HIGHTOWER: Bush's Bubble



Jim Hightower, AlterNet
December 2, 2003
Viewed on December 5, 2003


Did you happen to see the dignity with which the Italian people honored their 19 soldiers who were killed in an attack in Iraq? All 19 coffins were draped in the Italian flag, Italy's president was present for a moving ceremony, and there was a day of national mourning.


Contrast this show of dignity to our White House's cold avoidance of any public mourning of the more than 400 coffins that have come back to our country from George W's war in Iraq. Bush handlers say they don't want him seen with the coffins of our dead soldiers, for that would be "off message." Rather, the Bushites are pushing a cheery message, proclaiming that things are going according to plan in Iraq, with great progress being made in our glorious occupation.


Not only do the Bushites stay on message, but their right-wing media apologists also try to put a smiley face on our losses there, as do George's congressional parrots. For example, one of the blathering GOP congress critters, George Nethercutt of Spokane, recently went to Iraq on the taxpayer's dime for four days. He then returned and dutifully offered this brilliant insight: "The story of what we've done in Iraq is remarkable. It is a better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day."


One wonders: "How would Nethercutt feel if one of those soldiers was his child or grandchild? And, if one of Bush's daughters was a soldier coming home in a coffin - would he go "off-message" to greet it? And if 400 children of his top campaign contributors had died over there, would we still be in Iraq? Indeed, if the children of the privileged had to go to war, would Bush, the congress, the war contractors, the media barons, and the right-wing talk-showers have been so gung-ho to put our soldiers there in the first place?


Bush's handlers pride themselves in keeping him in a PR bubble, safely isolated from the consequences of his presidency. They might be fooling him, but they're not fooling us.

Bush told us back in Feb and March of this year that war in Iraq would:
1. Make the U.S. safer and today there's a madman on the loose in Ohio shooting at cars on the highway. While the Ohio state police deal with that, the nation remains on high alert from feared terrorist attacks.
--the U.S. is not safer--
2. Bring into our control the huge and vast cache of WMD's and biological-chemical weapons that the Iraqis are threatening our nation with.
--so far these mythical weapons have not shown up, thus we do not control these weapons and the country is under incredible danger until we do find these elusive weapons--
3. Make Iraq a better place with democratic government by and for the Iraqis.
--actually, Iraq is about as bad off as when Saddam held the country seeing how the nation is involved in a guerilla if not civil war in which Americans and our allies are returning to their homes in body bags--and in the meantime, U.S. occupying forces kill and maim countless civilians--
4. Make the Middle East safer.
--yeah, tell that to the Israelis being slaughtered by terrorist bombs and the Palestinians who are routinely bombed in retaliation--and in the meantime, we are about to step to Syria and wage war with them while guerillas in Afghanistan are now attacking our occupying forces in that mid-east country--
5. Bring democracy to the middle east.
--yeah, Israel a democray--never--and, Iraq can have any government it wants, as long as it's a democratic style government that keeps its traditional borders. In other words, the Iraqis can have any puppet government they want, unless of course if Bush and his staff disapprove, now that's DEMOCRACY!--

The war in Iraq was and is a complete failure. Bush promised us all this stuff that cannot be delivered.

Just for argument's sake, if GW Bush came with a Democrat label, the congressional GOP would have impeached him by now.

For the first time in the lives of most Iraqis, a representative government is being established and human rights and freedom are being enshrined.

Nearly 3 dozen countries are contributing financially to the renewal of Iraq, and 19 countries are providing personnel for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The food distribution system is functioning, based on equitable needs rather than cronyism.

Nearly all Iraqi children have finished exams from last year. All universities are open.

A $53 million program to rehabilitate more than 100 schools and clinics is underway.

I can honestly say now that I'm proud to be an Iraqi. Because of what has happened, because there is freedom here like I have not known before. Now I can talk-to you, to people I could never talk to before. I am a simple man. I am just a worker. But even these simple things-talking-give me hope."
Khalid Nemah, an Iraqi taxi driver, Chicago Tribune, 8/05/03

"Iraqis are very thirsty to learn what is happening outside of Iraq."
Abbas Darwish, owner of a Baghdad shop that sells newspapers, The New York Times, 8/05/03

"You never knew who was sitting next to you. In the past no one would dare to just speak out. Now everybody is talking. About federalism, about a monarchy. ... I think our aims are just one, to eliminate persecution for anyone ever again."
Jafar Adel Amr, a tool salesman in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 8/05/03

"Freedom is much sweeter. I can get up in the morning and decide whether I want to shave or not; if someone in my family is sick, I can stay home with them. I don't need to ask permission."
Salim Kasim, one of Uday's chief mechanics, Los Angeles Times, 8/02/03

"We didn't believe these things, but we had to say them. Saddam was there in all the books, even the math books."
Ghada Jassen, a fifth grade teacher in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 7/31/03

"We don't want patriotic education anymore. Nothing about war. We want flowers and springtime in the texts, not rifles and tanks."
Dunia Nabel, a teacher in Baghdad, Chicago Tribune, 7/31/03

