The clues were all there. We just collectively, as a nation, refused to see them.
The first clue was when Cheney was chosen to head the search for a VP candidate to run with W in 2000 – and chose himself. As CEO of Halliburton, Cheney had made the following remarks in 1999:
"Oil companies are expected to keep developing enough oil to offset oil depletion and also to meet new demand...So where is the oil going to come from? Governments and the national oil companies are obviously in control of 90 percent of the assets. Oil remains fundamentally a government business. The Middle East with two-thirds of the world’s oil and the lowest cost is still where the prize ultimately lies."
The second clue was the Cheney energy task force, a group formed in order to establish "a national energy policy designed to help the private sector." Remember how hard BushCo fought to keep its members, and its documents, secret? Now we know why. It wasn’t just that the preponderance of oil executives participating would make them look bad. No, it was a little bit more important than a mere image problem, as former CIA intelligence analyst Ray McGovern explains:
[A] Freedom of Information Act lawsuit forced the Commerce Department to turn over task force documents, including a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries, terminals, and potential areas for exploration; a Pentagon chart "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts;" and another chart detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects – all dated March 2001.
Another clue: In post-invasion Baghdad, every public or commercial building, from banks to libraries to universities, was looted and stripped down to the drywall. Thieves walked out of the Iraqi National Museum with priceless artifacts tucked casually under their arms. But the oil ministry was guarded by 50 tanks and sharpshooters on every floor and corner of the building.
Another clue: Richard Clarke, in his memoir, tells how, on September 11, 2001, BushCo responds to the attack on the Pentagon and WTC by wondering if they could use it to justify invading Iraq.
Another clue: The Downing Street memo is leaked to the press, and we find out that the chief of British intelligence told Tony Blair that "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." He also said that, as of July 2002, Bush was determined to invade. Of course, our leader would tell us right up until the invasion in March of 2003 that he hadn’t made his mind up yet.
Another clue: We find out that we are building large permanent US military bases in Iraq, complete with fast food restaurants, gyms, car dealerships, and a swimming pool.
I could go on, of course. The clues have come at us constantly and from all directions, but still we continue to attribute our war to WMD and/or terrorism. Never mind that the terrorists moved into Iraq AFTER we invaded. Any rookie detective could’ve told us that you can’t assign a motive based on a condition that occurred after the crime, but by now we are grasping at any straw of respectability that we can find.
Look, everyone. It was for the oil. It was. It was for the oil. I know you don’t want to believe that our country would invade another country so that we could force them into a sweetheart deal for their oil, but we did. We did do that. I know it sounds like it might be some kind of war crime, some kind of thing that only a very bad country would do, and not us, because we are a good country, aren’t we? Aren’t we a good country?
History will say no. History will look upon the citizens of the United States at this time and conclude that we are all either liars or fools.
17 comments:
It's always been about the oil. Always.
Sadly, BushCo is following through on what Daddy and Cheney have been planning for a long time, going stealthily and appallingly behind a cloud of revenge for 9/11. The liars running the country knew there are just enough fools in the U.S. to believe their bullshit.
It's downright treason.
nd then we sanitized the pictures of the war, embedded reporters would lose their slots, consequently their networks would lose ratings, if they showed the real effects of war.
I remember during the first month seeing a clip from Aljazeera where a child's body parts could be seen in the street while we were the only one dropping bombs at the time. I believe it was a child's arm. We killed far more women and children and other innocents then Hussein's regime ever did. Us, the USA.
Meanwhile the recipients of this tragically censored calamity are told in the simple words that they can understand if they try real hard, that God forbid we "cut and run" from the video game that is the war when you don't show the returning bodies of the dead. Morons. Touch a single dead child and tell me it's worth it.
Alan Greenspan says he had a pre-Iraqi war meeting with Bush and Cheney and told them it was essential to remove Hussein due to the oil. "The war has always been about the oil"
Humiliating and depressing, Vikki. And at this point I don't see a way out except for just waiting until Bush leaves office. (I sure hope he does.)
In the meantime maybe we will be spared the harshest judgment of history if future observers read Jack Murtha's brave and eloquent speech, made today at The National Press Club.
I bow down to your brilliance. Seriously, you are one of my favorite bloggers because you write so well. I'm totally smitten by you and your politics young lady. Rock on.
This may all be true, Vikki, but MoveOn.org took out an ad, AN AD, in the New York Times!
Get your priorities straight! Jeez...
We're not all liars or fools. Some of us are douchebags.
Nice summation Vikki. Is it too late to ask the Queen to take us back?
It's terrible and sad. How do leaders like these detach themselves from humanity? Are their big bags of money comfortable enough to sleep at night? What can we do? People elected someone else, but still the uber evil-doer was put in office anyway.
'Bubbles' said...
"People elected someone else, but still the uber evil-doer was put in office anyway."
The fact that both elections were even that close is just sad.
There is way too many ignorant, racist, homophobic Jesus lovers in this country. They voted for him.
There's a twisted logic to invading a country for natural resources. That's not to say the US should have invaded, but it's not the first time an imperial country invaded another country rich in natural resources. And it probably won't be the last.
Kristi: Right as usual, sis.
Kiki: If you have to ask, then you obviously haven't spent enough time in middle America. Not that I'm recommending it.
Bro: It does amaze me that the government and the press has ignored the fact that we have killed more Iraqi civilians that Hussein did.
Dad: The Republicans are saying that Greenspan was taken out of context, and that that was HIS motivation for the war, not BushCo's. Like BushCo would be more humanitarian-minded than Greenspan.
Larry: Great speech by Murtha. He should be getting more press. Thanks.
DrMVM: Thank you, sir. I am definitely old enough to be seriously flattered by being called "young lady."
Chris: I know, how DARE THEY express an opinion while people are dying?
DeadSpot: And asshats. Don't forget asshats.
Frank: Ah, the dreaded one-two of American society
SkyDad: Oh, great, the only thing worse than becoming BushCo's unwitting accomplices is becoming their unwitting pony boys.
Bubbles: Aw, Christ, don't even get me started on the election. The worst part is that we laid down and offered up our tummies to them like some kind of subservient dog.
Spooney: I know, I know, but they're not the only ones who voted for him.
Grant: Maybe not, but it's a new low in denial.
Excellent post.
Just stumbled across your blog, and boy am I glad I did. First-rate! An eloquent summary of the facts.
I know (and am forced to work with) a lot of those "ignorant, racist, homophobic Jesus lovers" who voted for the idiot king--but let's not forget that both those elections were also RIGGED. Some of us fought tooth and nail to stop it, but it just didn't matter. The fix was already in.
This is a great post, one I'll show to the idiot republicans I know so MAYBE they'll wake up. Maybe.
Kirby: Thanks!
DGuzman: Hey, bunny avatar! Welcome.
Shrug. It seems safe now to admit it. And it seems safe because now there is n-o-t-h-i-n-g that can safely be done to reverse it. We are at a point of no return politically, militarily, and economically.
The irony? When have we paid more for gas. Balance for inflation, the current buying power of the dollar, whatever you want. *When* have we ever paid more for gas?
You'll notice, for example, that during the Bush Administration we have never imported much from Iraq. This isn't about oil, but cheaper oil. This is about controlling untapped reserves and it's about telling Iraq's oil dependents they've got bigger problems than the UN ever was. Syria, Jordan, Russia, Turkey, guess what colors your oil spigot will be painted?
So yes, it's oil, but not strictly as a commodity. That's the point that American consumers will react to, of course, because it's fucking always about them.
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