Iraq Invasion Protestors: We were Duped! It was a done deal !

[KoKo]

Plans were made by the "Coalition" partners a year ahead to invade Iraq.
Our Congress knew, Our Media Knew (stovepiped to Russert, Novak, Tweety and all the rest from their "inside sources") and our Congress knew and that's why the Media never covered our huge protests against the Invasion of Iraq. That's why there was NO coverage of Robert Byrd's speeches on the Senate floor. THEY KNEW!

We were duped to think we could make a difference when all along they knew we were powerless. All the protests all over the world were doomed to fail. And, the PEOPLE no LONGER have a VOICE: Even Kerry and Edwards knew and that's why they voted for the war...it was done. That's why Edwards refused to meet with Iraq Invasion protestors in NC..because he would have to lie to us. That's why Kerry agonizes over his statements about his support. This is so f**ing awful....

This latest revelation from leaked Pentagon Documents to Brits:



Cabinet 'not told of secret war plans'
By Andrew Gilligan And Paul Waugh, Evening Standard
30 September 2004 Robin Cook and Clare Short have revealed that the Cabinet were kept in the dark about secret plans to prepare Britain for war in Iraq.

The former ministers said a leaked Pentagon document obtained by the Evening Standard had underlined their belief that Tony Blair agreed an invasion with George Bush well before the conflict.

-SNIP-
The brother of British hostage Ken Bigley also said that the Pentagon documents showed that diplomacy in the run-up to war had been a "sham".

"If we had known then what was going on behind the scenes we might have been able to stop it," he said.


"But it was hidden from us. Many people, including my brother, are paying the price for it."

In a further controversial disclosure, the document - a Pentagon chronology prepared for US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld - also reveals that Israel was involved in the preparation process from an early stage.

More of this bombshell:
http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/13506454?source=Evening%20Standard

[bullimiami]

1. i figured it was a done deal at the time.

still went and protested anyway.

we tried.

[bloom]

4. me too

seems like the least we could do

[goddess40]

27. Your right, I still protest every week

We also knew that there were no WMD, that Gore won the election and That Bush would be a shitty president

[madfloridian]

2. And this little tidbit about Israel is interesting.

SNIP.."In a further controversial disclosure, the document - a Pentagon chronology prepared for US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld - also reveals that Israel was involved in the preparation process from an early stage...."

[goodhue]

3. we were not duped

we took to the streets knowing full well that the fix was in
indeed that is what we were protesting in large part

[GreenArrow]

5. all too true

.

[KoKo]

26. We probably stopped Iran and Syria Invasions because we took to the

streets! But, we didn't know how long it had been planned and that Bush and Blair didn't care about the protests because it was planned before 9/11.

[H2O Man]

6. Some time back,

around the time that the Plame threads broke into two groups, I had posted that there was an operational plan to invade Iraq that was nine months old when 9-11 occured. A few people ridiculed the idea, because they were convinced that 9-11 was merely a set-up to justify the invasion. In fact, if you remove 9-11 from the discussion (because people have honest & sincerely held differences of opinion on it) the invasion of Iraq was set and going to happen anyway.

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

7. the president says "if i knew then what I know now..."

the problem with this phrase is that:

HE DID KNOW THEN WHAT HE KNOWS NOW!!!!!! WE DID NOT!

[bigtree]

8. May 23, 2002

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- President Bush reiterated Thursday that Iraq remains a significant threat, but he stopped short of saying the United States will go to war with the Middle Eastern country.

"I have no war plans on my desk," Bush said at a Berlin news conference during the first stop of his European tour. "We've got to use all means at our disposal to deal with Saddam Hussein."

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/23/gen.war.on.terror/

edit: Bush knew he was going to invade, but he mislead Congress and others with the cherry-picked 'intelligence he offered along with his assurances to everyone, including the U.N., that he would use force as a last resort. He still says that despite the mounds of evidence that has been revealed since the IWR vote that shows he was clearly bent on war with Iraq as far back as 2002.

No need to flog our candidates. They took Bush at his word.

