10 Years After the Iraq War

The Huffington Post has an interesting poll.  It features a "Change My Mind" debate presenting opposing points of view on "Was the Iraq War Worth It?".  Pratik Chougule confirms it was and Hussein Ibish disagrees. The Post takes a pre-debate poll and a post debate poll.  The poll concluded that while 6% of the readers agreed with Pratik Chougule before they read his article, 2%  more readers agreed with him after reading the two articles  (I participated an hour ago).  He has changed the most minds with his rhetoric:

Numerous investigations after the war assessed that Saddam -- the only world leader who openly applauded the 9/11attacks--had extensive ties to terrorist groups, and was preparing to reconstitute his WMD programs.

And Hussein Ibish is wasting his sweetness in the desert air when he rejects Chougule's claim:

Weapons of mass destruction, of course, were most frequently cited, but it was clear at the time that there was every reason to doubt the administration's claims. And, we quickly discovered, these claims were as false as many of us were convinced they must have been. Given the way that intelligence information was processed and presented to the public, there is every reason for the American people to feel that they were deliberately misled by some key elements of the Bush administration regarding Iraqi WMDs.

There were numerous, and patently ridiculous, attempts, including by Vice-President Dick Cheney, to link Iraq to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Others argued that even though Iraq was obviously not involved in the attacks, the United States needed to make a show of strength in the region in response and this was a perfect opportunity to do that. Some endorsed the war as a human rights measure, and as a debt owed to both Kurds and Shiites from previous American engagements with Iraq. Others suggested it was necessary to secure American dominance in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region. Some even argued that overthrowing Saddam would be the key to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

As Judge Judy would say, "Reee-diculous"!! Ask Ezra Klein who supported the war then.

All the old faces-- Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush--showed up again on television last night making themselves look even more foolish (although, I cannot quite put the poll out of my mind).  Here is Rachel Maddow on her show last night (Tuesday, March 19):

These are the faces that have changed our future, and made Iran the most powerful country in the middle-east.

Wanted Dead or Dead

The death penalty is plain wrong.  When a man is behind bars anyway, serving time for a crime he may or may not have committed, why in the world should he be executed?  Is the prison too "free" for him?  Or is it the fact that it is he and not the victim that walks alive that makes it unbearable for some to see?

Troy Davis maintained till the very end that he was innocent.  Pleas to save his life were ignored even though Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Carter, Amnesty International and the European Parliament all campaigned on his behalf.

Dr. Allen Ault, retired Director of the Georgia Department of Corrections and former Warden of the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison where he oversaw executions for the state  told Rachel Maddow (The Rachel Maddow Show: Sept 21, 2011 )

"When you're in the death chamber ordering an execution, and even if in your mind, if you're a man of conscience, actually believe somebody is guilty, it's still a very premeditated murder. I mean, it's scripted and rehearsed. It's about as premeditated as any killing that you can do. And then when there is doubt, either way it exacts a heavy toll on those who are charged by the state to execute somebody."

 

The MacPhails, the relatives of the man Davis allegedly killed, talk of closure.  Dr. Ault said in that same interview with Rachel Maddow that the sense of relief felt by relatives of victims at "justice" being done is, at best, fleeting.  Of course it is.

In the end, we are a bloodthirsty species.  Hammurabi is still alive in us. Just look at him--I can readily believe this is the man who demanded an eye for an eye. 

It seems, that even the makers of sodium pentothal ( the drug used at executions) do not want their name tainted with this practice.