On the eve of invasion 15 years ago today, the U.S. terrorized Baghdad with 'shock and awe'
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Today marks the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War and occupation. In case you've forgotten what happened, or were just 4 years old or so and not paying attention when it did, the rationale for that authorization was fabricated at the highestOn the eve of invasion 15 years ago today, the U.S. terrorized Baghdad with 'shock and awe'
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War and occupation. In case you've forgotten what happened, or were just 4 years old or so and not paying attention when it did, the rationale for that authorization was fabricated at the highest reaches of U.S. leadership in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. First came the lies—so many, it was impossible to keep up with them. Then came the shock and awe, the crudely invented Iraqi jubilation, the extraordinary renditions, the secret prisons, the indefinite detentions, the relentless torture, the deluge of unaccounted-for cash, the no-bid contracts, the flaccid media, the spectacle of «mission accomplished,» the lousy armor, the occupation ... The endless flow of blood. Deiniah Stewart places a rose at the grave site of a loved one at Section 60 on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, Monday, May 27, 2013. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are buried in Section 60. There is now a long list of the dead who would not be dead were it not for this war of choice initiated out of bravado, rancid ideology, and doctored «evidence.» Thousands of dead Americans and allied troops. And, at the very least, 120,000 dead Iraqis—and more likely several hundred thousand. Not that Saddam Hussein's dictatorship had anything to do with that attack. But September 11 was a handy justification. Add to it the menace of weapons of mass destruction that Hussein was said to have stashed in abundance, and war fever spread easily. Take a poll today and it will probably show a hefty percentage of Americans still believe the Iraqi leader collaborated with the hijackers. In the year-long run-up to the war that Rumsfeld had wanted to undertake first instead of Afghanistan, a great effort was made to prove that Hussein, once a helpmate of the CIA, was still making or trying to make chemical and biological weapons, as well as nukes. Ignored was the work of Hans Blix, the chief U.N. inspector looking for, but not finding evidence of nukes being made in Iraq. Indeed, ignored was all the countervailing evidence. Come March 2003, shock and awe was delivered to Baghdad, soon followed by more of the torture that had been going on since the first terror suspects had been grabbed off the streets of Europe and elsewhere. Billions of shrink-wrapped dollars poured into Iraq, great gobs of it never since accounted for. Halliburton and other war profiteers made fortunes off no-bid contracts and frequently shoddy work. The media excelled as a pipeline for brazen propaganda. Read more