If I guess rightly, this is from the former Libertarian Candidate for President of the United Sates. He's got some good historical quotes of several Bush Cabinet Members. I don't think this came out before Colin Powell came out and admitted there were no WMD the other day. Any hoo he does vent. So, for your venting pleasure, I give you Harold Brown:
EXCERPT BEGINS
Lying for a Living
by Harry Browne
December 31, 2003
The Bush administration lied to the American
people about many things in order to drag
America into a war against a country that
posed no threat whatsoever to it.
The biggest lie, of course, was the idea
that Iraq had so-called "weapons of mass
destruction" (nuclear, biological, and
chemical weapons) that could kill millions
of Americans.
Now that it's evident that there were no
such weapons, the war hawks claim that George
Bush never really said the Iraqi threat
was imminent. In fact, he supposedly said
precisely the opposite that we must stop
Saddam Hussein before he can pose a threat
to the United States.
In fact, on October 7, 2002, George Bush said
to a cheering crowd in Cincinnati:
Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot
wait for the final proof the smoking
gun that could come in the form of a
mushroom cloud. [1]
See! He didn't say Hussein was an imminent
threat only that we must stop him before he
becomes a threat.
Unfortunately, for the war hawks, that isn't
what Bush meant as is evident when that
statement is placed in its original context:
Knowing these realities, America must not
ignore the threat gathering against us.
Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot
wait for the final proof the smoking
gun that could come in the form of a
mushroom cloud. As President Kennedy said
in October of 1962, "Neither the United
States of America, nor the world community
of nations can tolerate deliberate deception
and offensive threats on the part of any
nation, large or small. We no longer live
in a world," he said, "where only the
actual firing of weapons represents a
sufficient challenge to a nation's security
to constitute maximum peril." [1]
Bush said that we can't wait for the "actual
firing of weapons" before responding. He didn't
say we have to respond before the weapons are
developed.
If that doesn't convince you that George Bush
said Hussein already had weapons that posed a
threat, try looking at just some of the
statements made by various members of the Bush
administration,to wit:
Statements by George Bush
"If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous
weapons today and we do does it make
any sense for the world to wait to confront
him as he grows even stronger and develops
even more dangerous weapons?" [2]
-- Speech in Cincinnati, October 7, 2002
"And we have sources that tell us that Saddam
Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field
commanders to use chemical weapons the
very weapons the dictator tells us he does
not have." [3]
-- Radio address, February 8, 2003
"Saddam Hussein has a long history of
reckless aggression and terrible crimes.
He possesses weapons of terror. He provides
funding and training and safe haven to
terrorists terrorists who would willingly
use weapons of mass destruction against
America and other peace-loving countries.
Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct
threat to this country, to our people,
and to all free people." [4]
-- Press conference, March 6, 2003
"Intelligence gathered by this and other
governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq
regime continues to possess and conceal
some of the most lethal weapons ever
devised." [5]
-- TV Address, March 17, 2003
"Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass
destruction." [6]
-- Press conference at Texas ranch, May 3, 2003
"We found the weapons of mass destruction.
We found biological laboratories . . . and
we'll find more weapons as time goes on.
But for those who say we haven't found the
banned manufacturing devices or banned
weapons, we found them." [7]
-- Polish TV interview, May 30, 2003
"For more than a decade, Saddam Hussein went
to great lengths to hide his weapons from
the world. And in the regime's final days,
documents and suspected weapons sites
were looted and burned. Yet all who know
the dictator's history agree that he
possessed chemical and biological weapons
and that he used chemical weapons in the
past." [8]
-- Radio address, June 21, 2003
"I am confident that Saddam Hussein had a
weapons of mass destruction program." [9]
-- Press conference, South Africa, July 9, 2003
Statements by Richard Cheney
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that
Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass
destruction. There is no doubt he is
amassing them to use against our friends,
against our allies, and against us." [10]
-- Speech at VFW convention,
August 26, 2002
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that
Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass
destruction. There is no doubt that he
is amassing them to use against our friends,
against our allies, and against us." [11]
-- Speech to Veterans of Korean War,
August 29, 2002
"We believe he has, in fact, reconstituted
nuclear weapons." [12]
-- Meet the Press, March 16, 2003
"So I say I'm not willing at all at this
point to buy the proposition that somehow
Saddam Hussein was innocent and he had no
WMD and some guy out at the CIA, because
I called him, cooked up a report saying he
did." [13]
-- Meet the Press, September 14, 2003
Statements by Donald Rumsfeld
"We have seen intelligence over many
months that they have chemical and
biological weapons, and that they
have dispersed them and that they're
weaponized and that, in one case at
least, the command and control
arrangements have been established." [14]
-- Face the Nation, March 23, 2003
". . . the area in the south and the west
and the north that coalition forces
control is substantial. It happens not to
be the area where weapons of mass destruction
were dispersed. We know where they are. They're
in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east,
west, south and north somewhat." [15]
-- Interview with George Stephanopoulos,
March 30, 2003
Statement by Colin Powell
"We know that Saddam Hussein is determined
to keep his weapons of mass destruction;
he's determined to make more." [16]
-- Presentation at the United Nations,
February 5, 2003
Lies, Lies, Lies
Of course, this is just one part of the Iraqi
"threat" about which the politicians lied to
us. They also lied about mobile laboratories [17],
aluminum tubes[18], unmanned aircraft that could
carry WMDs to America's east coast [19], ballistic
missiles that could threaten the whole Middle
East [20], uranium purchases in Africa [21],
Al-Qaeda training camps in Iraq [22], the
adventures of Jessica Lynch [23], the toppling
of Hussein's statue [24], Hussein kicking the
UN inspectors out of Iraq[ 25], and much more.
