Did the U.S. government exploit the passions of the American people, post 9/11, to attack Iraq?

Question

Do you feel exploited?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4924034461280278026&q=Why+We+Fight&hl=en

LeAnne, watch the video. The whole thing, and then ask your question again.

Answer 1

Hello!

I very much think so! War has been a diverter ever since man began to walk. For time immemorable, war has diverted the minds of the people in to something trivial. The 9/11 episode was a horrible event; a crime on humanity. Subsequently the Afghan war was launched. The inability of the US-led Coalition forces to catch the main accused, Osama Bin Laden, is glaring at us even today. The Iraq was was launched & Saddam Hussein took center stage just to distract the minds of the American people from the war in Afghanisthan.
Sadly, this political manouvering has worked on most counts. People seem to believe that Mr.George W Bush has somehow miraclously saved the world from the never-have-been WMD's of Iraq.
I hope the truth prevails, & the American people realize that their money is being spent to kill innocent civilians in remote villages of Afghanisthan & Iraq.

Thank you

Answer 2

Every single time we ignored or failed to effectively respond to the terrorists' murder of Americans all around the globe and on our own soil, we were simply attacked again - finally culminating in the events of 9/11.
Just what the hell do the terrorists have to do to get your attention?


Added note: OK, I watched the video. (All of it) I still stand by my first answer.

It's a very, very slick production with a great sound track. In my opinion, it is very similar to the LooseChange video - except much more professionally done. (Loose Change has its "final edition" coming out this month or next - the product of many cuts, edits and re-edits.)
The Statue of Liberty is a prominent lead into both videos - coincidence, I suppose.

Again, just my opinion - this video shows a one sided, very opinionated and agenda oriented story using cherry picked facts, oversimplified arguments and hammers away at the viewer with repeated use of phrases like "The American way of war." It's message is clear - America is a corrupt, war mongering, greedy, power hungry and immoral country.

I am not naive - and there's probably a lot of truth to some of the contentions in this video - but it is so heavily biased that it's hard to discern the real facts from the writer's agenda.

Corruption? Sure, no question.
Conflict of interests? Absolutely.
Lots of money at state? No doubt.
Political agendas? Very likely.
Unjust war? Not in my opinion.

Bottom line: Regardless of the aledged grievances or reasons or past injustices - there can be NO justification what so ever for the indiscrininent terror, maiming and slaughter of thousands of innocent men, women and children by a group hell bent on world domination and conversion to their apparent interpretation of fundalmental Islamic law. Period.

This demented ideology has to be eliminated. If it can be done without any controversy, second guessing or conclusions by obvious anti-war advocates - at any cost or consequence - fine - but I doubt any endeaver as large and complex as this can ever be executed without controversy and numerous opponents.

Answer 3

Not exploit, fired up!

The Bush admin used every trick in the book to terrify and anger the public. And they are continuing to this day. I don't think there's an admin official that doesn't mention 9-11 and terrorists at every opportunity.

The speed and precision with which this terror campaign was launched is onme of the reasons I know Bush did 9-11.

But yeah, I guess exploit works too.

Answer 4

NO.

Saddam broke the conditions of the Armistice of the First Gulf War.

Saddam successfully bribed leading members of the U.N. and our "allies" France, Germany and Russia.

Undeclared saran and mustard gas shells and yellow cake are irrelevant. You break the conditions in an armistice contract and you should deal with the consequences. Which Saddam finally has.

9/11 had nothing to do with enforcing the terms of the armistice. The Armistice should have been enforced in 1994 when it was clear that it had been broken. Alas, right war, wrong time.

9/11 still must be dealt with. I'm sure Hillary will really kick the necessary butt, right?

Answer 5

YES. The government used the 9/11 attack as a pretext to begin a war so they could make political gain. (First in Afghanistan, and then in Iraq and who knows where next?...)

Aren't most people in America aware of this by now? After all the information has come out showing that the US government ignored warnings that the attacks were coming, that they KNEW there were no weapons of mass destruction, isn't it obvious that the government would do whatever it had to to convince the American people that they were morally justified in going to war?

STOP THE WAR!

Answer 6

I wouldn't say passion, more like anger.

We had no reason to attack Iraq. So, yes, we were exploited. We were angry about 9/11 and since we were angry, we, being a Christian nation, wanted revenge. And Iraq gave that to us, despite Iraq having nothing to do with 9/11.

Answer 7

TO MR. BUSH
The so-called "war on terror" fought as the war on Iraq is taking place in a country that had nothing to do with 9-11. Iraq posed no threat to the United States except in the minds of those requiring and/or fabricating the reasons for war. Yes, , let us talk of the sickness then. A first strike, preventive war of choice is sick. Bombing a country through "Shock and Awe" because it was expedient to have access to our desperately needing its oil is sick. Adopting and using a policy of extreme rendition where the U.S. government sanctions and fosters the disappearance of people to nations where gross torture is allowed so that surrogates can do the dirty work for it is sick. Lying to Congress, the US people and the world in order to justify going to war is sick. Murdering complete Iraqi families by dropping 1,000 pound bombs on them is sick. Breaking the standard by which human decency is maintained, at least in part, during war, i.e., the Hague Conventions of 1889 and 1907, the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and the Nuremberg Conventions adopted by the United Nations December 11, 1945, is sick. Unloading hundreds of tons of depleted uranium is sick. Dropping cluster bombs is sick. Unexploded cluster bomb bomblets becoming land mines taking off children's limbs is sick. Killing as you would call them precious unborn fetuses by poisoning them with radioactive dust is sick. Our youth dying for the ruling elite and rich man's war for profit is sick. Let us reiterate once again, that going to war with Iraq had nothing to do with any threat from Iraq and it had nothing to do with 9-11. It had everything to do with lying about weapons of mass destruction, lying about aluminum tubes, lying about yellow-cake uranium, lying about mobile biological and chemical weapons labs, lying to the United Nations, lying to the world. That, , is sick. And, it is this sickness that you would project onto those who criticize you and the sickness of this regime. The fact that anyone else, or faction, or nation, may be sicker is not justification for excusing this regime's sickness.

Answer 8

nah. I wanted to go in; there were legitimate national interests at stake.

The only thing I regret is that the war was so much more difficult than expected. If I had known we would be facing this, I would not have supported it.

Answer 9

No I feel amazed when the democrats speak . Knowing there are fools who buy it. Hey Steve C what do you think killed the 180,00 Kurds in the North? Mr Bush only repeated the same things Clinton had said.You forget?

Answer 10

yes , but I don't feel exploited. I protested the war before it began