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March 19, 2008 | It would be easy to deliver up grotesque imagery of war in Iraq, show an insurgent with an RPG shot down stunned on an unpaved street and then finished through the head by a sniper's bullet. There are ample pictures available through Middle Eastern media sources of dead children and heartbroken mothers who hold them in horror.
As we acknowledge the five year anniversary of the United States debacle that is the Iraq War, we turn inward to question how so many could be fooled into allowing an invasion of Iraq, accomplished under the stringently devised plans of Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Cheney and company under what must surely be viewed as the questionable leadership of the firstborn son of a Bush. Only Rumsfeld actually served in the military, albeit during peacetime, and never saw combat. As we prepare to elect our representatives and a president again, we must surely question how our representatives were hoodwinked so thoroughly and consented to a campaign that was foretold during the first Bush campaign for office in 2000. The attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 provided a rare opportunity to move a nation unilaterally into an unjust war. Author Naomi Klein describes the phenomenon as "Shock Doctrine", after which she named her book by the same title published in 2007. Generally speaking, the strategy relies on major crises to implement unfavorable policies and make them permenant while indigenous citizens reel - distracted by the shock of the crises. The attacks of September 11 provided a Bush administration an opportunity to sell the American public on the idea that Iraq required regime change as the average American had moved past shock, to sadness to seeking revenge. It was only required to infer a nefarious 9/11 link with Iraq while U.S. and coalition troops rehearsed combat in Afghanistan. A somewhat candid presentation on the subsequent five years of war in Iraq has been provided by Reuters. There are some gruesome scenes, such as a man who cannot stand - waving his arms as he burns to death, yet it is overall a depiction that Americans - among others - need to see. When you arrive at the first page to the link provided below, be sure to note that there are five individual segments to review and learn from. Bearing Witness: Five Years of War in Iraq, Reuters
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