"We have full freedom to print anything we want. The coalition doesn't interfere in our work but, of course, we have our own red lines."
Ishtar el Yassiri, editor of the new satirical Iraqi newspaper Habez Bouz, Financial Times (London), 7/31/03

"It is like the soul coming back to the body."
Ibrahim Abdullah, a refugee returning to Iraq, The Times (London), 7/31/03

"The tension is reducing every day. We are seeing a change. People are starting to realize that the soldiers are not here to occupy Fallujah forever-they're here to help us rebuild."
Taha Bedawi, mayor of Fallujah, The Washington Post, 7/29/03

"It's a chance to defend our country for our people. It's good to work with the American soldiers. They give us new training and a mutual respect."
Omar Abdullah, a recruit for Mosul's newly formed joint security group, Associated Press, 7/29/03

"We're happy, we're rid of Saddam Hussein; the torture and executions of 35 years are over. We should wait to see what the Americans will do."
Ahmed Abdel-Sahib, in Najaf, The Washington Post, 7/28/03

"There is a certain harmony. But you can not rebuild a city or country-a country destroyed by war-in one month."
Mohammed Tahar al-Abid Rabu, a member of the Mosul city council, Agence France Presse, 7/28/03

"For the first time I feel really free."
Latif Yahia, Uday's former double, after hearing of Uday's death, Agence France Presse, 7/26/03

"The Iraqi people have got rid of two of the biggest criminals in history. Their victims and the sons of their victims, who lived for 35 years under oppression, are feeling proud and happy."
Muwaffak al-Rubaiei, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, Agence France Presse and Reuters, 7/25/03

"We are more free nowadays. My father gave me the full freedom to marry whom I choose."
Raina Nuri, a woman in Baghdad, Christian Science Monitor, 7/25/03

"We felt better after the regime fell, now we are really happy-we have been freed from our nightmare."
Alaa' Kathem, an Iraqi soccer player who had been punished for losing games, Financial Times (London), 7/24/03

"Iraq is now free from torture. Free from Uday."
Amu Baba, a legendary soccer star in Iraq, Los Angeles Times, 7/24/03

"We feel safer now because we used to hear lots of stories about girls. We were so afraid to go out in case Uday saw us."
Farrah, a 15-year-old Iraqi girl, Newsday (New York), 7/24/03

"My father died because of Saddam. I don't want to speak about the reasons. But I was so happy. I was at home when I saw it on the TV. I woke up my aunts and told them the good news. I used to hate those guys so much and so I felt so at ease in my heart."
Osama Zaid, a distant cousin of Uday, after learning of Uday's death, Newsday (New York), 7/24/03

"Even the blind can see what Saddam Hussein did, taking Iraq into so many wars and doing little even for this town, no sports club, no decent hotels."
Wail al-Ali, Tikrit's new mayor, The Guardian, 7/22/03

"We are flying with happiness since Saddam is gone."
Zahar Hassan, in Iraq, Agence France Presse, 7/21/03

"There's more opportunity, more chances to earn money."
Um Khalid, on life in post-Saddam Baghdad, The Christian Science Monitor, 7/21/03

"[Uday] was a bad man, and he used to beat the soccer players if they lost a game. I think he used to treat the lions better than the people."
Mussab Ismas, a 13-year old boy, viewing Uday's lions at the Baghdad zoo, The Washington Post, 7/21/03

"Let the Americans stay, they protect us. I don't see them hurting anyone."
A mother living in Baghdad, The Christian Science Monitor, 7/21/03

"He [Uday] was a sick man, and he kept lions and tigers just to show his manhood, to show everyone that he cared more about animals than people. But he amputated their claws, and he took away their freedom, just like the people."
Alaa Karim, a Baghdad zoo employee, The Washington Post, 7/21/03

"I can see that the American soldiers are free. In our old army, we were always under pressure and strict military orders. There was tough punishment."
Raad Mamoud, a former Iraqi soldier, USA Today, 7/21/03

"I hope Iraq comes back strong. I am in favor of the new government."
Uday Kadhu, a Baghdad car salesman on the Iraqi archery team, Agence France Presse, 7/16/03

"In our opinion, the most significant thing about the formation of the transitional Governing Council is that it includes important personalities that are known to the masses and that represent the different political, national, democratic and progressive forces, as well as independent political organizations and religious denominations."
Iraqi newspaper Al-Manar, 7/15/03

"I felt that we had gone back to the year 1930. I feel that Iraq has started back from zero. We have wasted 75 years waiting to taste freedom."
Hadid al-Gailani, after the Governing Council announced the abolition of Baathist holidays, The Boston Globe, 7/14/03

"I helped deliver thousands of Iraqi babies, and now I am taking part in the birth of a new country and a new rule based on women's rights, humanity, unity and freedom."
Raja Habib al-Khaza'i, the director of an Iraqi maternity hospital and a member of the Governing Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03

"The formation of this council which represents all sectors of Iraqi society is the birth of democracy in the country. It is better than Saddam's government of destruction and dictatorship."
Razzak Abdul-Zahra, a 35-year-old engineer in Baghad, Associated Press, 7/13/03

