Weapons Of Mass Destruction

A Generation Since The Iraq War, Which Was Another “Big Lie”, As The Presidential Election Of 2020!

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The Iraq War, which led to the downfall and death of Saddam Hussein, and the rise of Iranian influence over Iraq, was another “Big Lie”, based on false intelligence, and causing the death of an estimated 270,000 Iraqi civilians, and 4,600 US military personnel.

Just as Iraq was a “Big Lie”, so is the continued contention that the Presidential Election of 2020 was “stolen” by Joe Biden, and denied to Donald Trump!

The cost in the national debt due to the Iraq War was at least $2 trillion, and no WMD’s (Weapons of Mass Destruction) were found.

It is a permanent stain on President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and all of the leading figures around the Bush Presidency, with the indication that there was no concerted plan for an extended civil war that dragged on for eight long years, and undermined US policy in the Middle East.

This author and blogger recalls participating in a symposium early in 2003, and believing that such an intervention was based on false pretenses and a mistake, so what followed is seen as a major human tragedy of massive proportions.

Bill Clinton Illness And Colin Powell Death Reminders Of Fragility Of Life

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The past few days reminds us, even if we try to forget, of the fragility of life.

First, Bill Clinton, age 75, had a dangerous urological and blood infection, that required six days in the hospital, and will require a few weeks of further recovery at home.

And this morning, we have the shocking news that former Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor Colin Powell has died of COVID 19 complications at age 84, despite having been fully vaccinated, although he was suffering from cancer.

Powell was a truly great American, a man much admired. But his defense of the claim of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) before the United Nations, which justified the Iraq War under George W. Bush at the time, was proven to be a lie, undermining somewhat his reputation.

Still, as a mainstream Republican, Powell supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020, and was an especially leading critic of the danger represented by Donald Trump.

So we are thankful that Bill Clinton is recovering from his illness, and greatly saddened by the death of Colin Powell!

Donald Trump: The Liar Of All Liars, The Most In Presidential History!

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It is true that it is part of human nature that all of us lie in our daily lives.

We lie when we do not want to be honest about someone’s clothes, appearance or our private thoughts about them, when we are in their presence.

We lie at work, to get along with fellow employees, and to avoid antagonizing our supervisors, as we wish to avoid tension, and danger to our livelihood.

We lie, when we try to influence our teachers and professors, hoping to gain a better grade in a class.

We lie when we deal with relatives in order to keep the peace.

We lie when we have friends we do not wish to lose over minor disagreements.

In many other situations, we lie, as we pursue romantic interests.

So it is “normal” to lie, but hopefully, none of this lying is serious lying that undermines our protection of ourselves in society.

Hopefully, we are not lying to the extent that others can see right through our lies, and where our moral and ethical standing is compromised to our detriment.

Hopefully, we are not lying where it causes harm or even more to anyone, in the name of our own ambition.

But then there is Donald Trump, who is, the liar of all liars, the most in Presidential history by far!

Dwight D. Eisenhower lied about the U-2 Spy Plane Incident in 1960.

Lyndon B. Johnson lied about the Vietnam War in 1967.

Richard Nixon lied about the Watergate Scandal in 1973-1974.

Bill Clinton lied about the Monica Lewinsky Affair in 1998.

George W. Bush lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction in 2003.

All of these lies were horrendous, and undermined the record and reputation of the Presidents involved.

But none of these Presidents lied so early in his term, and not at the rate of five lies per day as an average, as shown by an analysis done by the New York Times of the first six months.

Donald Trump has lied about just about everything imaginable, much of it where he knows that we know he is lying, but he is incorrigible.

Donald Trump has made an art of lying, and carries along with him one third of the American people, who seem not to care, or simply be ignorant enough that they do not understand he is lying.

And this lying is going on with no major crisis having yet arisen, but much going on internally which we do not know about, due to national security, but will undermine our nation once we become aware of what Trump and his advisers are perpetrating that will cost American lives, and make the lives of millions of others worsen dramatically, due to the disease of lying excessively.

