Bush on yellowcake:
Bush on a mushroom cloud:
Powell on mobile biological weapons labs:
The Bush administration on general hysteria:
Powell and Rice on Saddam before 9/11:
Rice a few years later:
Powell on why he blew it on mobile biological weapons labs:
Cheney denying the Atta-Prague link he had already claimed as "pretty well confirmed":
Bush showing his depth of character:
Bush more or less 'fessing up:
Cheney on waterboarding:
It's now universally understood -- by thoughtful, rational minds that can accept the truth -- that the Iraq War was fought under false pretenses. That doesn't preclude, even if it should, that the war was were fighting anyway. That, in fact, is the stated position of both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, who have so much as admitted that there were no WMDs in Iraq (though at least Bush claims he was a victim of false intelligence that the WHOLE WORLD believed).
A good place to start is Media Matter's "Where are the Media's Iraq War Boosters Ten Years Later" feature:
On the tenth anniversary of the American-led invasion of Iraq, Media Matters looks back at the work of some of the media's most prominent pro-war voices. Instead of facing consequences for backing the invasion based on information that turned out to be false and criticizing war opponents, many of these media figures continue to hold positions of influence and continue to provide foreign policy reporting and commentary.
The "Ten" are:
Fred Barnes
Richard Cohen
Thomas Friedman
Paul Gigot / Wall Street Journal Editorial Page
Sean Hannity
Stephen Hayes
Fred Hiatt / Washington Post Editorial Page
Bill Keller
Charles Krauthammer
Bill Kristol
Judith Miller
Joe Scarborough
Each link is live and connects to each figure's Media Matters record. They're a gnarly crew without a doubt. They all more or less skated or even prospered given how wrong they were, with the possible exception of Judith Miller, who now is employed by Fox and NewMax, which is the equivalent of being traded by the New York Yankees to the Alaska Goldpanners, except, I suppose, without the equivalent loss in income.
One piece of video on the run-up to the Iraq War that everyone who ever wants to think about why our country could allow the Iraq War to happen is this, the appearance of Tom Friedman on Charlie Rose, explaining the why:
I actually agree with the accuracy of his description of "why." It's his statement that "I think it was unquestionably worth doing, Charlie," that I disagree with profoundly, then as now.
What's not featured in the rogues' gallery above are members of the political establishment who supported the war, offered unbridled enthusiasm, or even directly manipulated facts and/or intelligence to convince the public of the worthiness of the undertaking.
Those people are well described in this MSNBC web article on the architects of the Iraq War. It also gives a then-and-now breakdown of the main players.
Chris Hayes gives you a video rundown:
As for my opinion of the Iraq War ten years after, well, you already know. Anyway, if you've watched these videos, you know the politics of it. The veterans and the wounded and the families of the dead, here and in Iraq, know more about the reality of it than any of the rest of us will ever know.
One final note: Future president vice-president Dick Cheney actually knew the real answer about whether the Iraq War was worth it years before he became president vice-president. Chilling but oh so true.
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