"The establishment of this council represents the Iraqi national will after the collapse of the dictatorial regime."
Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum, a Shiite cleric on the Governing Council, Associated Press, 7/13/03

"It's a hard situation. But now that Saddam has fallen, it's OK. We can wait for the future now."
Muhammed Abdul al Sudani, the night watchman at a school in Baghdad, Baltimore Sun, 7/13/03

"Iraqis are looking forward to this day. They have been dreaming for so many years to have a government run by not only one man."
Sherwan Dizayee, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Los Angeles Times, 7/13/03

"He [Saddam] occupied Iraq for 25 years. It's not important that the Americans are here. What is important is that they got rid of Saddam Hussein. Now I feel free."
Fadil Emara, a shopkeeper in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 7/12/03

"I want to help my country to make a new life, to get human rights, and also to get modern life, especially because we are a rich country."
An Iraqi translator for the Allied forces, The New York Times, 7/08/03

"We can't train staff fast enough. People are desperate here for a neutral free press after 30 years of a totalitarian state."
Saad al-Bazzaz, editor of the Azzaman Daily in Baghdad, The Independent (London), 7/08/03

"The Americans did a very good thing when they crushed Saddam for the Iraqis."
Khither Jaafar, a member of a Shiite party outlawed by Saddam, Los Angeles Times, 7/08/03

"U.S.-U.K., Liberators of Iraq from Saddam's Terror."
A banner hanging outside the entrance to central Suleimaniyah in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 7/05/03

"We as a council were chosen by the people. God willing we will work to achieve the hopes and wishes of the people."
Mohammed al-Assadi, a representative on the new Najaf City Council, Associated Press, 7/07/03

"We were like a tightly covered pot which no one knew what it contained. Now that the cover has been removed, you can't imagine what you will discover."
Majed al-Ghazali, who now dreams of setting up a children's music school in Iraq, Associated Press, 7/07/03

"We feel liberated. We're very very happy."
Dana Mohammed, manager of a fast food restaurant in Suleimaniyah, Chicago Tribune, 7/05/03

"I can feel it inside. All Iraqis are feeling freedom. This is a good start of a new Iraq."
Saniya al-Raheem, a 56-year-old housewife in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03

"It was a cruel system. We were living under terror and we all suffered from it. It was for our own survival not to talk about politics. We could not even discuss our personal problems openly."
Balkis Al-Shamary, a clerk in an Iraqi shop, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03

"During the Saddam years, we did not even have hopes. We were living only to survive. Now I have lots of dreams and hopes."
Hansam Hassan, a pediatrician at Baghdad's Al-Alwiya Children's Hospital, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03

"I like free discussions. I talk about these issues with my families and friends. This could never happen during the Saddam years."
Maha Abrahim, owner of a wedding dress shop in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03

"A thousand thanks to Bush!"
Abdel Karim Hassan, in Basra, The New York Times, 6/27/03

"When I see my female students, I see hopes in them. They will have more opportunities to travel and learn and have more control of their lives."
Bushra Jani, a professor at Baghdad's Al-Mustansiriya University, Agence France Presse, 7/03/03

"The Americans liberated the Iraqi people from a despotic regime from which they suffered a lot. The Iraqi people could not change that regime with their own hands or overthrow it with their available means. The Americans came and solved this problem quickly and easily and in a way that gladdened the Iraqis."
Baghdad Al-Balat, an Iraqi newspaper, 6/18/03

"It gives me an immense sense of hope. Being here and seeing so many other people here signifies that, despite everything, life goes on."
Shafeeq al-Mahdi, an Iraqi playwright at a performance at the al-Rashid Theater in Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/25/03

"I will run for mayor. Because we have freedom."
Dhirgham Najem, a 23-year-old busboy in Najaf, The New York Times, 6/22/03

"They're buying them [satellites] like they buy bread. They say they're buying freedom."
Mohammed al-Mulla, a worker at an Iraqi electronics store, Associated Press, 6/25/03

"This is the first time we as Shiites can represent ourselves and talk with a loud voice. They never let us express our feelings."
Akil Dair, a part-time student at Baghdad University, The New York Times, 6/21/03

"Look at Saddam here, they have painted his eyes. Now he cannot see anymore. We also tore all his pictures from our textbooks. I only left one portrait on my math textbook as a souvenir, but I put mascara on his eyes and colored his lips in red."
Salam, a 10-year-old boy pointing to an old mural of Saddam in Baghdad, Agence France Presse, 6/21/03

"Owning or selling such songs was punishable by a one-and-a-half year prison sentence under Saddam. After being oppressed for 35 years, we are now scrambling to grab these songs, to which we listen with impunity."
Ahmad, whose shop in Baghdad is selling large amounts of previously banned Shiite music, Agence France Presse, 6/18/03

"This is the freedom exhibition. I'm flying now."
Mohammed Rasim, a 29-year-old Iraqi artist who was finally able to show his paintings in an exhibit once Saddam fell, Associated Press, 6/18/03

"We are so glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein."
Habid Khanger, who waited to marry until Saddam fell and his policies ended, USA Today, 6/17/03

"Why call us occupied? We are liberated."
Mohammed Hanash Abbas, co-owner of Iqra'a bookstore in Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03