With only 24 percent trusting him, and 73 percent not trusting him in the latest CNN poll, Donald Trump has lost all credibility.

Donald Trump has become a massive liar, the liar of all liars, a chronic and habitual liar, a disease that undermines any possibility of success in his Presidency.

Iraq War, “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, Began 14 Years Ago Today—And Now On To Likely War Against North Korea

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14 years ago, Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Iraq War, began, leading to an eight year and nine month war, the longest war in American history except for the war in Afghanistan.

It also caused the death of close to 4,500 Americans and loss of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and the collapse of stable government, and the rise of ISIL (ISIS), leading to the horrific destruction and terrorism threat of the past three years.

It was a war based on falsehoods about “Weapons of Mass Destruction”, and undermined the reputation of President George W. Bush and his administration.

And now, there are strong hints that we are on the way to another major war against North Korea, with uncertainty whether that means nuclear war or a massive invasion.

And the effect on South Korea and Japan of the threat from North Korea is unnerving with their massive standing army, and what it means for US Troops in South Korea.

There is no debate about the dangers of North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un, but the question is what can or should be done about it.

The fact that we have a very unstable President in Donald Trump, with his recklessness in dealing with other nations in diplomacy, adds to the tension and nervousness about what is likely to occur soon.

Eleven Years Since Greatest Blunder In Modern American History: The Iraq War!

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Eleven years ago today, America went to war in Iraq on the false premise that there were weapons of mass destruction there, which did not exist!

It is clear that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld KNEW that fact, but they convinced Colin Powell to speak before the United Nations on a lie that he was not privy to, took advantage of his far greater stature than any of them had!

The Iraq War led to 4,400 American dead, and over 30,000 wounded, with many losing limbs or part of their skull, and many having mental and emotional trauma which continues today!

It led to the longest war in American history, except for the Afghanistan War, which was put on the back burner, and still goes on today, making both wars total failures, but another 2,000 killed in that war.

It did not create a stable Iraq, but killed at least many hundreds of thousands in Iraq, if not a million or more.

We spent a lot of treasure, helping to double the national debt under the Bush-Cheney regime.

We allowed ourselves to engage in war with Iraq, when Iran was the much bigger threat, and remains so in 2014.

We also gave the excuse for Vladamir Putin of Russia to invade and take over Crimea, as allowed under international law, because, after all, we had claimed the right to invade a sovereign nation in a war of choice, a preemptive war, making us no better than past aggressors, who attacked without a direct provocation.

Many feel that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld are international outlaws, and it is clear that if it were possible to arrest them, they could be tried on human rights abuse at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, the Netherlands!

Of course, that will not happen in reality, but this is not something that should be overlooked as an example of what happens when the wrong people are put into power, particularly with the reality that George W. Bush did not win the popular vote in the Presidential Election of 2000, but won the court case that was decided on party line vote in the Supreme Court, a majority which had been picked by Republican Presidents!

History will not judge the Bush Presidency well, and no matter what the Republican Party of 2014 does to sweep the past under the rug, the truth will win out, and it will not be pretty!

As John Kerry Becomes Secretary Of State, An Assessment Of The Most Influential Secretaries Of State In American History

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With Hillary Clinton leaving the State Department, and John Kerry becoming the 68th Secretary of State, it is a good time to assess who are the most influential Secretaries of State we have had in American history.

Notice I say “most influential”, rather than “best”, as that is a better way to judge diplomatic leadership in the State Department.

Without ranking them, which is very difficult, we will examine the Secretaries of State who have had the greatest impact, in chronological order:

Thomas Jefferson (1789-1793) under President George Washington—set the standard for the department, and was probably the most brilliant man ever to head the State Department.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) under President James Monroe—brought about the Monroe Doctrine, treaties with Canada, and the acquisition of Florida.