Kerry From Will Pitt Interview Article:

"This was the hardest vote I have ever had to cast in my entire career," Kerry said. I voted for the resolution to get the inspectors in there, period. Remember, for seven and a half years we were destroying weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In fact, we found more stuff there than we thought we would. After that came those four years when there was no intelligence available about what was happening over there. I believed we needed to get the weapons inspectors back in. I believed Bush needed this resolution in order to get the U.N. to put the inspectors back in there. The only way to get the inspectors back in was to present Bush with the ability to threaten force legitimately. That's what I voted for.

"The way Powell, Eagleberger, Scowcroft, and the others were talking at the time," continued Kerry, "I felt confident that Bush would work with the international community. I took the President at his word. We were told that any course would lead through the United Nations, and that war would be an absolute last resort. Many people I am close with, both Democrats and Republicans, who are also close to Bush told me unequivocally that no decisions had been made about the course of action. Bush hadn't yet been hijacked by Wolfowitz, Perle, Cheney and that whole crew. Did I think Bush was going to charge unilaterally into war? No. Did I think he would make such an incredible mess of the situation? No. Am I angry about it? You're God damned right I am. I chose to believe the President of the United States. That was a terrible mistake."

http://www.truthout.com/docs_03/121003A.shtml

[LiberalCat]

9. Please explain how you know that Congress knew.

The *bush misadministration kept a lot of things from Congress, so I have no information that they were in on this or knew ahead of time. I thought they were duped, too.

[goodhue]

11. July 19, 2002 Kucinich condemns planned strike against Iraq

http://www.house.gov/kucinich/press/pr-020719-militaryaction.htm

For Immediate Release
July 19, 2002

Kucinich: US Should Not Take New Military Action Against Iraq

Recent published reports have indicated that the Administration is planning a 'first strike' invasion of Iraq with as many as 250,000 US troops with the purpose of toppling Saddam Hussein. Some reports have indicated such an attack could occur before the November Congressional elections.

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the House passed a resolution, on September 14, 2001, authorizing the use of force against those determined to be responsible for the attacks. However, the authorization of force was limited to those determined to be responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Today, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), Ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations, issued the following statement:

"The Administration's unilateral first strike policy, and its harsh rhetoric against Iraq, has very serious ramifications for not only Iraq and the middle east region, but on the carefully constructed alliances upon which the US relies. Pre-emptive military action in Iraq would only destabilize the region and place at risk the lives of those American men and women who would be called to action. It is important that the United States work in coordination with the international community to contain Iraq, and not proceed unilaterally with an unprovoked war.

Although, the Administration has failed to establish a clear link between the attacks of September 11th and Iraq, recent press accounts indicate that the Administration is considering an attack, before the November elections. I would like to remind the Administration of Article I, Section 8, which clearly states Congress, has sole authority to declare war. It is my strong belief that US policy and actions must be made carefully, according to the Constitution that we, in Congress, and the President have sworn to uphold. There is no room for pre-emptive military action in a democratic society which relies upon its Constitution for guidance in domestic and foreign affairs."

[Beam Me Up]

10. I felt it was a moral obligation to express my opposition to this war

even IF it was a "done deal".

It is clear to me that this whole thing is about oil and, I would assume, peak oil -- which, ultimately, is a national security issue.

What I oppose is US Hegemony and the neoNazi point of view that whatever we can take from the world by force deserves to be ours. That is the position of barbarians.

[Cocoa]

12. and this is in the Campaign 2004 forum because...

you're trying to suggest Bush=Kerry?

:eyes:

[KoKo]

13. I put it here because it's an issue that they need to address, don't you

think that Iraq is an issue? Lying about when a decision was made to Invade Iraq is an issue? Why we invaded Iraq? Why National Guardsmen and women are dying there?

[Cocoa]

16. BUSH needs to address the war

let's not forget that, and let's not help the media diffuse Bush's responsibility for the war.

Kerry is asked repeatedly to answer for the war, how about us here at DU be the ones that ask BUSH to answer for it?

