4 Years Later

And we finally get Phase 2 of the Iraqi pre-war intelligence report. This is the phase Republicans held up in 2004, because "it would effect the outcome of the presidential election". Would it? Hell yes it would. Here are some of the key findings:

* Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa’ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa’ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.
* Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.
* Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.
* Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq’s chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community’s uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.
* The Secretary of Defense’s statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.
* The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.

There is no doubt now that we were misled and lied into war. Remember - this report was initially done by a Republican controlled Senate. I think it's time we move on and start something new - impeachment. These are serious crimes committed by the Bush cartel and justice deserves her day. The 4,000+ American soldiers who have lost their lives also deserve justice, as does the entire world.