William H. Seward (1861-1869) under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson—brought about the neutrality of Great Britain and France in the Civil War, and purchased Alaska from Czarist Russia, a fortunate development.

Hamilton Fish (1869-1877) under President Ulysses S. Grant—involved in many diplomatic issues in Latin America, had America become more engaged in Hawaii, and settled differences with Great Britain, and often considered the major bright spot in the tragic Grant Presidency.

James G. Blaine (1881, 1889-1892) under Presidents James A. Garfield and Chester Alan Arthur briefly, and full term under President Benjamin Harrison—helped to bring about eventual takeover of Hawaii, and promoted the concept of a canal in Central America.

John Hay (1898-1905) under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt—-involved in the issues after the Spanish American War, including involvement in the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and a major influence over TR’s diplomatic initiatives in his first term.

Elihu Root (1905-1909) under President Theodore Roosevelt—-a great influence in TR’s growing involvement in world affairs in his second term in office.

Robert Lansing (1915-1920) under President Woodrow Wilson—a major player in American entrance in World War I and at the Versailles Peace Conference.

Charles Evan Hughes (1921-1925) under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge—-had major role in Washington Naval Agreements in 1922.

Henry Stimson (1929-1933) under President Herbert Hoover—-was a major critic of Japanese expansion, as expressed in the Stimson Doctrine of 1932.

Cordell Hull (1933-1944) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt—-was the longest lasting Secretary of State, nearly the whole term of FDR, and very much involved in all of the President’s foreign policy decisions.

Dean Acheson (1949-1953) under President Harry Truman—-involved in the major decisions of the early Cold War, including the Korean War intervention.

John Foster Dulles (1953-1959) under President Dwight D. Eisenhower—had controversial views on Cold War policy with the Soviet Union, including “massive retaliation”.

Dean Rusk (1961-1969) under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson—highly controversial advocate of the Vietnam War escalation, but served under the complete terms of two Presidents, and never backed away from his views on the Cold War.

Henry Kissinger (1973-1977) under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford—-easily one of the most influential figures in the shaping of foreign policy in American history, earlier having served as National Security Adviser.

George Shultz, (1982-1989) under President Ronald Reagan—-very close adviser to the President on his major foreign policy initiatives.

James Baker (1989-1992) under President George H. W. Bush—very significant in Persian Gulf War and end of Cold War policies.

Madeleine Albright (1997-2001) under President Bill Clinton—-first woman Secretary of State and played major role in many issues that arose.

Colin Powell (2001-2005) under President George W. Bush—-involved in the justification of the Iraq War based on Weapons of Mass Destruction, which undermined his reputation because of the lack of evidence on WMDs.

Condoleezza Rice (2005-2009) under President George W. Bush—second woman Secretary of State and intimately involved in policy making.

Hillary Clinton (2009-2013) under President Barack Obama—third woman Secretary of State, and hailed by most as a major contributor to Obama’s foreign policy initiatives.

This is a list of 21 out of the 68 Secretaries of State, but also there are 15 other Secretaries of State who were influential historical figures, including:

John Marshall
James Madison
James Monroe
Henry Clay
Martin Van Buren
Daniel Webster
John C. Calhoun
James Buchanan
Lewis Cass
William Jennings Bryan
George Marshall
Cyrus Vance
Edmund Muskie
Alexander Haig
Warren Christopher

So a total of 36 out of 68 Secretaries of State have been major figures in American history, and contributed to the diplomatic development of the United States in world affairs!

Trying To Decipher The “Republican” Brain: Crazy, Lacking In Reality And Ethics

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Republicans used to be a reputable major political party, and have a lot to be proud of in their history of 158 years.

But there is little to be proud of in 2012, as Republicans seem to have lost their minds, their ethics, their morality, their ability to understand reality!