[H2O Man]

14. wow!

I'm not sure how anyone could possibly think this post equates Bush and Kerry. Not at all. What it does is bring into focus the fact that our country was lied to from day one about why we invaded Iraq. And that includes the administration lying to the Senate, to the House of Representatives, and to the American people. The post shows the need to support John Kerry 100% between now and when we vote for him on election day.

[Cocoa]

15. that's simply not true

Even Kerry and Edwards knew and that's why they voted for the war...it was done. That's why Edwards refused to meet with Iraq Invasion protestors in NC..because he would have to lie to us. That's why Kerry agonizes over his statements about his support. This is so f**ing awful....

[KoKo]

17. They all knew but they knew they couldn't stop it.....Don't flame me for

saying Kerry and Edwards knew. I'm working for both of them and am Precinct Co-Chair, have my yards signs, canvassing and very involved in this Campaign.

But, they all knew...

[el_gato]

18. We were not duped, I protested AND I knew they were going in!

Maybe you were duped but then you only speak for yourself.

The point of protesting for me was to make people realize they
are not alone in opposition to the fascist war machine.

Duped my ass!

I remember specifically telling a younger friend of mine that
we were not going to stop this invasion but the symbolism was
important. Lot's of organization and networking resulted from
those protests.

[KoKo]

20. At that time we knew they were going in, but not that it was planned as a

sure thing over a year in advance with Blair and Bush signing onto it and drawing up the invasion plans with the "coalition."

Did you read the whole article I posted? They were going in well before we knew about it...and everyone knew because of the leaks and that's why we protestors were NOT covered in the media and Byrd's and Kennedy's arguments against it were not covered. Byrd and Kennedy knew..they tried to tell the people. But, no one else did.

That's the Dupe.

[BurtWorm]

21. What's amazing about those marches is that they took place

even though the vast majority of us were utterly without hope about being able to change fate. I went because I wanted to help register that the people were paying attention. I didn't want to let them think they could pull the wool over everybody's eyes. I doubt they cared or care one way or another.

[grasswire]

19. I posted at the time...

...that the hurry to get into Iraq was due to the fact that they knew there were no WMD and the UN inspectors were proving that.

They had to break the egg before the people found out. And they did.

NOW....let us also consider the FACT that the strategic plan was not for victory and stability. The strategic plan was for extended chaos.

Chaos=profit. More chaos=more profit.

[KoKo]

23. Extended chaos might be a factor. I try to push that out of my mind

but the plan to go into Syria, Iran...it must have been the objective.

Why else did the French and Germans not go along. They had to have been approached along with Blair at the same time...since the article says "coalition partners" and they refused to go along. Both countries know what chaos can do. But Blair and Bush..going alone...why?

There's probably more we don't know about this.

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. Congress knew?

Are you implying that Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman, Gephardt, and Kucinich knew? :shrug:

[KoKo]

25. yes...they knew. Think about them not knowing given the leaks in DC?

This was planned over a year in advance. I don't think only Repugs have eyes and ears inside the Pentagon, CIA and State Department.

I said on an early post here, that Byrd and Kennedy tried to tell the people and so did Kucinich. They all knew. But the media was complicit because they knew and so didn't give any coverage to Protestors or Kennedy and Byrd's speeches.

I never could figure out why the Media wouldn't cover any of the Iraq Invasion Protests when we all know how they love conflict. It was because they were told, that we were going and they would be undermining the government by telling the people. So they didn't cover us because they knew we had no chance of making a difference. But I'm glad we protested anyway or we'd be in Iran and Syria right now.

[Freddie Stubbs]

28. The media didn't cover the protests?

:shrug:

[KoKo]

29. Don't you remember? Only C-Span. Maybe you're thinking of the last

one where they finally had to admit that "tens of thousands" protested and show the 200,000 who lined NYC blocks for miles...but before the Iraq Invasion there was nothing. They would say some protestors demonstrated in Washington today..and maybe show a few.

[never cry wolf]

24. On a side note, amazing that they planned for it for that long

and they STILL royally screwed the pooch!