Iraq – Why We Did It? – Really??

Last night I finally had the opportunity to watch MSNBC’s story of why Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al, orchestrated the Iraq invasion. First I want to state that I think the world of Rachel Maddow; which is why I was so frustrated that MSNBC went to the trouble of making Why We Did It and then tip-toed around the elephant in the room. Given the opportunity to tell the story, why did you “miss” the story? Why would such an incredibly talented journalist, handed what Rumsfeld would have called a “smoking gun,” not take the opportunity to tell us the facts? I’m confused Rachel – why did you do that?

To get to the real heart of the Iraq story would, no doubt, take an entire series – and a lot more courage. That being said some of the points missed, or never fully developed, were:

1.       The Bush administration was let off the hook regarding the lies, deceit, and cover up leading to the Iraq invasion, which was the focus of the Bush administration right from day one. American Scott Ritter, Chief UN weapons inspector, informed the world that there were no WMD and the threat posed by Iraq was “ZERO.” Yet his reports were ignored as plans for the invasion ramped up.

2.      Nothing, absolutely nothing, was said during the film regarding the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties which resulted from America’s insistence that the world do things their way despite a significant amount of dissent with the country and the world.

3.       The suggestion that the Iraq invasion was what was best for the Iraqi people was never fully discussed. And knowing the history, what may have been a better solution for the Iraqi people may have been a lifting of the sanctions which perhaps should have never been imposed in the first place?

4.       The suggestion that the Bush administration acted, to a degree, in the best interests of the Iraqi people by not “privatizing” the Iraqi oil business is a sham. If I “take over” your hotel and have total control over the cash flow generated, who cares whose name is on the title. This is a matter of semantics. Control of the oil industry is what is important – not “who” owns it.

5.       Just the mere suggestion that big oil came together with the Bush administration to do the humanitarian thing for the world by relieving Iraq of its responsibility for maintaining its dilapidated oil industry had me rolling on the floor.

6.       What kept me on the floor was the subtle suggestion that the “altruistic” act of killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians was in the best interests of the people of this world. This notion, commonly referred to as denial, lives only in the minds of those who either believe the story they have been told, or those with blood on their hands.

7.       Missed all together was how the taxpayers of several democratic nations paid dearly with the lives of their children, who were sent off to war, while their countries were forced into an economic abyss, as corporations profited in the billions. Halliburton alone received nearly $40 billion in government contracts during the invasion and then filled the other pocket with revenue from Iraqi oil, while taxpayers at home were losing their jobs and their homes.

 Telling the story of “WHY” Iraq was invaded is easy: The short story is greed! And what motivated MSNBC to offer this watered-down account is exactly what is wrong in our world: The truth plays second fiddle to profit as major corporations would no doubt be reluctant to sponsor programs on MSNBC if they went to the heart of the matter and put all the facts on the table. Defense contractors, oil companies, and banks spend enormous amounts of money on advertising to have their products marketed around the world. It places journalists in a precarious position of considering the economic fallout when it comes to telling the “truth” regarding any story.

I saw with my own eyes Iraq’s floundering oil industry, which no doubt had an impact on global pricing. But the primary reason Iraq’s oil industry was not doing well was due to the sanctions imposed on them by the west. We created the problem, then created a war which killed hundreds of thousands of people, in order to solve the problem we created. And in the process of solving the problem, American defense contractors and major oil companies, many involved in having the Bush administration elected, made billions of dollars. Follow the money.

Understanding the pattern of U.S. foreign policy in S.E. Asia, Angola, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile, Ecuador, etc. etc. etc.  it is obvious that any humanitarian consideration paled in comparison to the selfish, self-centered interests of all those involved. The Iraq invasion was planned by big oil and the Bush administration. When one considers the influence major corporations, motivated by profit, have historically had in creating the wars of recent years, is it not absolutely imperative that we have the influence of the corporate world removed from a publicly funded government?

Search your heart and soul and ask yourself this:  Can you see how the revolving door of profit is created by stealing the resources of the world, which creates enemies, which creates  massive defense budgets, which are spent to create  more war and instability? Can you not see we must get off this merry-go-round? Can you not see that killing for profit has been largely responsible for creating the instability that currently exists in our world?  Does the military serve the country or does it serve a board of directors?

The profit motive must be removed from war, or we will never know peace. Killing for profit has to stop.