Rumsfeld and Bush think we're stupid. One mother proves them wrong.
Rumsfeld: "There was no war in Iraq or Afghanistan when America was attacked on September 11th."
They also want us to forget their six months of lying to the American people about there being weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons in Iraq that could strike the United States in 20 minutes in their build up to an unprovked invasion. And despite being caught in all this lies, they think we're still stupid enough to believe that what is happening in Iraq is somehow connected with their much touted but never defined "war on terror" and efforts to apprehend Bin Laden.
Rumsfeld's remarks were apparently sparked by the subway bombings in London, which he denies have any connection to the political climate caused by the U.S./British invasion and occupation of Iraq.
The Facts: For the umpteenth time the Bush administration has tried to sell the lie that somehow it was Saddam Hussein and Iraq that were behind the attacks on 9/11 and part of the Al-Qaeda organization which planned it. They think we're stupid. They think we've forgotten this and that fact that they themselves were already forced to publically admit that there was no such connection.
Rumsfeld: "The United States and its allies did not provoke the terrorists; the terrorists attacked America."
The Facts: Perhaps the Secretary of Defense has forgotten that only hours after the 9/11 attacks, he urged President Bush to invade Iraq knowing full well that Saddam and Iraq were not behind them. I guess he believes that an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation which has cost a hundred thousand lives and caused massive destruction, and a bloody armed occupation which continues with no end in sight at a cost of billions of dollars, were not "provocations."
Bush: "We will stay on the offense against these people."
The Facts: Really? The president was of course referring to Iraq. Perhaps he should be reminded that Bin Laden is in Pakistan. When asked about this a few months ago, a White House spokeperson explained that we could not go into Pakistan out of respect for the nation's sovereignty! But we could, of course, invade Iraq although they had nothing to do with Bin Laden's attacks.
Bush: "They're terrorists and they're killers and they will kill innocent people."
The Facts: Conservative estimates now place the number of innocent Iraqi civilians killed in the president's unprovoked invasion as exceeding 100,000.
Bush: "Zawahiri must not have understood the nature of our country."
The Facts: A curious statement from a man who once said "I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. I assured all four of these leaders that I know the difference, and that difference is they pass the laws and I execute them," and "A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
Cindy Sheehan: "I want to ask the president, `Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?'"
The Facts: To date, the president has not answered Ms. Sheehan's question. Sheehan had just staged a demonstration outside of Bush's Crawford, TX, ranch demanding to speak directly to the president. She intends to stay camped out until Bush speaks with her. Bush is currently on a five week vacation like the one he took in 2001 which culminated in the 9/11 attacks. While the president was apparently too busy to see Ms. Sheehan -- he was off giving driving lessons to the President of Colombia -- Sheeham was able to speak with some low level Bush advisors by phone. Not suprisingly, they offered up the usual laundry list of ever-changing lies and excuses for a motive. Sheehan, who was accompanied by about 50 demonstrators on Saturday, told reporters, "I want to ask the president, `Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?' Last week, you said my son died for a noble cause and I want to ask him what that noble cause is?"
[ a video-taped message to the president from Cindy Sheehan ]
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Sheehan's 24 year-old son Casey was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004. In June of last year she was invited along with several other relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq to meet with Bush, which she did. Ms. Sheehan's change of heart regarding the war came about after it became known that the Bush administration lied about WMDs in Iraq and Saddam's alleged nuclear program. Said Ms. Sheehan in an Associated Press interview, "I was still in shock then. It takes about eight or nine months for the shock to subside. Now, I'm angry." Yesterday, Sheehan told reporters, "I want him to honor my son by bringing the troops home immediately. I don't want him to use my son's name or my name to justify any more killing."
Sources:
Bush: Al Qaeda threats won't deter U.S.
Rumsfeld: Britain attacks not tied to U.S. alliance.