Like clockwork, the Republican noise machine is blaming Barack Obama for the crisis in Iraq. And like clockwork, they’ve got everything wrong again. The man to blame for what’s happening in Iraq is not President Obama — it’s President Bush…. The recent success of ISIS — the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — is exactly what Osama bin Laden had hoped that the 9/11 attacks would lead to. And thanks to Bush’s spectacularly foolish responses, bin Laden’s dream has come true…. First, by invading Afghanistan, Bush validated bin Laden’s claim that what was happening was a religious war between Islam and the Christian West. Then, by invading Iraq and deposing his most prominent ideological foe, Saddam Hussein, Bush gave bin Laden a second gift—a much stronger position of influence throughout the region.
Once upon a time, when most Americans wanted blood to be spilled in order to make those responsible for 9.11 pay, we were lied to. Early. Often. And repeatedly. In our thirst for vengeance, most Americans didn’t stop to think and ask some very basic questions…like, “Is what the President telling us true?” I can say this with some authority…because I was one of them. I took the word of the President and his minions, and I accepted their passionate assertions that Iraq possessed weapons of war. I will always regret it, but I aacepted the President’s assertion that the only viable option was to remove Saddam Hussein from power and destroy the weapon of mass destruction his regime possessed.
Except that none of that turned out to be true.
We were lied to, because George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were determined to use 9.11 as a pretext to purchase the war against Iraq they’d lusted after for so long. They got their war, and 4500 young Americans were shipped home from Iraq in flag-draped boxes. Now that Iraq is slowly imploding in spasms of brutal sectarian violence, Republicans are determined to rewrite history and blame Barack Obama. The whole exercise is ludicrous, of course; the war in Iraq began in March, 2003…and Barack Obama took office in January, 2009. George W. Bush created the mess and left it for his successor. Obama managed to finally end the war in 2011.
What’s next? Republicans blaming this President for the 1918 influenza pandemic? The Lindbergh kidnapping? The Iranian hostage crisis? How Barack Obama can credibly be blamed for events that occurred six years prior to his taking the oath of office is something that defies rational understanding. Yet that’s exactly what Republicans would have us believe- the Iraq War is owned lock, stock, and barrel by Barack Obama…and boy, did he EVER screw the pooch on this one, eh? Meanwhile the architects of the genocide are considered heroes by the Right and hold down lucrative sinecures at Conservative think tanks.
Not since the Soviet Union of Josef Stalin’s era has so much emphasis been placed on revisionist history. The only thing missing from Republican lie-peddling are the pictures with Bush and Cheney removed…and Barack Obama ‘shopped in. It’s still early, though…and I suspect that sort of historical manipulation may be closer than I think.
I regret being duped into supporting an immoral and illegal war sold to us with lies, disinformation, and propaganda…but I’m not about to forget who should be held responsible for the war. I know who has blood on their hands, and I know who the war criminals are…and despite all Republicans efforts to convince the American Sheeple otherwise, it’s not Barack Obama.
I can only wish that this President had the balls and the moral courage to hold Bush and Cheney responsible for the lies and deception that led directly to the needless deaths of 4500 Americans and more than 100,000 innocent Iraqis. Captain Codpiece © and The Prince of Darkness © should have long since been standing in a dock in the Hague and on trial for war crimes charges. Hubris leading to genocide should arguably be considered a crime punishable by death by the international community (Yes, I it would seem I did just advocate for the trial and execution of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Their craven responsibility for the genocide that occurred in Iraq is arguably worthy of nothing less than the death penalty.)
Of course, the beautiful thing about being a Republican warmonger is never having to say you’re sorry or worry about being held accountable for your criminal behavior. Even in light of that, Iraq belongs to George W. Bush. He sold it, we bought it, and the mess was left for Barack Obama to clean up.
Classy to the end, no?
