[guest posting from EngineerofKnowledge]
President George W Bush has delivered a speech to mark the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. In this posting I will take the “Bush speak” and present counter points and facts to make sure the truth is presented.
Speaking at the Pentagon, Mr. Bush said "removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision."
Response:
(Then why in the 1980’s did Rumsfeld reestablish relations after President Carter placed sanctions on him because of his dictatorship regime. Rumsfeld was proactive in re-establishing relations that he secured loans for Saddam so he could afford our weapons to go to war with Iran? This financial support to supply Saddam with war materials on borrowed money from other countries, for the American tax payers to foot the bill, went on for almost a full decade. The U.S. citizens are now not even able to pay the interest due on this borrowed money.)
Bush went on to say that the recent "surge" of US troops to Iraq has brought about "a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror."
Response:
(The only reason that it appears that the “surge” is working is because the real Shea power in Iraq, the religious cleric Al Sader, has called a temporary cease fire from his followers and troops. It can quickly start back up on his command. Al-Sader intends the formation of a political party and is contemplating taking part in general elections in Iraq. Al-Sader has also stated, “We will not permit aggressions against Syria, Iran, or a continuation in Iraq.” Al-Sader is hoping Bush will just claim victory again and pull the troops out or wait to see how the elections will go in the U.S. The true decision of what happens in Iraq is his.)
'Necessary costs'
(Now on this subject, I am writing from the viewpoint of a very financially conservative Republican from the 1st Congressional District of Maryland and like I have said before, I work with more information than most people have at hand.)
The following statement from Bush’s speech comes amid criticism in the US of the war, with some critics pointing to its high cost. In his speech, Mr. Bush dismissed what he called the "exaggerated estimates" of the cost. "The costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq."
Response:
(A Pentagon Account Director with 20 years experience, who had outstanding evaluations for the years past, questioned invoices from Halliburton that were not justified by billing from Halliburton. When she asked for documentation that would justify these invoices, she after 20 years performing her duties with accolade evaluations, had her job performance recorded as being unacceptable and was fired. This is just one example of the many “No Bid” contracts handed out to political contributing supporters that has cost over runs of the tax payers in this country. Many here in the U.S. do not realize that most of the “No Bid” contracts awarded are subcontracted out in Iraq at a very small fraction of the contract. It is typical that on average, that for every Million dollar “No Bid” contract, it is passed onto an Iraqi subcontractor for about $50,000 leaving the original contract profit of $950,000 to the “Good Old Boy.” The continuation of this discombobulation is that there is no quantity control of the actual work being done. The new police barracks in Fallujah has plumbing where raw sewage running out through the walls and onto the floors. This new building that tax payers have funded, it cannot even be used because of the health reasons. Now of course the paper work in the Pentagon is stamped, “Job Complete.” This again is just one more example of what are the rule and not the exception of what the true conditions in Iraq’s reality.)
From the world’s view, the BBC's reporter, Richard Lister in Washington said, “That the speech conspicuously lacked any references to Iraqi weapons of mass destruction - the removal of which had been the stated aim of the war. President Bush appeared to be attempting to redefine the invasion as a mission to remove Saddam Hussein.
Summation:
(If Bush can’t dazzle you with brilliance, the only thing he has left is to try to baffle you with Bull Crap)