Thousands of Americans and Iraqis are dead because
millions of Americans believed those lies.
We should never let the politicians' statements
lure us into war again.
They Lie about Everything
But lying isn't confined to matters of war and
peace. Those matters are simply the most dangerous
areas in which politicians lie.
They lie to us about virtually everything.
o They lied when they said they were
phasing out farm subsidies with the
"Freedom to Farm" act in 1996. Since
then, farm subsidies have more than
doubled. [26]
o They lied when they said they reformed
welfare in the mid-1990s. Since then,
the annual federal cost of "income
security" has increased by 40%. [27]
o They lied when they said the federal
budget was in surplus during 1998-2001,
as the federal debt increased every
year during that period (they stole
the money from Social Security to
paper over the deficits). [28]
o They lied in 1965 when the Medicare
Act said that "Nothing in this title
shall be construed to authorize
any Federal officer or employee to
exercise any supervision or control
over the practice of medicine or the
manner in which medical services are
provided," as doctors are routinely
terrorized by Medicare bureaucrats. [29]
o They lie whenever they take an oath
to obey the Constitution of the United
States.
o They lie when they claim to be protecting
our freedom.
They lie because that's what a politician
does for a living lie to convince us to
give him more power over our lives.
And Americans fall for the lies over and over
again.
What to Do
How do you deal with this?
Simple: Whenever a politician starts talking,
just close your innocent little ears and pay no
attention to him. He's most likely lying simply
telling you what he hopes will persuade you to
give him another chunk of your life.
There is probably no more important lesson that
you can learn and take to heart than the simple
lesson that politicians don't tell the truth and
the government program the politicians promise
will cure some problem will in fact almost
certainly make matters worse.
More government means trouble. There's only
one thing a politician can do to help us: repeal
laws.
Repeal thousands and thousands of laws.
And I don't mean promise to repeal laws, but
actually do it.
Only their actions are meaningful.
Pay no attention to what they say. They make
their living by lying.
xxxx
[1] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html
[2] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html
[3] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030208.html
[4] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030306-8.html
[5] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030317-7.html
[6] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030503-1.html
[7] http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/5984212.htm
[8] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/06/20030621.html
[9] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030709.html
[10] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020826.html
[11] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020829-5.html
[12] http://www.msnbc.com/news/886068.asp
[13] http://www.msnbc.com/news/966470.asp
[14] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/23/ftn/main545616.shtml
[15] http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2003/t03302003_t0330sdabcsteph.html
[16] http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2003/17300.htm
[17] http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/15/sprj.irq.no.labs/index.html
[18] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17707-2003Oct25.html
[19] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5385.htm
[20] http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/16/sprj.irq.us.un/index.html
[21] http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-06-12-niger-usat_x.htm
[22] http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/bush-address-6thmarch.html
[23]
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1051643375850
[24] http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2859.htm
[25] http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20020928/71804.html
[26] http://www.usatoday.com/money/bcovthu.htm
[27]
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=economic_indicators&docid=33oc03.txt
[28]
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=economic_indicators&docid=32oc03.txt
[29] http://aapsonline.org/press/getoutmc.htm
EXCERPT ENDS click link for copy verify