"Saddam would not allow us here; he would slay whoever came here. It's freedom now!"
Salah Maadi Khafaji, an Iraqi swimming in a part of the Tigris that had been off limits to ordinary Iraqis, Los Angeles Times, 6/17/03

"America has shown us compassion we never had from Saddam or fellow Arabs."
Attallah Zeidan, co-owner of a small bookstore in Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/17/03

"I should have freedom to wear or not to wear the veil. I don't want to let these people dictate my thoughts. I am an educated woman. I am a religious woman. I know my duties to God."
Kawkab Jalil, a woman in Baghdad who decided to take off her veil, The Washington Post, 6/17/03

"When I leave my job at night, I am very happy, very proud about myself. We must help the Americans, and show them our traditions."
Suhair Karmasha, the first Iraqi woman to work with the Americans at Baghdad's city hall, The Washington Post, 6/17/03

"We are like newborn children. We are very, very happy."
Ali Hashem Jasim, in Iraq, Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03

"We broke the dams when the Iraqi army left. We want to teach our children how to fish, how to move on the water again."
Qasim Shalgan Lafta, a Marsh Arab and former fisherman who helped restore the water to the Iraqi wetlands that Saddam had destroyed, Chicago Tribune, 6/13/03

"Before, we saw Saddam on one channel, then we saw Saddam on another channel. When the signal went off, we'd hear Saddam. Even in our dreams, we heard his voice. It's better than before."
Tahir Sadeq, an Iraqi hotel manager, The Washington Post, 6/13/03

"Before, we couldn't speak. Before, we couldn't live. But life has changed from bad to best in Sulaymaniyah. I hope everyone in Iraq can live like us soon."
Abdul Karim, a 70-year-old Iraqi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/12/03

"The name of Saddam had a value among us, but now, I do not love Saddam. I feel I have been deceived. I am shocked to hear about his crimes against our people."
Yaaser Akram, an 11th-grade student in Baghdad, Associated Press, 6/12/03

"I want to know the secrets of Saddam. Before, we couldn't even say his name, and now we can know the truth."
Abdul, who bought a copy of one of Saddam's home movies, Associated Press, 6/12/03

"I have no more fear now. From the moment Iraq was liberated I felt as though my two sons had been brought back to me."
A woman whose 17-year-old son, Sardar Osman Faraj, was executed in Iraq in 1985 and another was killed by unknown assassins in 1992. Los Angeles Times, 6/8/03

"It's a big change. We used to get central instructions from the Ministry of Information. Now we no longer do. Azzaman is independent. It lets the readers learn and decide the political currents."
Abdel-Majid, of the Azzaman newspaper in Iraq, Washington Post, 6/8/03

"Things have changed. There's not the same fear. I didn't see my future here before. Now, maybe I do."
Ardelan Karim, who unsuccessfully attempted to flee Iraq four times after escaping Saddam's executioners, The New York Times, 06/05/03

"We are all very happy and comfortable. This is the freedom we want."
Yizmak Askander Abu, a teacher in Rassalin, The Times (London), 06/05/03

"I never allowed myself to live all these years. Every day I thought, now they're going to come and take me. I was always waiting."
Nasir al-Husseini, 22, who survived a mass execution at age 10, The New York Times, 06/01/03

"Freedom means that Saddam is no longer around."
Firas al-Dujaili, an Iraqi doctor, Associated Press, 5/29/03

"This is like a dream for us. The Americans liberated us and gave us our freedom. We hope they stay to protect the minorities like us."
Emir Farooq Saeed Ali Beg, a member of the formerly persecuted Yazidi tribe, The Times (London), 06/05/03

"For the first time in Iraq, democratic processes are put in place to elect government officials. Democratic elections are a new phenomenon in today's Iraq. True democracy appears with the absence of dictatorships and tyranny."
The Iraqi newspaper Al Naba, 06/01/03

"...[T]he Iraqi people are too happy that Saddam is gone. Too happy."
Salim, a citizen of Baghdad, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 06/01/03

"We are so happy, not just for the contract, but to work again in our country with our people and our equipment to help rebuild our country."
Loay Ibrahim Al-Saied, an Iraqi engineer whose company received a contract to construct a highway bypass, PR Newswire European, 5/30/03

"Freedom means to travel, to get the job I want, to study in the college I want."
Ahmed al-Samarai, a citizen of Iraq, Associated Press, 5/29/03

"I couldn't teach the students the truth. I was unable to tell them that we were ruled by a dictator. If I did, my neck would be on the line."
Wijda Khalidi, an Iraqi schoolteacher, Associated Press, 5/29/03

"I cannot describe how I am glad. After so many years of dictatorship, we have chosen our own leader."
Kemal Kerkuki, after participating in the election of Kirkuk's new mayor, The New York Times, 5/29/03

"Now that Iraq is free, we are demanding freedom and equal rights that Iraqi women have always been deprived of."
Eman Ahmed, member of the Rising Iraqi Women's Organization, Associated Press, 5/21/03

"I can tell you all these things now because we are free. Before, we lived like exiles in our own country."
Suhaib Abbas Majeed, an Iraqi medical student, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/21/03

