Impeach these war criminals and destroyers of the US Constitution

[seafan]

Before the coming war against Iran.

“This is a war against terrorism, and Iraq is just one campaign. The Bush Administration is looking at this as a huge war zone,” the former high-level intelligence official told me. “Next, we’re going to have the Iranian campaign. We’ve declared war and the bad guys, wherever they are, are the enemy. This is the last hurrah—we’ve got four years, and want to come out of this saying we won the war on terrorism.”

Interview of the Vice President by Martha Raddatz, ABC News




March 19, 2008

.....

Q So it could be 10 years?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I don't know how long it's going to take. I do know we have to get it done. And if it takes a long time, that doesn't make it any less worthwhile. This has been a hard-fought, difficult, challenging thing for us to do, when you think about what we've done here. We've gone in and toppled one of the world's worst dictators, liberated 25 million people, helped them hold three national elections and write a constitution. They've been through some very difficult times themselves, but we kept at it, because it's the right thing to do. And when we needed to make a major decision, as the President did a year ago January, he made that decision and committed more troops. When we needed to modify our strategy to win on the ground from a security standpoint, we did it. And General Petraeus, his forces performed magnificently with a new counterinsurgency doctrine. He could have quit two years ago, and today Iraq would be chaos; al Qaeda would control large swaths of the country; it probably would be a safe haven for terrorists; certainly it would have been a much worse situation from the standpoint of the Iraqi people.

It's hard to go into a country that has never experienced democracy and expect to be able to flip a switch and have it turn overnight. But it is turning. They do have a democracy today. They have basic --

Q Two-thirds of Americans say it was not worth fighting.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: They ought to go spend time, like you and I have, Martha. You know what's been happening in Iraq. You've been there as much as anybody. There has, in fact, been fundamental change and transformation, and improvement for the better. I think even you would admit that.

Q Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting, and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So?

Q So -- you don't care what the American people think?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there. And this President has been very courageous, very consistent, very determined to continue down the course we were on and to achieve our objective. And that's victory in Iraq, that's the establishment of a democracy where there's never been a democracy, it's the establishment of a regime that respects the rights and liberties of their people, as an ally for the United States in the war against terror, and as a positive force for change in the Middle East. That's a huge accomplishment.

Q Are you certain of victory?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: You can't, say -- get up some morning and say, gee, the polls are critical of what we're doing, and quit. It doesn't work that way.

Q Are you certain of victory?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I am.

.....

Q We'd better switch to Iran then, quickly. You're in the region. Iran is a major focus. I want to first ask you about Admiral Fallon resigning. Did he still have the President's confidence when he resigned?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: He made the decision to resign, and he's explained it, as has Bob Gates.

Q He said, I believe, that it wasn't helpful in facing Iran to have comments about military action. You've certainly ratcheted up the rhetoric about Iran.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I've been pretty consistent over time about Iran. I don't think I've ratcheted up the rhetoric. I felt strongly for a long time, and a lot of us have, that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

Q Were Admiral Fallon's comments helpful or hurtful?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I'm not going to get into it. The Admiral had many years of distinguished service in the United States Navy, a number of American commands at very important posts around the world. I think he deserves our thanks for his service, and our best wishes now that he moves on to private life.

Q Can you foresee any point where military action would be taken? I ask you this because when you come over here, people in the region start thinking you're over here to plan some sort of military action.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I suppose that's because of my past history.

Q Yes, it is. So what would you like to say about that, and Iran?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the important thing to keep in mind is the objective that we share with many of our friends in the region, and that is that a nuclear-armed Iran would be very destabilizing for the entire area.

Q Do you believe the National Intelligence Estimate, that says they shut down their nuclear program or intentions five years ago?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I think it's been -- it's important if you're going to look at the National International Estimate that we be precise in terms of what it says. And what it says is that they have definitely had in the past a program to develop a nuclear warhead; that it would appear that they stopped that weaponization process in 2003. We don't know whether or not they've restarted.

