Twelve years ago today, the US attacked and invaded Iraq

[WilliamPitt]

Where were you and what were you doing when it happened?

I was, honestly, flat on my back in my living room watching images of Baghdad in flames.

[marmar]

1. Same thing. Watching in disgust on my couch .....

..... and surfing the web to find a protest march to join.

[namastea42]

2. that was a terrible time and it still lingers with the dead and the maimed.

I couldn't sleep well for a long time in those days, and I have never hated anyone with such intensity as I did the Bushes and the Cheneys and the effing idiots that voted for that monsters ball. I did learn a whole mess load of new swear words for the upside.

[Trajan]

3. Much respect Sir

I was here, reading your insightful postings ...

I haven't forgotten ... thanks Will ...

[PowerToThePeople]

4. i need a time machine.

I do not know how I have made it these 12 years. I see myself back then, totally focused on the falsified "evidence" that lead to so much death and destruction. I did not handle it well, to say the least. I have still yet to recover and doubt I ever will, since justice will never be achieved. All I can do is



I need to go back in time and somehow change the outcome of selection 2000.

[KingCharlemagne]

26. I turned into a Melvillean 'isolato,' severing connections with many long-time

acquaintances and friends and refusing to speak to or socialize with them again.

In some ways, I have never recovered either and will not unti the architects of the war face justice in an international tribunal.

[world wide wally]

5. I could never stop asking how so many of us could see through Bush and Cheney,s

bullshit for the lies they were, but virtually every politician, Rep. and Dem bought into it.
WTF? Why are these people in positions of power when they are so naive and incompetent?

Oh yeah, we voted them in.

[WilliamPitt]

10. No, we didn't.

[world wide wally]

27. Referring to the congress more than Bush/Cheney, but good point

[jwirr]

23. The elected officials react to fear but not fear of terrorism. The people of the US were still in

a panic about 9/11 and were no doubt contacting their reps. The reps were in fear of losing their jobs if they did not do something. When W suggested war they followed. No questions asked.

[liberal from boston]

38. Iraq War

So proud of my Senator Ted Kennedy who voted no against the Iraq War. I remember the negative backlash against reporters, pundits who questioned Bush Admin invasion of Iraq. Bill Maher, Phil Donahue & others were actually fired who questioned the veracity of Bush Admin.

[jwirr]

42. Exactly. One had to be a very brave politician to stand up against that. I still blame them but I

also understand them.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

65. Likewise Patty Murray

Who's still my Senator

[jen63]

89. And Sherrod Brown, who is mine….n/t

[deutsey]

28. I remember going to lunch with co-workers after Shock and Awe

and I was one of two liberals who were anti-invasion. I had been quite active in the anti-war movement leading up to Shock and Awe and the invasion.

The others in our group were pro-Bush and pro-invasion (of course).

Although our discussions became heated at times, we remained civil. What I remember most of that lunch was how absolutely certain the pro-Bush guy next to me was in terms of Saddam having WMDs. Not a doubt in his mind. When I pressed him to offer any evidence that there were WMDs, he was absolutely certain that Saddam had underground tunnels where that crafty Iraqi evil-doer was able to move them around.



I just left it at, "Well, we'll see what they find or don't find," because I was tired of going around in circles with him.

I mean, you just can't have an intelligent debate with someone who uncritically swallows the lies and disinformation the Bush Administration and FOX (and not to mention the "liberal" media ).

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

67. I remember pointing out to those who were pro war that I had no doubt we'd beat Saddam Hussein

But I didn't think we'd win the peace. I take no comfort in being right.

[BeanMusical]

44. Most of them saw through it, they just did and said what was in their best interest at the time.

[Martin Eden]

84. "virtually every politician, Rep. and Dem bought into it"

Slightly more than half the Dems in Congress voted against the IWR in October 2002, but I was heartbroken that prominent leaders like John Kerry, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton voted for it.

[NuclearDem]

6. Staying up late on a school night to watch the invasion.

Back when I was 13.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Watching TV and swearing.

[mylye2222]

8. Due to time difference, here in France I was at bed.

But in the morning I remember had listened to the radio and my mom gkt angry. Then at school this morning people all but talked about it. And in the night I was at a political gathering protesting the attack.

[Victor_c3]

9. I was at Fort Benning, GA finished up some training before heading to my unit in Germany

I was a newly commissioned Infantry officer.

I was completing the Mechanized Infantry Leaders Course. During the buildup to the war I was busy with Ranger School and Airborne School and lost contact with what was going on in the outside world but I remember thinking "What the hell does Iraq have to do with anything?".

I was shocked and not happy, but I was naively unconcerned about the war. I figured it would be over relatively quick and it turn into a peacekeeping operation like Kosovo and, by the time I was there, that I'd probably not see any "real" action.

Boy, was I wrong about that. I've talked about the war a lot in my previous posts. However, to summarize, I basically joined the Army because I thought that I was going to make the world a better place. I had no idea that I'd end up fighting in bullshit war and I never expected that I'd turn out to be one of the messed up Soldiers that returned. The war that I wasn't concerned about turned out to be probably the single most disruptive event in my life.

[WilliamPitt]

11. My father won the Bronze Star in Vietnam.

I think you and he would have a lot to talk about.

Welcome home. I'm sorry we couldn't stop it. A lot of us tried.

[malthaussen]

47. Quibble, William:

Decorations are not won, they are awarded.

I think it is a colloquial usage that really should be avoided, however common it might be.

-- Mal

[WilliamPitt]

50. Point taken

Thanks.

[Major Hogwash]

80. What did your dad say about the war when it started?

I'm just curious if he talked to you about it, or if you knew what he thought about it.
50 years from now I hope there is someone still around that accurately remembers who can tell the rest of the people how the mainstream media ignored reporting the massive anti-war rallies before that war even started.

100 years from now I hope there is someone still around who can tell the rest of the people how the Republican party managed to keep both or those wars going for so long.

Never forget.
Never again.

[WilliamPitt]

90. Which war?

Vietnam or Iraq?

...and P.S., I plan to live another 50 years at least. My daughter will know the truth as well, and will not be afraid to speak it.

[Major Hogwash]

91. The Iraq War.

Since you said that he had served in the Vietnam War I was curious what he thought about the Iraq War.

[WilliamPitt]

92. He was not a fan.

[QC]

12. I was tutoring in the study hall in Bryant-Denney Stadium

when someone came in all excited and announced it.

They wheeled in a tv so that everyone could watch the bombs fall.

Pretty sick.

But we must look forward, not backward, as they say.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. Shock and Awe was supposed to be won in the first hour.

That is how incredibly stupid and naïve Bush was--as well as those in the Republican party that he brought into his inner circle to seek support. Never forget that we attacked before the end of the deadline we gave Sadaam because the early attack was supposed to catch him off guard. They hoped to cut of the head, so to speak, to put an end to the Bush war before it began. And they failed. Failed miserably.

After that, they were just making things up as they went along. With the media as their lapdogs, it was way too easy to spread disinformation.

[muntrv]

54. Bush/Cheney also said we would be greeted as liberators, throwing flowers at our feet.

BTW, Bibi Netanyahu also said invading Iraq would bring stability to the Middle East.

[Baitball Blogger]

57. Lied throughout. What appalled me was that they know they were lying to us.

I remember looking at a Republican in the eye and saying, "You all said that we would be greeted with flowers. What happened to the flowers?"

And his response suggested that it was ludicrous for me to think that comment was anything but an inducement for weak minds.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

69. Oh yeah

The USS Abraham Lincoln, where Bush strutted around the deck in his codpiece and said "Mission Accomplished", was home ported in my city at the time.

[YvonneCa]

72. Right off the...

...coast. .

[antigop]

14. watching TV and feeling sick to my stomach. You tried, Will. You tried. nt

[NuclearDem]

31. ...

[NuclearDem]

35. Right, I figured that. With that in mind...

[niyad]

49. oh darn, I missed whatever sequence of letters was directed to me. looks like MIRT

is super alert today.

[niyad]

33. check out the screen name. someone is trying to be cute.

[niyad]

41. maybe you could take your levity to the lounge.

[jlarson]

16. waste

what a terrible waste that was

[Martin Eden]

17. And I Wept

A few days before I had traveled from my home near Chicago to our nation's capitol to join 100,000 other citizens in protest against this imminent war crime. I knew the protest wouldn't stop it, but I was heartbroken nevertheless with shame for my country and my government.

[Octafish]

18. Was sad on DU.

When Bush attacked, I burned up inside. So, I posted this photo.



It was the last time I posted as Oblomov on the Old DU.

[jwirr]

19. That is where I was also. I started watching at my youngest daughter's home and we were both

very upset about it. Then I went to the other daughter's house and I got in trouble because I opposed the invasion. Today they understand what I was talking about.

[YvonneCa]

20. It was...

...my birthday. I was at school camp with students trying to get a signal on my battery operated TV. Watched it all. Could not believe it was happening.

[niyad]

34. I hope this birthday is a much happier one for you.

[YvonneCa]

71. Thank you so...

...much!!! Yes, this birthday has been lovely.
But I will not forget 2003. Ever.

[libdem4life]

21. Gosh, that was so much fun...let's do it again...to the Other Side.

And since it was so successful, soon we'll Own all the ME Oil and all of their Hearts. Oh, Happy Day.

I second the and add just in case.

[SoapBox]

22. So many lives lost, trillions (zillions) spent and it was all a LIE.

WMDs? Lie.

Saddam was behind 911? Lie.

And it goes on and on.

But yet the Bush Administration War Criminals walk free and happy.

[mountain grammy]

24. I was still digging out from a 5 foot snowfall on the 17th..

and delivering news and supplies to to buried friends. Yes, the US invaded Iraq. Yes, we are officially the aggressors in a middle east war. No, Iraq was not involved in 9/11, this is the war Bush and company has wanted since he stole the fucking election.

[onyourleft]

25. I could not...

...watch what this country was doing to thousands of other humans. There was no reason for this atrocity. I do hope in the run up to attacking Iran that people of reason in this country remember that most violent and uncalled for attack on Iraq.

[msanthrope]

29. Nursing my daughter, crying, wishing I could drink. ...nt

[still_one]

30. The main point is that the attack was based on a lie, that most of the media and Congress committed

allowed throw willful ignorance.

Over a million people were killed in that war based on a lie. In 1953 we overthrew the Democratically elected government in Iran, and installed the Shah, which directly led to the Islamic revolution in that country.

The problems we have with Iran today can be directly linked to our foreign policy. The overthrow of Saddam, can be directly linked to the birth of ISIS. Our involvement in Afghanistan under Reagan can be directly linked to the power grab of the Taliban and AQ.

It is time we pulled our heads out of our asses.

I was at work at the time, and remember it, and some of the rah rah comments from my co-workers

[The Wizard]

36. An immoral use of our resources

carried out by a criminal cartel that used the invasion and occupation to loot America's Treasury and steal Iraq's oil. We will be paying for Bush's plunder for the next three generations. And Netanyahu warned us about Iraq's nuclear capability back the. Thanks, we've heard enough.

[niyad]

39. watched for a few minutes, absolutely sickened, knowing that whatever this country might have

stood for once was going up in the flames. wondering how people could be so easily fooled, so easily led. crying.

[Auggie]

40. Shaking my head, thinking "no, no, no ...."

and imagining only the very worse would come from this action.

[HappyMe]

45. Sitting on the couch with my ex

watching. The conversation mostly consisted of 'what the fuck!' and 'why is this happening'. We broke out the Knob Hill bourbon.

[redwitch]

46. I couldn't sleep the night before so I was in my living room watching cable news.

I remember the deafening silence before the bombing started. Except for the dogs barking. Which made me weep.

[redwitch]

58. Before the bombing started a man in Baghdad was interviewed by one of the big news channels.

He and his wife had a diabetic teenage daughter. He was explaining to the reporter the steps they were taking to protect her supply of insulin. I have always wondered how that family fared. I wish that reporter had gone back to find them and tell us. I think about them often and send love and light. I hope they are ok.

[yeoman6987]

48. I have no idea what I was doing

I was vacationing in Asia I think or soon before or after.

[Zorra]

51. I left the US shortly before 9/11, and remained out of the country

until the 5th year of Bu$h occupation of the White House.

I knew what was coming when SCOTUS installed him as Global Corporate Facilitator, US Branch, so I was hanging out on a beach in Oaxaca. I was probably walking the beach when the bombing began, and i have never seen footage of the the bombing, and never seen footage of the 9/11 "catalyzing event".

There were few Americans there, this beach is generally populated by waves of well educated European liberal winter traveler backpacker types. People from France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, the British Isle, Canada, Japan, South America, native Mexicans, etc. And about 90% spoke English, and maybe 60% spoke Spanish. There were relatively few Americans there.

One of the most popular evening activities on this beach was to head down after dinner to a little palapa bar on the beach called the Iguana Azul, and hate on Bu$h. These awesome folks from Europe hated, and I mean hated, Bush. I still see some of them from time to time.

I reckon I've heard people say "Fuck Bush" in over 20 different accents from all over the world.

Fuck Bush, fuck all of them that did this.

[niyad]

52. if that is a pic of that woman on that day, what in the HELL is she smirking about?

[sabrina 1]

53. I was watching in horror as CNN actually covered some of the carnage.

They covered the killing of two reporters in the Bethlehem Hotel, airc.

The coverage of the hospitals was simply sickening.

I still hoped someone would stop it.

Someone with a conscience.

But that didn't happen, and after that night and early into the following morning when CNN was actually reporting the reality of the slaughter, or some of it, we never saw that kind of coverage again.

[C Moon]

55. Miss Shock and Awe? Was that really on the screen??

[The_Casual_Observer]

56. Was reading commentary on DU.

The pure evil of those days watching the destruction of that country by this blood & oil & revenge thirsty shit country.

I

[underpants]

59. I went to bed early that night. My now wife came in and said, "the war started"

I remember thinking "What happened to the 48 hour deadline?" (Answer: Saddam was trying to move $1B on trucks and you can't let someone steal the goods from YOUR heist).

We just sat there in silence watching the TV. It was like watching a bad movie that we already knew how it would end.

[namastea42]

60. The dust storms

I (foolishly) remember thinking that those dust storms were some supernatural force trying to help the Iraqis by interfering with Bush's war plans. I was desperate for anything to help that place.



http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wCpJ731bJeU/Rrk5rhI4ELI/AAAAAAAAAF4/n5mRJsTUD8s/s320/iraq_sandstorm_tank+shaun+mullen.jpg

[Stryst]

61. At Lakeland air force base

Doing MURT (medical unit readiness training) and getting ready to deploy in.

[alcibiades_mystery]

62. 9/11 and the Invasion of Iraq are the two Radical Evil Acts at the Heart of the 21st century

Everything for the next 50 years will be defined by them, maybe 100 years.

The invasion of Iraq was a radically evil act - an act of pure malevolence, utterly immoral, driven by nothing more than greed and power. Those who conceived and executed it are no better than serial killers. I feel for those who were made the instruments of that radical evil as much as I feel for its victims. Everything that the United States and its people did in Iraq was and is fruit of the poisonous tree. The invasion and occupation remain close to the top of the radically evil acts of history.

[Martin Eden]

85. "fruit of the poisonous tree"

Agreed, but alas, that has yet to be understood or accepted by the American people. Probably never will.

[alcibiades_mystery]

86. It's telling: the Germans have quite rightly accepted a collective guilt down unto generations

for the Holocaust. The Americans can't even bring themselves to lightly censure Richard Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, two of the most grotesquely evil men in world history.

If there is an acceptable working definition of American exceptionalism it is this: that we cannot collectively admit a wrong, no matter how glaring, how obvious, how utterly evil were our actions.

[Martin Eden]

88. Any attempt to even acknowledge "mistakes" and say we need to do better to uphold our values ...

... is derided as an "apology" (frequent accusation against Obama).

Which brings up the question, WTF is wrong with an apology when it is so obviously warranted?

Isn't that what a mature adult does when they realize they did something wrong that hurt someone else?

Hell, Japan is still expected to make annual apologies for WWII, 70 years later.

[jalan48]

63. I was in a bar with a bunch of rednecks.

It was like watching a football game. Lots of kick Saddam's ass and kill ragheads. It was disgusting, and in those days you couldn't speak out against the war-that's how much control the government had over all of us. Maybe I should say the military/industrial/ complex had over us.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

64. That was around the time I joined DU

It was a refuge where one could find sanity in an otherwise crazy world.

[Autumn]

66. Watching it on TV, sick to my stomach and having no idea how it would touch my life

and change it. Damn those bastards who lied to get us there, damn them all to hell. You tried Will, we all did.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

68. Glued to the TV & DU --

I was at home, crying my eyes out. I was devastated that so many of us had spent almost the whole past year trying everything in our power to stop the invasion, and that it all had been for naught. All I could think about was all the innocent lives that were being destroyed. Every time I saw some media asshole breathlessly "report"/enable the atrocities we were committing I wanted to rip my hair out. One moment I will never forget: Katie Couric's "Navy seals rock!", said with a big grin. Way to suck MIC dick, Katie.

[cwydro]

70. Bush, Cheney, and their henchmen

ruined that country.

We are reaping what they sowed. ISIS etc.

[carolinayellowdog]

73. reading DU and crying

Your post reminds me of a time when this was the only place I could find solace while all Republicans and many Democrats were cheering on the worst mistake of our lifetimes. The name William Pitt stands out as one of the people who reminded me that it wasn't us that was crazy, it was them.

[raven mad]

74. Screaming at GWB and the television at the top of my lungs. nt

[WillyT]

75. At Home... Throwing Up In The Bathroom...

[RobertEarl]

76. Watching it on the tv

Couldn't quite believe it.

But then, because of DU, knew it was to be.

Hillary lost the 2008 election that day and maybe the 2016 one, too.

bush became, again, the enemy of all good humans

and the US lost a great deal of loyalty being that I was a part of this evil fucking act.

I'd like to think we learned a lesson but then I see threads even here on DU attacking not bush/cheney, but Assange because he didn't wear a condom.

We as a whole have not really learned much, have we?

It (another shock and awe) will happen again, is all i can figure because the US is full of so damned many idiots.

[DashOneBravo]

77. On a military forum

A lot of us knew that there was no way we'd finished the job in A'stan and couldn't believe they were diverting units to Iraq.

As for the guys going across the line that night, I hope you stayed alive.

[Omaha Steve]

78. On March 17th we were in Lincoln, NE for a Moody Blues concert

They made it obvious they were against the upcoming war.

Great concert. But they were better when they used to have the local orchestras play with them.

OS

[Agony]

79. yes, and MY party, the Democratic party, did not do EVERYTHING in its power to stop or end this

I am still pissed about it...

[G_j]

81. I couldn't watch

after being involved in many protests leading up to it. I went into mourning and a media blackout for a few days.

and I didn't want to be connected to the spectacle of watching it with millions of others, like the fucking superbowl or something. I felt sick, and it still hasn't worn off.

[IsItJustMe]

82. Another couple of years and a Republican win for President

and I predict round 2, Iran. I hope I am wrong.

[marym625]

83. like you,

Flat on my back, on the couch in my living room, watching Bagdad burn and crying my eyes out.

The next day was 8th Daley plaza (or maybe it was the federal building) protesting the war.


That Sunday there was a special mass at the church in my town, to pray for peace. Other than weddings and funerals and after September 11, 2001, was the only time I was at a mass in decades. I don't believe in God and I hate organized religion. But it did help to be with people who didn't want war.

[JonLP24]

87. I saw it on TV too

I remember the NCAA tournament was going on but outside of Carmelo Anthony or the Anthony -- Lebron better player debates (most people at-the-time felt Carmelo Anthony was the better upcoming rookie) there was a lot of posters bashing anyone who dared to mention opposition. A lot of coward, Saddam lover, 9/11 (which made me want to scream), posts. There wasn't many anti-war posters on those March Madness boards.

[Oilwellian]

93. I was right here, Will

I couldn't watch it happen live, but I was sharing my shame and sorrow with many like-minded DUers.

We tried man, we really tried to stop this war before it began.