Originally posted by TourDeForce:
Originally posted by Tourist:
...the evidence showed that Iraq was never an imminent threat to our security.



After 9-11 we all knew we had a despirate & fanatical enemy out there. If you take a look at the two declarations that Iraq supplied to the U.N. you will note some gaping discrepancies that were well documented by CBS news. Yes, CBS news - they had those discrepancies specifically outlined in detail on their website for at least a year after the march on Iraq. Where was all that material? Was it destroyed? Was it otherwise disposed of? Was it made available to terrorist organizations? We had no way of knowing because Saddam would not allow inspections, he would not allow interviewing of key people in the programs, he would not provide documentation of the disposition of those materials. For all the world knew, Al-Queda now had those materials in their hands.




Yes, of course there were ample grounds for concern about whether Iraq was a security threat. We probably all agree that Iraq was a "security threat" of some kind. But the issue here is whether Bush intentionally exaggerated that threat. The article says he did.

What's wrong with the President taking some liberties with the truth, and deliberately exaggerating a security threat? Here's what's wrong with that: when a President exaggerates a security threat, he is misleading the public (and government and business leaders) about whether the war really is necessary. When a President distorts the facts, or "cherry-picks the evidence," or uses overly inflammatory rhetoric (such as "the axis of evil"), he tends to (temporarily) prevent the public from making a rational decision based on the facts. This allows him a (temporary) opening to do just about whatever he wants. Bush used his opening to commit us to a costly and misguided war.

By exaggerating the security threat, Bush greatly boosted his own power. He got to use the enormous war powers granted to him under our constitution, and he got all the political benefits that accrue to a wartime President (reflexive patriotic support from voters, a huge war budget to distribute to his corporate political backers, and lots of new plumb jobs to distribute to his friends). After all, his poll numbers were quite low, and his chances for re-election were fading, so it must have been an irresistible temptation.