Why did Bush lie?

Every time Bush is confronted with a question about missing WMDs, he dodges the question by saying that the war was the right thing to do and that if his opponent was president Saddam would still be in power. Clearly, Bush lied to us about Iraq having WMDs and Iraq being a threat to the U.S. The Oct 2002 NIE tells us he knew it wasn't certain; the ISG report tells us it wasn't true. Together, they make Bush's statements and those of his people into lies:

• "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction." -Dick Cheney Speech to VFW National Convention, Aug. 26, 2002.
• "Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons." -George W. Bush Speech to U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 12, 2002.
• "We know they have weapons of mass destruction … There isn't any debate about it." "[It is] beyond anyone's imagination" that U.N. inspectors would fail to find such weapons if they were given the opportunity. -Donald Rumsfeld, September 2002.
• "If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world." -Ari Fleischer Press Briefing, Dec. 2, 2002.
• "We know for a fact that there are weapons there." -Ari Fleischer Press Briefing, Jan. 9, 2003.
• "We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more." -Colin Powell Remarks to U.N. Security Council, Feb. 5, 2003.
• "We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have." -George W. Bush Radio Address, Feb. 8, 2003.
• “Does Saddam now have weapons of mass destruction? Sure he does. We know he has chemical weapons. We know he has biological weapons. ... How far he’s gone on the nuclear-weapons side I don’t think we really know. My guess is it’s further than we think. It’s always further than we think, because we limit ourselves, as we think about this, to what we’re able to prove and demonstrate. ... And, unless you believe that we have uncovered everything, you have to assume there is more than we’re able to report.” -Defense Policy Board Chair, Richard Perle, speaking to a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing, March, 2003.
• "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." -George W. Bush Address to the Nation, March 17, 2003.
• "Well, there is no question that we have evidence and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and chemical particularly... all this will be made clear in the course of the operation, for whatever duration it takes." -Ari Fleisher Press Briefing, March 21, 2003.
• "There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. And... as this operation continues, those weapons will be identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who guard them." -Gen. Tommy Franks Press Conference, March 22, 2003.
• "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." -Donald Rumsfeld ABC Interview, March 30, 2003.
• "I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now." -Colin Powell Remarks to Reporters, May 4, 2003.

What I want to know is if having Saddam out of power is so good, then why didn't Bush say that was the reason for going to war? Why make up a story about WMDs? Wolfowitz told us they evaluated the various reasons and decided to go with WMDs because they could sell that. This just reinforces the fact that the lying was intentional.

My problem with Bush is the lying

Yes, Bush and Cheney were caught sitting on their hands on 9/11, having lowered the priority of anti-terrorism actions to the point that they never had a meeting with Richard Clarke, the administration's top person on terrorism. B & C were working on a missile defense system for the first 9 months of 2001, if I recall.

My biggest problem with Bush is the lying. Bush lied to gain political support for a war that wouldn't have been supported if the truth were told. We've read excerpts from the Oct 2002 NIE that says there was plenty of opposition within the intelligence community to the idea that Iraq had WMDs, yet Bush and company used absolute phrases in their speeches: "There can be no doubt ... We know for a fact ... It is certain ...", where the truth wouldn't have been persuasive.

Bush and his administration made statements they knew were false in order to gain political and popular support for a war that has taken the lives of over 1000 American soldiers and countless 1000s of Iraqis. Now with the publication of the ISG report, we know for certain that the statements were false. With the publication of parts of the NIE, we know they knew the statements were false at the time.

The same situation applies to Bush's other reasons for prosecuting the war: Iraq involvement in 9/11 -- false; Iraq threat to U.S. -- false; invasion of Iraq justified on human rights grounds -- false. (see Human Rights Watch for the justification for a war on human rights grounds). They're batting 0 for 4.

For those who may think this is a lesser problem than some others, consider the 9th Commandment in the Old Testament: "Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor".

About half of the voters didn't believe Bush's lies. The other half did. Now anyone with open eyes and ears knows they've been the victim of lies. President Bush has broken the trust of the American people. Because of this, he can no longer serve effectively. Witness the cries of "wag the dog" after the mid-summer orange alerts when Kerry was ahead in the polls. He's now "the little boy who cried wolf". We can't trust our President to tell us the truth, even when he is.

Real Intelligence - Smarter spies only get us so far. We need smarter strategy.

American Prospect Online - ViewWeb Makes me want to buy the guy's book.

ABCNEWS.com : Report: Saddam Not in Pursuit of Weapons

ABCNEWS.com : Report: Saddam Not in Pursuit of Weapons More evidence that the Bush administration's reasons for going to war in Iraq were false. Sanctions and inspections were working! We had the choice: stay the course with working sanctions and inspections or invade at the cost of over 1000 American lives. Maybe some sabre-rattling was necessary to get the inspectors back in, but this new final report makes it clear that no invasion was necessary to keep Americans safe.