The Associated Press Claims "President Bush Keeps Revising His Explanation
For Why The U.S. Is In Iraq, Moving From Narrow Military Objectives At
First To History-Of-Civilization Stakes Now." "When no weapons of mass
destruction were found in Iraq, Bush shifted his war justification to one
of liberating Iraqis from a brutal ruler. After Saddam's capture in
December 2003, the rationale became helping to spread democracy through the
Middle East." (Tom Raum, "Bush Keeps Revising War Justification," The
Associated Press, 10/14/06)
President Bush Has Consistently Pointed To Liberating Iraqis From A Brutal
Ruler, Including Before The War. THE PRESIDENT: "Iraqi refugees tell us
how forced confessions are obtained - by torturing children while their
parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have
catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric
shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with
electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape. If this is not evil, then
evil has no meaning." (President Bush, State Of The Union Address,
1/28/03)
UN Security Council Resolution 1441 Deplored That The "Government
Of Iraq Has Failed To Comply With Its Commitments ... To End Repression Of
Its Civilian Population And To Provide Access By International Humanitarian
Organizations To All Those In Need Of Assistance In Iraq." (United Nations
Security Council, Resolution 1441, 11/8/02)
President Bush Has Consistently Emphasized The Importance Of Spreading
Democracy In The Middle East, Including Before The War. THE PRESIDENT:
"The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values, because
stable and free nations do not breed the ideologies of murder. They
encourage the peaceful pursuit of a better life. ... A new regime in Iraq
would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other
nations in the region." (President Bush, Remarks, Washington, DC, 2/26/03)
The Associated Press Alleges The President Calls Iraq The "Central Front"
In The War On Terror For Political Purposes. (Tom Raum, "Bush Keeps
Revising War Justification," The Associated Press, 10/14/06)
The Terrorists Consider Iraq "The Central Battlefield" In The War On
Terror. THE PRESIDENT: "But they've made clear that the most important
front in their struggle against America is Iraq - the nation bin Laden has
declared the 'capital of the Caliphate.' Hear the words of bin Laden: 'I
now address... the whole... Islamic nation: Listen and understand... The
most... serious issue today for the whole world is this Third World War...
[that] is raging in [Iraq].' He calls it 'a war of destiny between
infidelity and Islam.' He says, 'The whole world is watching this war,' and
that it will end in 'victory and glory or misery and humiliation.' For al
Qaeda, Iraq is not a distraction from their war on America - it is the
central battlefield where the outcome of this struggle will be decided."
(President Bush, Remarks, Washington, DC, 9/5/06)
As Early As February 1998, Osama Bin Laden Made It Clear That He Not Only
Intended To Wage War On The United States, But He Wanted To Use Iraq As A
Central Battleground. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY TONY SNOW: "From his
fatwa, on February 23, 1998, he complained that 'for over seven years the
United States has been occupying the lands of Islam and the holiest of
places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its
rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning
bases in the peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the
neighboring Muslim peoples.'" (Tony Snow, Press Briefing, Washington, DC,
9/27/06)