"This is the first time in our lives we have experienced democracy. It is a beautiful thing. Everyone is excited. Everyone is here. ...Not complaining. Coming to vote."
Rabaab Mahmoud Kassar, a female attorney in Najaf who participated in the election of the town's new judges, The Washington Post, 5/21/03

"We've been living in jail for three decades. Now, we are free. Help is coming. Day by day, life is for the better."
Saddam Agil, grandfather of five and resident of Basra, USA Today, 5/20/03

"Before we used to commemorate the day hidden at home, we were afraid of Saddam's agents who were everywhere and spied on us. Today I feel happy."
Faithela Asam, an Iraqi Shiite, on publicly celebrating the birthday of Mohamed for the first time in decades, Agence France Presse, 5/19/03

"We are a free voice that does not belong to any party. We wanted this channel to be free and speak in the name of all Iraqi people."
Khalil al-Tayar, director of the new Karbala Television station, Associated Press, 5/19/03

"Most Iraqis did not know what freedom was, but have shown they prefer it after finding it now. Most Iraqis do not know what democracy is, but they will certainly love it once they taste it."
Amir Taheri, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, 5/19/03

"We can say anything we want in public. Now we're free."
Safaz al Hellou, an Iraqi teenager, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/19/03

"This is the first attempt for us to run our town by ourselves. We are ready to rebuild our town, and we are ready to rebuild our country."
Najim Abed Mahdi, a chairman of the Umm Qasr interim town council, The Guardian (London), 5/15/03

"This is the happiest moment we all felt. It's a primordial feeling -- this tyrant coming down."
Yussra Hussen, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/12/03

"I am happy that Saddam is gone. The teachers told me to love Saddam. My parents told me he was a bad man."
Dina, 7, U.S. News & World Report, 5/12/03

"We are not fighting anybody. We will not raise our weapons because freedom is within our sight. We want an Iraqi government that represents all Iraqis. Sunni and Shia Muslims, Kurds, Turcomans and religious minorities -- they will have their rights in this land."
Returned Iraqi exile Ayatollah Hakim, speech to Iraqis in Najaf, London Daily Telegraph, 5/12/03

"(April 9th was) a good day for all Iraqis. The people of Iraq want democracy. They lived without it for 35 years. It was like Russians under Stalin."
Ministry Engineer Ghassan Yassin, 53, Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada), 5/11/03

"Beautiful, beautiful. Not Iraqi TV. Not Saddam Hussein TV. Beautiful."
Akhbal Ibrahim Rashid watching her satellite dish-equipped television, Los Angeles Times, 5/9/03

"All my life I have been escaping. So I have dreamed of freedom, of traveling abroad, of feeling life the way all young people do. Maybe now I will."
Mohammed Khadum, 28, in Baghdad, Washington Post, 5/8/03

"You cannot imagine what it means for us to be here on this national stage, where everything we stand for was forbidden. Now it is ours."
Oday Rashid, an Iraqi musician and documentary filmmaker, Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03

"I saw the world for the first time. I saw where we were. I saw presidents and cities and people from everywhere! The whole world!"
School Principal Bushra Cesar, after buying a satellite TV dish, New York Times, 5/4/03

"We will keep on somehow. Now we have the most important thing that we need. There is no one to stop us from saying anything we want onstage."
Basim Hajar, coauthor and director of a play criticizing Saddam Hussein's regime performed in a building where -- before the war -- only works sanctioned by the government were allowed. Los Angeles Times, 5/5/03

"Before, if I had sold this, they would have cut my head from my body."
Imad Saad, selling a copy of an opposition-run paper, Los Angeles, 5/3/03

WMD hunters tout progress in Iraq
Kay says search will 'take time'
Friday, August 1, 2003 Posted: 6:57 AM EDT (1057 GMT)




WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. investigators are making "solid progress" in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, one of the leaders of the effort said after briefing senators.

"I think the American people should be prepared for surprises," said David Kay, a former U.N. weapons inspector who is leading the CIA's weapons investigation. "I think it's very likely that we will discover remarkable surprises in this enterprise."

Kay and Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, head of the Pentagon's Iraq Survey Group, spent about six hours Thursday updating the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees in closed-door hearings on the weapons investigation, which includes U.S., British and Australian personnel.

"Every week, it is phenomenal what we're finding," Dayton told reporters afterward.

Kay told reporters that during the first six weeks of the effort, investigators have uncovered useful documents about Iraq's WMD programs and are getting increased cooperation from Iraqis.

He also said the team has "found some physical evidence" related to Iraqi weapons, though he declined to characterize that evidence.

The task of finding physical evidence related to Iraq's weapons programs was made more difficult by the destruction during the war and the looting afterward, he said.

"I think we are making solid progress," he said. "It is preliminary. We're not at the final stage of understanding fully Iraq's WMD program, nor have we found WMD weapons.

"It's going to take time. The Iraqis had over two decades to develop these weapons, and hiding them was an essential part of their program."

Kay said Iraqis have been showing investigators how WMD programs were concealed.

