(cross-posted at The Agonist)
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC, 20006
Mr. President:
Over the past four-plus years, I’ve watched with growing dismay and ever-increasing disgust as you have gradually but inexorably killed off more and more of our sons and daughters in your “War on Terror”. I’ve watched as you moved what arguably was a war against terror in Afghanistan into what is a war against…well, I’m not quite certain what…in Iraq. I’ve watched and listened as you and members of your Adminstration have lied, propagandized, and manipulated the legitimate fear of terrorism in order to obtain a war that seems as if it was pre-ordained. It was what you and your fellow noeConservative thugs wanted all along.
9.11, though a horrible tragedy, must have seemed heaven-sent, in that it provided you with the perfect cover for the war that you and your neoConservative allies had wanted all along. Afghanistan was merely window-dressing, a war maintained just long enough to ensure that the patriotic fervor at home was at near-record levels.
The problem, at least from where I sit, is that you didn’t trust us enough to tell us the truth. No; you had to lie, falsify intelligence, and spread the fear so thick it was palpable. If you truly wanted to fight terrorists where they live so that we don’t have to fight them where we live, then why are we not focusing our efforts on Afghanistan, where there are actual, honest-to-God terrorists who wish to destroy us? Why did we have to invade Iraq in order to create the very terrorist threat that you so fervently insist is a fight for our freedom and our way of life…when it’s nothing of the sort?
Thus far, your lies, your propaganda, and your fear-mongering have killed more than 3,400 of our sons and daughters (and counting). Despite this sacrifice, we’re no closer to “victory”, or even a solution in Iraq. Our young men and women continue dying for a cause that has no definition, no goal, and even less planning. Did we entrust our sons and daughters to you so they could blown to pieces by a roadside bomb? Did we send then off to war so they could be poorly equipped, over-extended, and stretched to the breaking point? Or are our sons and daughters merely pawns in your game of neoConservative global dominion?
Was it truly your intent to repeat the mistakes and failures of Vietnam? With each passing day, the war in Iraq becomes increasingly more redolent of Vietnam- the futility, the constant and senseless sacrifice of young American lives, the politicians more concerned with protecting their legacies and their political power than looking out for the well-being of those doing the fighting and dying. For someone like myself who grew up during Vietnam, the parallels are disturbing. Truly, those who do not understand history ARE condemned to repeat it.
If this sounds angry, it’s because I am. A Republican Congress impeached Bill Clinton for getting his helmet polished by a female White House intern. And yet you’ve been granted carte blanche to conduct an illegal and immoral war as you’ve seen fit. The previous Republican Congress functioned as a rubber stamp, and the current Democratic Congress lacks the moral courage and the cojones to make you accountable for the lies and propaganda that led us to this unwinnable quagmire in Iraq.
I will admit to being one of the gullible majority who got behind you in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. The “evidence” presented seemed to indicate that Iraq was a clear and present danger to America in particular and civil international society in general. Imagine my dismay to discover that you and your band of neoConservative sycophants lied to us. The intelligence was fudged, the truth was altered to fit your desired end, and you lied to the country you were (allegedly) elected to lead. Leaders don’t lie, they don’t engage in overt propaganda campaigns, and they don’t send our sons and daughters off to die in support of fear, ignorance, and the desire to control the world’s oil markets. War criminals do that…and if there is ANY justice in this world, history will remember you as exactly that.
I gave you the benefit of the doubt initially, and that will always be to my everlasting regret. I, like many Americans, felt that Iraq, based on the argument you presented, was a clear and present danger. Like many Americans, I recognized that there are times when partisanship needs to take a back seat to the common good. Based on the “evidence” presented, Iraq seemed to fit that definition. Now I recognize that my good faith and love of country was purchased with lies and propaganda, and I’m beyond angry…and I will not rest until you are defending yourself in the well of the Senate on war-crimes charges.
I’ve always believed that hatred is a very ugly and unproductive emotion, but in your case, Mr. President, I’m willing to make an exception. I hate you for your lies and your propaganda. I hate you for your willingness to blithely sacrifice our sons and daughters for the sake of your agenda and your legacy. I hate you for what you’ve done to the country I love and which I barely recognize any more. You’re a murderer and a war criminal, and on this Memorial Day, you should be hanging your head in shame as you are led off to prison in shackles. You’re a despicable human being who is too blind and arrogant to recognize what you’ve done and what you’re continuing to do to this country.
May you soon find yourself in the Hell you so richly deserve.
Sincerely,
Jack Cluth
2308 Nassau Drive
Seabrook, TX, 77586