What we do know is that they had then, and have now, a process by which they're trying to enrich uranium, which is the key obstacle they've got to overcome in order to have a nuclear weapon. They've been working at it for years. They've now got a large number of centrifuges operating. We know this from the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Q But do you have high confidence they halted their nuclear weapons program in 2003?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I have high confidence they have an ongoing enrichment program.

Q But not high confidence they halted it?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: The enrichment program? They've never halted enrichment --

Q The nuclear weapons program.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, just go back and look at the National Intelligence Estimate.

Q It says high confidence they halted their nuclear weapons program in 2003.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And high confidence that they had a nuclear weapons program.

Q Right. But I'm specifically asking if you have high confidence, yourself, when you read that intelligence that that in fact happened in 2003?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I think it's important, again, to be precise, in terms of what we're talking about.

Q I'm trying to be precise.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: A nuclear weapons program involves really two categories of activity. One is developing fissile material, something that will blow up and give a nuclear yield. That process was ongoing before the NIE, it's been ongoing since the NIE, it's ongoing today. They are today running centrifuges to enrich uranium to produce a weapon.

The second piece of it, then, is the actual design of the warhead itself, and the way in which you would detonate it, set it off. And they had a program dealing with that issue through 2003. That's what the NIE says, and that they apparently stopped it in 2003. The NIE does not address the issue, can't, in terms of whether or not that's ever been restarted. We do know the enrichment program continues, and that has been the focus of our diplomatic efforts; that's what the United Nations Security Council is focused on; that's what most of the nations in the region are concerned about, because it's the hardest thing to do, is to create fissile material. So we'd like to see them stop that. We suggested they should, the international community has. There have been three U.N. Security Council resolutions that have made it very clear that they should stop it. Sanctions have been applied. The President has made it clear that our objective is to make certain they do not acquire the capacity to produce nuclear weapons.

Q Can I do one more quick question that I forgot? Yesterday great reception with the troops. I know you talked to several of the troops there. We followed you in that rope line, and just asked people who they were supporting for President. Several said Barack Obama. I said, but he wants to get out of Iraq right away. And they said, that's okay with me. These are the troops that you addressed yesterday themselves.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: What's the question?

Q Any reaction to that?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: No.

Q It doesn't bother you that some of the troops themselves want to get out of there?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: They're a broad cross section of America. I think they've overwhelmingly supported the mission. Every single one of them is a volunteer.

President Bush: Iraq war was a success and will end in victory





March 20, 2008


Tom Baldwin

President Bush marked five years since ordering the invasion of Iraq by proclaiming yesterday that American troops had achieved “undeniable” success and predicted that the war “will end in victory”.

.....

In his speech a few hours earlier, Mr Bush repeatedly linked the Iraq fight to the global battle against al-Qaeda, saying: “The surge has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader War on Terror. We are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology and his terror network.”

As Mr Bush spoke, demonstrations were taking place in Washington and elsewhere across the country against a conflict that has cost almost 4,000 American lives and up to $500 billion.

.....

A senior American defence official told The Times that after the withdrawal of British troops from Basra Palace inside the city last year — and the location of the whole of the British force at the airport northwest of the city — Basra had become “a blind spot”.

“We don’t really know what’s going on inside Basra and that’s not a comfortable feeling,” the official said.

.....

For the love of all living things, impeach, try, convict and incarcerate these monsters for international war crimes, treason and wanton destruction of the Constitutional foundation of the United States of America.

[Old and In the Way]

1. They are both delusional.

Cheney cares more about the $ he and his friends are making on this "war". Bush cares more about his ego.

[jimshoes]

2. K&R

The sooner the better.

[Hissyspit]

3. So?

So??

Who cares what Americans think.

What a sociopathic shit.

[lonestarnot]

4. Fucking jack o lantern is riding the good horses to death.

:puke: How does a jack o lantern give a flying fuck about anything?

[fascisthunter]

5. He Admits Intent and Motive to War Crimes in that First Paragraph

It's enough for impeachment

[Fireweed247]

6. K&R

:kick: