Sun Feb 22, 2015, 12:32 AM

Fumesucker (45,851 posts)

I remember how sick and hurt, bitter and ashamed I felt in 2003 watching the invasion gather

Knowing it was based on lies and ultimately destined to be a failure, the lies were obvious to anyone paying attention at the time and the outcome was also obvious to anyone with a modicum of understanding of the history of the region.

The final vote to give Bush his war to show he was a bigger man than his father is something that still raises bile in my throat if I dwell on it much, particularly knowing the truly disgusting, inhuman and dishonorable things done in the pursuit of that war.

Any face associated with that war still brings those feelings back when I see them, I can't help but think of the blood spilled and the human sacrifices made in the pursuit of that horrific and ultimately counterproductive mistake whenever I see someone I associate with that war.

I sat absolutely shocked for a long time after the Senate vote for the IWR, anyone paying attention knew Bush was going to invade, he was practically drooling on himself in quivering anticipation. I felt lost, abandoned, nauseated and most of all ashamed, ashamed that I could not do more to stop the senseless slaughter we all knew was coming.

And this song was running through my head.

Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why don't they go out to fight
They leave that all to the poor

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173 replies	Author	Time	Post
I remember how sick and hurt, bitter and ashamed I felt in 2003 watching the invasion gather (Original post)	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	OP
perfect song for that year.	nashville_brook	Feb 2015	#1
No. We have always been at war with Eurasia.	AngryDem001	Feb 2015	#56
You are right, and your point deserves more than a gliding over	Jackpine Radical	Feb 2015	#153
The turn-around in public opinion...	ReRe	Feb 2015	#163
the source material is there -- control of the media from embedding to Generals propagandizing	nashville_brook	Feb 2015	#172
Baghdad & Tenochtitlán, Historical Parallels	Xipe Totec	Feb 2015	#2
I agree,	elleng	Feb 2015	#3
I didn't realize either just how spectacularly that fool's errand would fail	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#7
Did it fail, or did it succeed beyond their wildest dreams?	polly7	Feb 2015	#112
Probably unexpected by some,	elleng	Feb 2015	#128
It was a total success beyond the wildest dreams of the war profiteers/criminals. And it continues	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#130
But isn't that THEIR definition of success?	erronis	Feb 2015	#143
Yes, and we don't count. But some of 'us' bought into the lies, even some of our elected officials	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#152
Bingo	JonLP24	Feb 2015	#166
Chelsea Manning warned about Maliki when she was in Iraq. She discovered that the Iraqi	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#168
I remember Edward Snowden said he planned to do the leaks much sooner	JonLP24	Feb 2015	#169
Good point. Unintended consequences are our undoing...	CTyankee	Feb 2015	#103
Since we're talking about memories, let me give you one...	Renew Deal	Feb 2015	#4
Armitage the guy who outed Plame	merrily	Feb 2015	#5
They're all crooks and most of them seem to have resurfaced.	Renew Deal	Feb 2015	#9
Oh yes...	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#10
politics makes bedfellows, strange and not so strange.	merrily	Feb 2015	#21
They never went away. So many Bush holdovers still remain in place. Most of them in Defense. I	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#80
This is why "looking forward" and even "truth and reconciliation" are not just a fail but dangerous	TheKentuckian	Feb 2015	#93
What a coincidence for them too. The PNAC gang also stated that it would be difficult to get the	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#48
I can top that. I wrote one of about a half dozen letters to the editor in July 2012 saying "No War	McCamy Taylor	Feb 2015	#6
I wasn't intending for there to be a competition	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#13
So how do you feel about poiticians who voted for war?	MannyGoldstein	Feb 2015	#19
I know how I feel about politicians who were fooled, or not, into supporting a war in the WRONG	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#67
I believe...	sendero	Feb 2015	#101
I totally agree with you. I do think some of them were actually on board with the whole	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#139
This oughta become a famous quote:	raccoon	Feb 2015	#173
ANYONE who was fooled into thinking invading Iraq was a good idea	Maedhros	Feb 2015	#134
Seeing near orgasmic expressions on FauxNews anchor during Shock&Awe led me to put lock on chnl so	Panich52	Feb 2015	#8
The day of the invasion, I remember going into workers and there were protestors in the street	kimbutgar	Feb 2015	#11
I cried too.	DawgHouse	Feb 2015	#126
Well said	MannyGoldstein	Feb 2015	#12
That's why the drones make me sick at heart too..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#15
One man burned alive on camera is the worst thing ever	MannyGoldstein	Feb 2015	#17
Mistakes were made	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#20
Children burned to death with White Phosphorous! Military admits it, no problem.	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#52
But Rand Paul opposes drones. Therefore, you are Rand Paul	RufusTFirefly	Feb 2015	#25
Nothing that elevated I'm afraid..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#27
I remember how moved I was by Sen. Robert Byrd's impassioned speech	RufusTFirefly	Feb 2015	#30
Former?	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#34
I deny all accusations	RufusTFirefly	Feb 2015	#35
!	MannyGoldstein	Feb 2015	#54
You left off a Hungadunga! n/t	RufusTFirefly	Feb 2015	#92
Damn. The most important one, too. nt	MannyGoldstein	Feb 2015	#104
The Senator Byrd Debates on War in Iraq...DU'ers had Running Threads watching C-Span	KoKo	Feb 2015	#124
Thanks for posting, KoKo. In truth, I was thinking even earlier than that	RufusTFirefly	Feb 2015	#125
Yes, agree, the debates with Kennedy on Senate Floor started earlier...	KoKo	Feb 2015	#127
That was one of the best speeches delivered by anyone that day. I didn't really know much about him	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#132
Yes, the Right trashed him, but he expected that and at a critical moment in our history, he	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#140
He got burned by the Gulf of Tonkin resolution...	RufusTFirefly	Feb 2015	#141
Yup.	Agschmid	Feb 2015	#29
watching "shock and awe"	Mira	Feb 2015	#50
Yes, there were a huge number of bridges burned that day and the following ones	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#55
If only ONE adult would have said no you cannot be a bully.	Rex	Feb 2015	#14
None of the Very Serious People are actual adults, they are grown up children	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#16
Well it is silly for us to think that we would know all this and they would not.	Rex	Feb 2015	#39
that's why the no difference between Gore and Bush was BS	JI7	Feb 2015	#18
Are you sure you want to take that tack on this thread?	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#22
you think Gore was going to do what Bush did in Iraq ? Clinton didn't	JI7	Feb 2015	#23
Clinton voted for it	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#24
bush was going to go into iraq even without the IWR	JI7	Feb 2015	#26
Well of course, that makes it OK then..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#31
it means people blame Bush for the mess in Iraq	JI7	Feb 2015	#33
Bzzzttt.. You just tried to blame Nader voters	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#36
no, i said it was BS to say there was no difference between Bush and Gore	JI7	Feb 2015	#38
That was your takeway on the horror	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#44
i wouldn't want anyone who thinks there is no difference between Bush and Gore to run the country	JI7	Feb 2015	#46
However actually helping Bush to fuck things up is no big deal..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#49
he was helped when he got into office, i knew he was going to fuck things up	JI7	Feb 2015	#57
It's clear where you want to put the blame	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#61
i blame Bush for Iraq and so do most people	JI7	Feb 2015	#62
It's clear to everyone reading the thread where your mind went first	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#64
well, considering what a disaster Bush was and i knew he would be , it's not easy to forget	JI7	Feb 2015	#70
What lie am I pushing?	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#74
i'm referring to those who say there is no difference	JI7	Feb 2015	#88
I agree, saying there is no difference between those who voted for war and against is a lie..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#89
lol	JI7	Feb 2015	#90
Why didn't Hillary know what you knew, that Bush was going to 'fuck things up'?	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#138
No, it just means the vote was meaningless.	joshcryer	Feb 2015	#91
Most sitting Democrats had the courage to vote against it.	PassingFair	Feb 2015	#121
Not if someone would have stood up to him. All it took was someone calling the BFEE	Rex	Feb 2015	#40
This message was self-deleted by its author	Agschmid	Feb 2015	#32
Hard to tell. When Bush asked for their integrity the DLC'ers couldn't bow low enough	rhett o rick	Feb 2015	#41
Eh...who knows...	davidn3600	Feb 2015	#45
The Night of Shock and Awe	McKim	Feb 2015	#28
Sometimes I can go as much as a week without really thinking about it	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#42
I couldn't watch it. But I do remember that CNN was there and showed video at about 4.00 AM the	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#58
I remember that kid	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#79
Followed by an immediate media blackout..no casualities were to be shown...just patriotic bombs dropping.	Fred Sanders	Feb 2015	#100
Ali Ismail Abbas.	raccoon	Feb 2015	#94
Thank you. He was a totally innocent child and one of the first victims of that massive crime.	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#129
Yes, news relating to the US military actions is very carefully	raccoon	Feb 2015	#154
Yes, it is. Which is why people go eslewhere to get news. And that is why they are trying to control	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#165
I can't forget either	Ramses	Feb 2015	#37
The night of the vote I remember watching Sen Daschle making a great speech	rhett o rick	Feb 2015	#43
I remember how I felt that night also. I am sure I cried, especially when I saw Democrats	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#47
I remember it clearly in sickening detail as does	JEB	Feb 2015	#51
It sickened me too.	Octoberfurst	Feb 2015	#53
Had there been a draft, they wouldn't have been cheering.	raccoon	Feb 2015	#95
I remember that this "shock and awe"	sadoldgirl	Feb 2015	#59
In my area, red as a baboon's arse, just a handful were at the	raccoon	Feb 2015	#96
I read this thread with a heavy heart	BrotherIvan	Feb 2015	#60
Yes, it does feel good to know that and to know that not everyone who KNEW has forgotten or	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#83
Or a "So What?" attitude	BrotherIvan	Feb 2015	#86
Thank you for this thread. People have short memories, either that or they never really did care	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#63
Thank Nance Greggs for it	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#65
I didn't read it. Kind of guessed what it was. Maybe I should, it might be interesting to know	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#68
I wouldn't bother, it's pure snark, trying to imitate Manny from a position of weakness	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#72
Lol, thanks, won't waste the time then. NO ONE can imitate Manny. He is unique!	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#75
Ted Kennedy has spoken about why Congress was deceived.	pnwmom	Feb 2015	#66
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#69
I didn't think Saddam was responsible for 9/11, but that wasn't the issue.	pnwmom	Feb 2015	#73
Colin Powell once had a doctrine named after him	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#78
He's going to have to live with those lies for the rest of his life.	pnwmom	Feb 2015	#81
I forget the details but Powell was involved in My Lai	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#84
And yet....21 Democratic Senators, 1 Independent and 1 Republican DID have the courage to vote no.	PassingFair	Feb 2015	#123
A majority of Democrats voted against it, so I think they knew what was going on, in fact in some	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#131
Sorry, but that is no excuse	sadoldgirl	Feb 2015	#71
As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Kennedy was barred from sharing	pnwmom	Feb 2015	#76
Democratic votes in the Senate...	Bluenorthwest	Feb 2015	#106
Thanks for the list. I'd forgotten that more D's voted for it than against. n/t	pnwmom	Feb 2015	#133
meh. I was not involved at politics at all at the time. I was fighting for survival.	magical thyme	Feb 2015	#99
I know how you feel	awoke_in_2003	Feb 2015	#77
Yep, it was pretty disgusting. And there is no excuse for it.	dissentient	Feb 2015	#82
Success has a thousand fathers..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#85
Exactly. Progressives like you and me and others who always seem to consistently come down on the	dissentient	Feb 2015	#87
I remember where I was the night that the war in Iraq began	davidpdx	Feb 2015	#97
I was in Portland, too, and I remember the huge protests	Lydia Leftcoast	Feb 2015	#170
I wish this thread could be pinned to the top of the board.	woo me with science	Feb 2015	#98
The Senate Dems were just as culpable as the Senate Republicans	carolinayellowdog	Feb 2015	#142
Which is more frightening?	rgbecker	Feb 2015	#102
Both.	840high	Feb 2015	#158
Why is it so hard for many Hillary backers to just say that she was spectacularly wrong	Broward	Feb 2015	#105
The inevitable Democratic nominee cannot fail, she can only be failed	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#107
Politically, those who voted against it were marginalized while those who voted Yes rose in the	Bluenorthwest	Feb 2015	#108
To be entirely fair	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#111
Exactly true. I don't hold the IWR against the ones who voted for it, I won't fault the	Autumn	Feb 2015	#113
My condolences to you and your family.	Dems to Win	Feb 2015	#114
Thank you	Autumn	Feb 2015	#119
I'm sorry...	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#117
Thank you, and thank you for your OP. I wish I could rec it about a million times.	Autumn	Feb 2015	#118
I am so sorry!	sabrina 1	Feb 2015	#164
+1	nashville_brook	Feb 2015	#110
I remember thinking that I was so close to retirement from the Army	GGJohn	Feb 2015	#109
K & R	L0oniX	Feb 2015	#115
The day we started bombing I was visiting one daughter - both of us we anti-war and said so. Then	jwirr	Feb 2015	#116
Holding it over their heads doesn't do any good, you were right for the wrong reasons	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#147
Who said there was no forgiveness. In fact they were not to blame so they did not need forgiveness.	jwirr	Feb 2015	#148
No, I mean they won't forgive you for being right..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#149
Oh, I see what you mean. We just do not talk about it much. That helps.	jwirr	Feb 2015	#150
Only mentioning this here because posters	vanlassie	Feb 2015	#120
Yep. I knew the war was a mistake based on lies. I can't believe that US Senators didn't know that.	Scuba	Feb 2015	#122
They knew it by March, when the invasion began despite not finding any WMD's.	pnwmom	Feb 2015	#135
"... there was nothing Dems could do."	Scuba	Feb 2015	#137
That's pretty good, maybe even better than this one..	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#151
shared emotions	mehrrh	Feb 2015	#136
When Shock & Awe was launched, I wept.	Martin Eden	Feb 2015	#144
worse. 2011. Libya. the lies were not as good ...nt	quadrature	Feb 2015	#145
"Shock & Awe." W justed wanted to get his war on. Any war. So 9/11 warnings were intentionally	blkmusclmachine	Feb 2015	#146
Not for a single moment did the Iraq War make a lick of sense.	Dems to Win	Feb 2015	#155
I have more respect for Hillary Clinton's intelligence than to believe she was fooled	Fumesucker	Feb 2015	#157
The pols who were inside the Washington bubble were told that the American people	Lydia Leftcoast	Feb 2015	#171
Spectacular Video	yellowwoodII	Feb 2015	#156
The thing that sickens me the most	Mr.Bill	Feb 2015	#159
That video reminds me how long I have been fighting against war.	Curmudgeoness	Feb 2015	#160
I was so sad at that time, and remaining	truedelphi	Feb 2015	#161
We Are All Pawns Of The Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks That Own And Control The Politicians	cantbeserious	Feb 2015	#162
I watched that horror unfold right here on DU.	geomon666	Feb 2015	#167

Response to Fumesucker (Original post)

Sun Feb 22, 2015, 12:37 AM

nashville_brook (20,958 posts)

1. perfect song for that year.

as i remember there were the largest protests world-wide to stop that shit. everyone tried to stop it. now it seems like normal -- when have we not been at war with "Eastasia"?

I remember how sick and hurt, bitter and ashamed I felt in 2003 watching the invasion gather

1. perfect song for that year.

56. No. We have always been at war with Eurasia.

153. You are right, and your point deserves more than a gliding over

163. The turn-around in public opinion...

172. the source material is there -- control of the media from embedding to Generals propagandizing

2. Baghdad & Tenochtitlán, Historical Parallels

3. I agree,

7. I didn't realize either just how spectacularly that fool's errand would fail

112. Did it fail, or did it succeed beyond their wildest dreams?

128. Probably unexpected by some,

130. It was a total success beyond the wildest dreams of the war profiteers/criminals. And it continues

143. But isn't that THEIR definition of success?

152. Yes, and we don't count. But some of 'us' bought into the lies, even some of our elected officials

166. Bingo

168. Chelsea Manning warned about Maliki when she was in Iraq. She discovered that the Iraqi

169. I remember Edward Snowden said he planned to do the leaks much sooner

103. Good point. Unintended consequences are our undoing...

4. Since we're talking about memories, let me give you one...

5. Armitage the guy who outed Plame

9. They're all crooks and most of them seem to have resurfaced.

10. Oh yes...

21. politics makes bedfellows, strange and not so strange.

80. They never went away. So many Bush holdovers still remain in place. Most of them in Defense. I

93. This is why "looking forward" and even "truth and reconciliation" are not just a fail but dangerous

48. What a coincidence for them too. The PNAC gang also stated that it would be difficult to get the

6. I can top that. I wrote one of about a half dozen letters to the editor in July 2012 saying "No War

13. I wasn't intending for there to be a competition

19. So how do you feel about poiticians who voted for war?

67. I know how I feel about politicians who were fooled, or not, into supporting a war in the WRONG

101. I believe...

139. I totally agree with you. I do think some of them were actually on board with the whole

173. This oughta become a famous quote:

134. ANYONE who was fooled into thinking invading Iraq was a good idea

8. Seeing near orgasmic expressions on FauxNews anchor during Shock&Awe led me to put lock on chnl so

11. The day of the invasion, I remember going into workers and there were protestors in the street

126. I cried too.

12. Well said

15. That's why the drones make me sick at heart too..

17. One man burned alive on camera is the worst thing ever

20. Mistakes were made

52. Children burned to death with White Phosphorous! Military admits it, no problem.

25. But Rand Paul opposes drones. Therefore, you are Rand Paul

27. Nothing that elevated I'm afraid..

30. I remember how moved I was by Sen. Robert Byrd's impassioned speech

34. Former?

35. I deny all accusations

54. !

92. You left off a Hungadunga! n/t

104. Damn. The most important one, too. nt

124. The Senator Byrd Debates on War in Iraq...DU'ers had Running Threads watching C-Span

125. Thanks for posting, KoKo. In truth, I was thinking even earlier than that

127. Yes, agree, the debates with Kennedy on Senate Floor started earlier...

132. That was one of the best speeches delivered by anyone that day. I didn't really know much about him

140. Yes, the Right trashed him, but he expected that and at a critical moment in our history, he

141. He got burned by the Gulf of Tonkin resolution...

29. Yup.

50. watching "shock and awe"

55. Yes, there were a huge number of bridges burned that day and the following ones

14. If only ONE adult would have said no you cannot be a bully.

16. None of the Very Serious People are actual adults, they are grown up children

39. Well it is silly for us to think that we would know all this and they would not.

18. that's why the no difference between Gore and Bush was BS

22. Are you sure you want to take that tack on this thread?

23. you think Gore was going to do what Bush did in Iraq ? Clinton didn't

24. Clinton voted for it

26. bush was going to go into iraq even without the IWR

31. Well of course, that makes it OK then..

33. it means people blame Bush for the mess in Iraq

36. Bzzzttt.. You just tried to blame Nader voters

38. no, i said it was BS to say there was no difference between Bush and Gore

44. That was your takeway on the horror

46. i wouldn't want anyone who thinks there is no difference between Bush and Gore to run the country

49. However actually helping Bush to fuck things up is no big deal..

57. he was helped when he got into office, i knew he was going to fuck things up

61. It's clear where you want to put the blame

62. i blame Bush for Iraq and so do most people

64. It's clear to everyone reading the thread where your mind went first

70. well, considering what a disaster Bush was and i knew he would be , it's not easy to forget

74. What lie am I pushing?