"The active deception program is truly amazing once you get inside of it," he said. "We have people who participated in deceiving U.N. inspectors now telling us how they did it."

He also said Iraqis have been leading investigators to locations unknown to U.S. officials before the March 20 invasion that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, called the panel's briefing "very lengthy and very forthright, candid and helpful."

"I never did expect we would find a smoking missile or the smoking gun," Warner told reporters.

"I think if you're able to put together the weapons of mass destruction program of denial and deception, it will lead you to discover what happens to the weapons of mass destruction."

The Senate committee hearings came as the Bush administration faces persistent questions about whether intelligence about Iraqi weapons was hyped to build support for invading Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction have been found since Saddam fell.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said he thinks "there's a very good chance" that weapons of mass destruction will eventually be found.

On Wednesday, Rockefeller chided White House officials for what he saw as a retreat from their original assessment of the Iraqi threat by pointing to evidence of weapons programs, rather than to actual weapons.

Asked Thursday after his committee's briefing whether he had confidence actual weapons would be found, Rockefeller said, "I don't know whether I'm confident or not, but I certainly am hopeful that we're going to find weapons of mass destruction, and I think there's a very good chance of that."

He also said he doesn't believe that if the weapons exist they would have been found by now.

"I've always had the feeling that somewhere out in the deserts in a country the size of California, these things could be buried. There could be surprises," Rockefeller said.

"I want to see this validated in the sense that we went to war for the right reasons, and that would be weapons of mass destruction."

But some lawmakers, particularly Democrats, said it is critical that actual weapons be found -- not just evidence of a program.

"If we do not find weapons of mass destruction, and if we do not find that they were positioned in a way for imminent use, the credibility of the United States government abroad and the credibility of the United States government with its own people here in the United States will be significantly eroded," said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida.

Graham, who is running for his party's 2004 presidential nomination, was chairman of the Intelligence Committee last year.

Kay said uncovering information about Iraq's weapons programs is significant because it can tell investigators whether weapons of mass destruction were developed, and if they were what has happened to them.

Kay conceded it was theoretically possible that Iraq did not have banned weapons, but he said, "That's not what I believe the evidence we're seeing is going to lead us to."

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, also said that uncovering information about Iraq's weapons programs is a key advance, adding that he "never did expect we would find a smoking missile."

"After you've determined what the program is, you can say, 'Ah ha, now we know what happened to the weapons of mass destruction,'" he said.

Kay works for the CIA establishing strategies on how the search for WMD will be conducted. Dayton heads the 1,500-man survey team made up of personnel from several agencies who then conduct the work.

They visit sites, interview suspects or others with knowledge, and evaluate captured documents and equipment.

The Iraq Survey Group was put into place several weeks ago to improve the intelligence gathering effort rather than just focusing on searching suspect sites.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

KlutzDio I Wrote:The war in Iraq was and is a complete failure. Bush promised us all this stuff that cannot be delivered.

Just for argument's sake, if GW Bush came with a Democrat label, the congressional GOP would have impeached him by now.

:stupid:

If it were the 1943 would you still be saying the samething about Japan and Germany? Doubtful. Why? Becuase this is a Republican president. Progress takes time. 6 months isn't even close to long enough to establish a new government. The US itself took almost 8 years to form even a roughly established democracy.

Bush doesn't have any reason to be impeached. Sorry. He hasn't violated any federal laws, unlike lying under oath.

I find it very inconsistent in your rhetoric that you discredit the NYT as being "liberal" and then you use them as a source when you need some figures.

So what is it, Rick? Is the NYT a bona-fide news organization or just another wing of the Democratic party hellbent on brainwashing us all?

Also, if Iraq is so much better off now, then why are so many folks over there still have one foot in the grave, namely U.S. servicemen and women?

Next, waging war in the name of democracy is not a legitimate reason for waging war. In such a system, liberals will run amok and you right wingers certainly don't want that! Are you guys going to lobby for an attack on Iraq if liberals take over the puppet government?

Lastly, U.S. investigators can applaud "solid progress" all they want, but according to the Bush Administration we (that is, our American nation) was directly threatened by the WMD's and until they are firmly in our control, we will continue to be threatened by these mythical weapons.
We are in danger as long as we don't have the weapons that Saddam was threatening us with and Bush and his war people have failed to deliver.

KD-my whole point is that the country is better off than it was when Sadam was running the joint. Its just that that sort of news does not sell newspapers. Look at the quotes above. Those are Iraq citizens speaking. Not the NYT, The Post, or any liberal or conservative paper, just quotes. I fully admit they have not found WMD. Do I think they are there? Maybe, maybe not. I do believe they were there before we went into country. I have a hard time accepting the fact that people will not admit that we have done a lot of good in Iraq. Read the quotes. All of them.

Dropping bombs, killing people, invading foreign lands--none of it is good.

You have to consider that since we've marched into Iraq and siezed the nation people have been rounded up and detained by the thousands--because that is what occupying forces do--that's never good. Too many civilians are being killed as are our guys and gals--that's not good. Reuters, NPR, BBC, C-SPAN, Drudge--all are reporting that U.S. troops are too loose with the trigger finger. One U.S. serviceman, an officer, said the guerilla war over there now is perplexing because when his squads go into action, they don't know what kind of force to use. This officer said he doesn't know who's friendly and who's not (sounds like another U.S. quagmire).

Name one reason WE (the United States) is better off, or tell me how our society is better off as a result of this war.

All I know is people are dying over there and its costing us a fortune. Way too much money being spent on something that was not the responsibility of the U.S.

While some of the quotes you posted are of those who support our involvement, I hear more and more Iraqis in other reports who want us to go home. Some just plain hate us and other are ambivalent--they just don't want any foreigners there.

Lastly, what kind of country do you want to live in, Rick? One that goes to war to settle old scores, a country that offers knee-jerk military responses to all our problems, and picks on nations with weakened militaries? Is that what makes the U.S. great?

I just can't support aggressive wars like this. It would be different if the Iraqis invaded Florida but they didn't. It would even be different if they attacked one of our aircraft carriers but they didn't. Some freaks attacked the Cole, the Pentagon and the WTC so we blame Iraq for it--that just ain't right.
And this preemptive thing, that bothers me. What if the local police in your area held the perception that you were going to go to work and start shooting up the place. They didn't have any proof but they just thought you might and then in order to stop you they show up at your house one morning and take you to jail. How would you like that--it's preemptive action on a perceived threat.

Hell, I'd even feel more gung ho about our involvement over there if Bush had just made a humanitarian case for war, but he didn't. He and his staffers marketed this war under the guise of a threat, and that just plain bothers me.
If Bush and his people just said "hey, Saddam is making his folks suffer and we're going to stop it" then I'd be a little more supportive, as long as Bush sent the military to stop other injustices around the world. But that's not the game. The game is about "controlled war" so Bush's buddies can make money off of it. Look at Bechtel, Fluor and Haliburton--they are rebuilding that country. If a Democratic president waged war (preemptive war) then got his buddies in on contracts after, I guarantee you a GOP congress would impeach!

Caption: Shaking Hands: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein greets Donald Rumsfeld, then special envoy of President Ronald Reagan, in Baghdad on December 20, 1983.

Interesting how "friends" can so quickly become enemies.

I'm sure the people of Zimbabwe would LOVE for us to go into their country uninvited... in all seriousness, I'm sure they would.

BUT... Does that make it justified for us to attack Zimbabwe?

Sorry, nate. I'd reply but I'm still reading quotes from Happy Iraqis. :wave:

P.S. Rick. . .

Poll Shows Most Iraqis Unhappy with Presence of Coalition Forces
by Maureen Fan

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Most Iraqis feel unsafe in their neighborhoods, think the local Iraqi police can protect them better than coalition forces and increasingly view Americans as occupiers rather than liberators, according to a poll released Thursday by the independent, privately funded Iraq Center for Research & Strategic Studies in Baghdad.



Asked to rate various countries as their favorite political model for a future Iraq, 13.7 percent chose Iran while only 9.6 percent chose the United States.


Coalition forces have squandered the goodwill that resulted from removing Saddam Hussein from power, with nearly 43 percent of Iraqis viewing them as liberators six months ago but only 14.8 percent feeling the same way now.

More than 60 percent of Iraqis have little or no confidence that coalition forces will improve safety, but at least half (50.1 percent) support the coalition presence in Iraq, compared with 33.1 percent who would like to kick them out.

The sample of 1,620 people in Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, Ramadi, Fallujah, Erbil and Suliamaniyah, interviewed between Sept. 28 and Oct. 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points. The results are the third installment in a monthly polling operation run by Sadoun al Dulame, director of the research center.

The survey comes amid increasing attacks on U.S. soldiers in the past couple of weeks. While U.S. officials insist postwar Iraq is improving, there have been more attacks from roadside and homemade bombs as well as an increase in suicide bombings.

The results reflect the challenges of handing over authority to the Iraqis, which Americans say they want to do as quickly as possible, but at a pace most Iraqis think isn't fast enough.

"We expect after three or six months if the same problems continue to exist in Iraq, the coalition forces are going to suffer a lot," said Dulame.

Most Iraqi respondents said there were no current political leaders they could trust. They rated members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, most of whom fared poorly.

Asked which political system they favored, 33.7 percent of the randomly picked respondents said an Islamic government would be best, compared with 30.5 percent who favored democracy and 24 percent who favored a combination of democracy and an Islamic system.

Asked to rate various countries as their favorite political model for a future Iraq, 13.7 percent chose Iran while only 9.6 percent chose the United States.

Dulame said the results didn't mean a majority of Iraqis want hardline clerics to rule them. In fact, religious leaders ranked behind lawyers, writers and other professionals as the best people to lead postwar Iraq.

"Most of the respondents don't know enough to know the nature of such systems so they chose that regime or this regime because they feel or think it is better than the other," said Nabeel al Ani, a professor at Baghdad University's International Studies Center.

"Some of the people have no idea, for example, about the political system in France or Britain or even the United States, but they have at least some knowledge about the political system in Iran, so most of them choose it."


Copyright

[quote="joebordenrebel"] P.S. Rick. . .

