Originally Posted by Greco

The dots are starting to connect.

The Iraq war has often been referred to as the greatest foreign policy blunder in our nation's history. There's no denying that 100% of the claims made by George W. Bush, as sole justification for launching his war, turned out to be 100% false. On the surface that would certainly seem to make the case for our nation's biggest foreign policy blunder, but there are some curious other factors to consider.

As our massive military might quickly crushed the ineffective and weak Iraqi military, for a time anarchy reigned in Baghdad. Remember all the looting and rioting? Our military stood idly by as chaos ruled. Except, and this is telling, our troops were ordered by the Bush administration to protect one and only one entity in Baghdad. It wasn't a hospital, a museum, or any of the infrastructure, it was the Iraqi Oil Ministry.

Following our invasion, rapidly the Bush administration starting issuing no bid contracts worth billions of dollars to Halliburton and KBR, both American oil related corporations Dick Cheney had led, and corporations he owned stock in, and still does. Since then, the Bush administration has continued renewing, and issuing additional no-bid contracts to Halliburton and KBR.

Within days of invading Iraq it became obvious to the world that all the Bush claims used to justify starting this war were totally wrong. No weapons of mass destruction, no potential "mushroom clouds", no "clear and present danger to the United States", no al-Qaeda connection, no connection to the 9-11 attack on America, none of the claims were accurate. Immediately the Bush administration shifted gears and attempted to create new, after the fact, excuses for launching this needless war. Republicans jumped on the band wagon and saturated the media with new justifications.

But the Iraqi Oil Ministry was secure. The multi-billion dollar no-bid contracts were flowing to Halliburton and KBR as we floundered around trying to figure out what to do next.

In the weeks, months and years that followed it went from bad to worse. Although al-Qaeda was virtually non-existent in Iraq before Bush's invasion, they showed up. A civil war erupted and headless bodies on the streets of Baghdad became commonplace. With all that blundering, from the very reasons to even start, to the horrific civil war, logic would indicate the Bush administration would be hunting the door to extract themselves from the deteriorating mess they created.

Not so. George W. Bush and the Republicans turned up the knob and pushed harder to make the case, with newly minted justifications and rationalizations, for staying. It goes against logic, but maybe not.

As we entered the presidential race the Republican nominee, John McCain, actually tried to make the case that we should stay in Iraq for one hundred years or longer. YouTube - McCain: 100 years in Iraq "would be fine with me"

Later during another campaign stop John McCain made a stunning remark. He abandoned all the previously manufactured, after the fact Republican justifications for the war, and admitted it was about the oil. YouTube - McCain War for Oil

We also know that John McCain, the Republican nominee, has received more campaign money from the oil and gas industry than any other senator in America. He's received more oil and gas money than any candidate running for president has ever received. We also know that big oil companies have recorded profits greater than any corporation in the history of the world has ever seen. We also know that Republicans passed laws giving big oil companies billions of dollars in tax breaks. We also know that oil prices have reached pricing levels at the highest in history. We also know gas prices have reached historic highs and are still climbing.

It's hardly a secret that Iraq has the world's third largest oil supply.

Now we've learned that our State Department, an official branch of our government, has been "advising" the Iraqi government on the issuance of no-bid contracts to big oil companies. The New York Times has a story today on that subject. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/op...ml?ref=opinion

It's come full circle. Iraq had vast untapped oil reserves, but American oil companies weren't included in the development. We started a war with Iraq. Dick Cheney's oil company immediately started receiving billions of dollars of no-bid contracts. The reasons for starting the war were swiftly changed.

The Republicans started their efforts to convince Americans we should never leave Iraq. Big oil companies flooded the campaign accounts of Republicans, including the Republican presidential nominee. The price of oil rocketed up. The price of gasoline soared and continues to climb. Record profits are recorded by big oil companies. The Republicans passed laws granting billions of dollars in tax breaks to big oil companies.

John McCain then announced we should stay in Iraq for one hundred years or more. John McCain admitted we went to war with Iraq because of oil. The the Bush administration dispatched our diplomats in the State Department to "advise" the Iraqi government on the issuance of no-bid contracts to American oil companies to develop new oil fields.

Meanwhile, lost in the public's awareness... 4,113 Americans have been killed in Iraq, and 30,333 Americans have been wounded. The Iraq war continues to bankrupt our treasury. As of today, every man, woman and child in America owes $1,721 to pay for this war. Every household in America owes $4,681 to pay for this war. As of today we've now spent over $533 billion on this war, and the numbers climb at a rate of $341.4 million per day.
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

The Republicans created this situation. The Republicans continue to support this war. The Republicans want to continue this war for one hundred years or more.

What have we gained from this "investment" created by the Republicans?

All of our intelligence agencies are in agreement that the Iraq war has made America less safe. The Iraq war has served as an al-Qaeda recruiting tool and the real terrorist organization that attacked us is now larger than before 9-11. The Mideast is de-stabilized and rogue nations like Iran and Syria have grown in influence in the region. Oil is now at historic highs. Gas prices are at historic highs and continuing to climb. Big oil companies are raking in unprecedented profits. Big oil companies are receiving billions of dollars in tax breaks. Big oil companies are now going to receive no-bid contracts to drill in Iraq. We're now in the deepest debt any nation in recorded history has ever witnessed. And 4,113 Americans have paid for this with their lives.

If that's not a compelling case for needing a change in direction in America nothing will convince you. If you can, in your heart, claim that the Republicans that did this to us deserve four more years to plunder our nation and kill more Americans then you need to find a better moral compass. We're at a crossroads and if we don't make the right choice, unless you own an oil company, you're not going to enjoy your "victory".

Originally Posted by Pfaff

Okay. You give a detailed report of the problem. What is your proposed detailed solution?

I mean, lot's of people agree with you. How would you fix the problem?

Originally Posted by Greco

A good beginning is to state as official policy it's going to come to an end. No more Iraq war. No 100+ years more. No more Iraq war. The military leaders can help chart a course for how to best remove our troops from the occupation. Other nations in the world, through NATO, the United Nations, etc., can then have a valid reason to step up and help the struggling Iraqi government, without the United States having to bear 100% of the costs, and suffer the casualties.

There are no easy solutions. It took Bush years to create this horrific mess, but continuing the same path is idiotic.