THINKING FOR OURSELVES

Fool us twice

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, April 20-26, 2008

The single most dramatic accomplishment of the Bush administration is its ability to intentionally distort reality. It is now widely understood that the continued references by the president and his administration juxtaposing Iraq and September 11, Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, created a justification in the minds of many Americans for the unprovoked invasion of Iraq. The success of this tactic was widely reported at the time of the invasion when polls recorded that most people in the U.S. believed Iraq was responsible for the attacks of 9-11. People now know that this connection was manipulated. The specter of nuclear war, mushroom-shaped clouds, smuggled uranium, and weapons of mass destruction were all fictions, designed to induce fear and blunt critical thinking.

These lessons were painfully learned and are a major part of the reason why more than 80% of adults think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Still, a year ago,the Bush administration recycled these arguments with a new target, Iran. The administration claimed Iran was sending arms to Iraq, fighters to al Qaeda and developing nuclear bombs. These bogus arguments were carefully orchestrated by the administration, appearing as talking points on TV shows, in public speeches,and finding their way into Presidential addresses. In August 2007 President Bush warned that Iran's atomic energy program threatened to place the entire Middle East "under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust". In October 2007 he said that preventing Teheran from developing nuclear weapons was necessary "if you're interested in avoiding World War III". On two occasions Bush wrongly asserted that Iran had declared that it wanted nuclear weapons.

Later the White House acknowledged Bush had erred but the strategy of sowing fear was clear.

The similarity of these arguments to the earlier efforts targeting Iraq made them less believable. The American people had grown weary of war and wary of a president who played with facts. But it took the combined efforts of the United Nations Weapons Inspectors, the National Intelligence Estimate and a fair number of high-ranking military personnel to quell the push toward confrontation with Iran.

Now a new scenario has emerged. The administration claims our problems in Iraq are being caused by Iran. This story line is more carefully orchestrated than the last effort. Vice President Dick Cheney is once again warning the world of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and threatening "serious consequences.”

General David Petraeus testified before Congress about Iranian-backed "special groups" who pose the "greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq."

Iran, Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee, has "fueled the recent violence in a particularly damaging way through its lethal support of the special groups."

This testimony was followed by a speech in which Bush declared "Iraq is the convergence point for two of the greatest threats to America in this new century: al Qaeda and Iran.” He went on to say, "If we succeed in Iraq after all that al Qaeda and Iran have invested there, it would be a historic blow to the global terrorist movement and a severe setback for Iran." None of this is true.

The special groups fighting the Maliki government, especially the Moktada al Sadr forces, are nationalist liberation fighters, provoked into the latest round of fighting by the U.S.- backed government. Army officials have taken great care to say there is no evidence of Iran’s involvement.

George Bush wants to bomb Iran. While many of us are distracted by meaningless coverage of the antics of candidates, the real story unfolding is with the man who has the power to inflict great damage. We need to make it clear that we won’t be fooled twice.

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