Poll Shows Most Iraqis Unhappy with Presence of Coalition Forces
by Maureen Fan

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Most Iraqis feel unsafe in their neighborhoods, think the local Iraqi police can protect them better than coalition forces and increasingly view Americans as occupiers rather than liberators, according to a poll released Thursday by the independent, privately funded Iraq Center for Research & Strategic Studies in Baghdad.



Asked to rate various countries as their favorite political model for a future Iraq, 13.7 percent chose Iran while only 9.6 percent chose the United States.


Coalition forces have squandered the goodwill that resulted from removing Saddam Hussein from power, with nearly 43 percent of Iraqis viewing them as liberators six months ago but only 14.8 percent feeling the same way now.

More than 60 percent of Iraqis have little or no confidence that coalition forces will improve safety, but at least half (50.1 percent) support the coalition presence in Iraq, compared with 33.1 percent who would like to kick them out.

The sample of 1,620 people in Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, Ramadi, Fallujah, Erbil and Suliamaniyah, interviewed between Sept. 28 and Oct. 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 points. The results are the third installment in a monthly polling operation run by Sadoun al Dulame, director of the research center.

The survey comes amid increasing attacks on U.S. soldiers in the past couple of weeks. While U.S. officials insist postwar Iraq is improving, there have been more attacks from roadside and homemade bombs as well as an increase in suicide bombings.

The results reflect the challenges of handing over authority to the Iraqis, which Americans say they want to do as quickly as possible, but at a pace most Iraqis think isn't fast enough.

"We expect after three or six months if the same problems continue to exist in Iraq, the coalition forces are going to suffer a lot," said Dulame.

Most Iraqi respondents said there were no current political leaders they could trust. They rated members of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, most of whom fared poorly.

Asked which political system they favored, 33.7 percent of the randomly picked respondents said an Islamic government would be best, compared with 30.5 percent who favored democracy and 24 percent who favored a combination of democracy and an Islamic system.

Asked to rate various countries as their favorite political model for a future Iraq, 13.7 percent chose Iran while only 9.6 percent chose the United States.

Dulame said the results didn't mean a majority of Iraqis want hardline clerics to rule them. In fact, religious leaders ranked behind lawyers, writers and other professionals as the best people to lead postwar Iraq.

"Most of the respondents don't know enough to know the nature of such systems so they chose that regime or this regime because they feel or think it is better than the other," said Nabeel al Ani, a professor at Baghdad University's International Studies Center.

"Some of the people have no idea, for example, about the political system in France or Britain or even the United States, but they have at least some knowledge about the political system in Iran, so most of them choose it."


Copyright

You, my friend, are one perspicacious personality.

Why does Rush even broadcast? He should put what you wrote on a loop and go pop some pills. :laugh:

[quote="joebordenrebel"] HIGHTOWER: Bush's Bubble



Jim Hightower, AlterNet
December 2, 2003
Viewed on December 5, 2003


Did you happen to see the dignity with which the Italian people honored their 19 soldiers who were killed in an attack in Iraq? All 19 coffins were draped in the Italian flag, Italy's president was present for a moving ceremony, and there was a day of national mourning.


Contrast this show of dignity to our White House's cold avoidance of any public mourning of the more than 400 coffins that have come back to our country from George W's war in Iraq. Bush handlers say they don't want him seen with the coffins of our dead soldiers, for that would be "off message." Rather, the Bushites are pushing a cheery message, proclaiming that things are going according to plan in Iraq, with great progress being made in our glorious occupation.


Not only do the Bushites stay on message, but their right-wing media apologists also try to put a smiley face on our losses there, as do George's congressional parrots. For example, one of the blathering GOP congress critters, George Nethercutt of Spokane, recently went to Iraq on the taxpayer's dime for four days. He then returned and dutifully offered this brilliant insight: "The story of what we've done in Iraq is remarkable. It is a better and more important story than losing a couple of soldiers every day."


One wonders: "How would Nethercutt feel if one of those soldiers was his child or grandchild? And, if one of Bush's daughters was a soldier coming home in a coffin - would he go "off-message" to greet it? And if 400 children of his top campaign contributors had died over there, would we still be in Iraq? Indeed, if the children of the privileged had to go to war, would Bush, the congress, the war contractors, the media barons, and the right-wing talk-showers have been so gung-ho to put our soldiers there in the first place?


Bush's handlers pride themselves in keeping him in a PR bubble, safely isolated from the consequences of his presidency. They might be fooling him, but they're not fooling us.

We are engaged in the first preemptive strike in U.S. history, a naked act of aggression.

Isn't that like a war crime or something?

[insert twin tower reference here. . .]

To answer you question, Stalin, check out Michael Walzer's Just and Unjust Wars.

He was on the Infinite Mind this morning. Heres the link

http://www.theinfinitemind.com

I think Walzer would say two things about this current war.
1. It is a just war.
2. U.S. foreign policy in regard to war is terribly inconsistent.

Since you bought the book and I didn't, how about explaining his position for him?

How is this a just war?

Now that the threat of Saddam is gone, how will the Iraqi people react? Did ya see them JB? Out in the streets dancing, firing guns in the air???