How else to explain the following:

A vast majority of Republicans believe Barack Obama was born in Kenya, is a Muslim, is a Socialist, a Fascist, a Communist, and wishes to destroy America.

The deficit issue began with Barack Obama, ignoring $2 trillion investment in failed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and $1.3 trillion in tax cuts to the top two percent of the population under George W. Bush.

The Federal budget can be balanced with only program cuts, not tax increases ever again.

Global warming is a hoax, and evolution is just a theory, and God will always protect all of us from harm from the climate, and mankind walked the earth alongside dinosaurs.

Iraq caused September 11, and we found Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.

Since there is no body, how do we know that Osama Bin Laden was really killed by US Navy Seals?

Contraception is evil, and knowledge to adolescents about sex is evil, and it is all a plot to promote gay sex and abortions.

All Hispanics and Latinos are illegal immigrants, and they are all criminal elements that must be deported en masse.

Barack Obama is easily the most corrupt President we have ever had in American history, including Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush.

The collapse of Wall Street in 2008 was due to too much regulation, and was caused by Democrats and liberals.

The entire New Deal and Great Society is unconstitutional, and needs to be repealed, and return us to the days of states rights, instead of a powerful national government.

America was designed to be a theocracy, and we are a Christian Republic, and if we follow Jesus Christ, we will be just fine.

Science is atheism, and should be dismissed as propaganda to turn America away from God and Jesus Christ.

The list goes on, but this is enough to tell any sane person that the GOP has gone amuck in its craziness about the real world we live in!

The Pure Ignorance And Stupidity Of Republican Voters Beyond Belief!

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In a new poll conducted by a Dartmouth College professor, 63 percent of Republicans believe that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), which justified the invasion and war in Iraq from 2003-2011, despite absolute proof that no such weapons ever existed!

Also, 64 percent of Republicans believe that Barack Obama was born outside the United States, and therefore are “Birthers”!

Almost no Independents or Democrats believe either concept, and it shows a basic lack of reality and sanity on the part of Republicans who participated in the poll!

When other polls show that if someone watches or listens to no news at all, he or she is better informed than those who watch Fox News Channel, that shows us the “Know Nothingism” of Republican voters.

The idea that those who watch Jon Stewart on Comedy Channel are far better informed on the news and politics going on, than those who watch Fox News Channel, shows the danger we face–that ignorance and stupidity are becoming widespread throughout the Republican Party membership, and the officeholders are exploiting it for their own benefit, laughing behind the scenes as to just how moronic their supporters are, and the willingness to believe anything their ignorant, stupid supporters are capable of!

This is a danger to American democracy itself!

Tragic Anniversary: Nine Years Since Iraq War Began, As Doubts About Afghanistan War Abound!

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Nine years ago today, based on false and misleading evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction possessed by Saddam Hussein of Iraq, the US and allied nations went to war in Iraq.

The effects for the American military have been massive:

4,408 killed in action
31,922 wounded in action

Several hundred or more have lost limbs or part of their skull, and at least one out of four soldiers serving in Iraq have had brain injuries and mental and emotional problems, better known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, from their military service.

In the ongoing Afghanistan War, the number killed stands at 1,912, and wounded close to 10,000, with several hundred severely wounded.

So together in the past decade, about 6,300 American soldiers have been killed, and about 42,000 wounded, with close to 1,000 severely wounded, and again one out of four soldiers affected by PTSD, including Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, who killed sixteen Afghan civilians last week, a tragedy for the victims, but also for him and his family, and for America.

These sobering statistics, separate from the loss of life of hundreds of thousands of civilians in both Iraq and Afghanistan, requires our serious consideration that it is time to say the War on Terror has been won overseas, with the death of three fourths of the Al Qaeda leadership, and the elimination last May of Osama Bin Laden.

It is time to come home, and to heal our veterans,. at any cost, rather than continue spending $100 billion a year or more in an area we cannot make democratic and western style. Out of Afghanistan as soon as possible is an urgency!