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#REDIRECT '''The war in Iraq''': This innocuous phrase, common in the United States media, is a very effective propaganda tool in and of itself. To see how, ask yourself these questions:
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, overpowered it with a vastly superior army, and then took over its oil and government, was that a "war"? What words might you use instead? When [[George H.W. Bush]] responded with "This shall not stand", was he being "anti-war "?
When U.S. Attorney General [[John Ashcroft]] gutted the Bill of Rights [http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/dec2001/ashc-d12.shtml] and effectively destroyed the Freedom of Information Act [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/01/06/ED125108.DTL], what was his legitimate excuse? Why did hardly anyone complain?
When U.S. Supreme Court Justice [[Antonin Scalia]] claims that "in wartime, 'the protections will be ratcheted right down to the constitutional minimum. I won't let it go beyond the constitutional minimum'", [http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jul2002/rehn-j24.shtml] [http://www.oaoa.com/columns/edit032503.htm], where does he get the idea that this is "wartime"? Why do people agree with him?
When [[George W. Bush]] claims that "you are with us or with the terrorists", intending everyone in the world either to agree with him or be branded a deadly enemy, why did people accept this statement?
When will the war end? (See [[War on terrorism]].)
When those who object to the Bush style of leadership and diplomacy are labelled "Anti-war Activists" or the "Peace Movement", and then told to be quiet because "we won the war already", what is their unified reply?
Now consider this quotation:
"...[V]oice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."
(Hermann Goering, 18 April, 1946 [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWnuremberg.htm])
Does this apply to the U.S. here and now? Was the U.S. actually attacked? How many Iraqis participated in this attack or its planning? Are we really making war "in Iraq" or "on Iraq]"?
Is the U.S. currently at war? If so, with whom, and how will we know that the war is over? If not, why haven't observance of the Constitution and the FOIA been returned to normal? Why is the news always about Iraq, Iran, and Syria, countries that haven't threatened or attacked the US in any way since 1980?
Is America really acting as it should?
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05/04/2003: (Haaretz) The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neoconservative intellectuals, most of them Jewish, who are pushing President Bush to change the course of history. ... It is not only the neoconservatives who led us to the outskirts of Baghdad. What led us to the outskirts of Baghdad is a very American combination of anxiety and hubris. [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=280279]
Swapped redirection and target article; some edits for clarity.
