent threat because weapons of mass
destruction were coming our way. You led the American people to believe that
Saddam had something to do with Osama and 9/11. Without the UN's sanction,
you
broke international law and invaded Iraq.
2003: WE DONT BELIEVE SADDAM IS GOING TO KILL US. After no WMDs were found,
you changed your mind about why you said we needed to invade, coming up with
a
brand new after-the-fact reason -- we started this war so we could have
regime change, liberate Iraq and give the Iraqis democracy!
2003: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Yes, everyone saw you say it -- in costume, no
less!
2004: OOPS. MISSION NOT ACCOMPLISHED! Now you call the Iraq invasion a
"catastrophic success." That's what you called it this month. Over a
thousand U.S.
soldiers have died, Iraq is in a state of total chaos where no one is safe,
and
you have no clue how to get us out of there.
Mr. Bush, please tell us -- when will you change your mind again?
I know you hate the words "flip" and "flop," so I won't use them both on
you.
In fact, I'll use just one: Flop. That is what you are. A huge, colossal
flop. The war is a flop, your advisors and the "intelligence" they gave you
is a
flop, and now we are all a flop to the rest of the world. Flop. Flop. Flop.
And you have the audacity to criticize John Kerry with what you call the
"many positions" he has taken on Iraq. By my count, he has taken only one:
He
believed you. That was his position. You told him and the rest of congress
that
Saddam had WMDs. So he -- and the vast majority of Americans, even those who
didn't vote for you -- believed you. You see, Americans, like John Kerry,
want to
live in a country where they can believe their president.
That was the one, single position John Kerry took. He didn't support the
war,
he supported YOU. And YOU let him and this great country down. And that is
why tens of millions can't wait to get to the polls on Election Day -- to
remove
a major, catastrophic flop from our dear, beloved White House -- to stop all
the flipping you and your men have done, flipping us and the rest of the
world
off.