US Military Trains Iraqis to Kill Americans - Terrorism Now Being Exported From Iraq

"Why are we still here? We're helping guys that are trying to kill us."

-- Sargent David Safstrom, Delta Company, 82nd Airborne

Not only is Bush's war aiding and training terrorists as evidenced by the recent interview of Delta Company soldiers, the Iraq war is now exporting terrorism to neighboring countries according to American, European and Middle Eastern government officials and interviews with militant leaders in Lebanon, Jordan and London.

Listen to what our soldiers are saying:

"I thought, 'What are we doing here? Why are we still here?' We're helping guys that are trying to kill us. We help them in the day. They turn around at night and try to kill us."
-- Sgt. Safstrom, Delta Company, 82nd Airborne - after US soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb who turned out to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army.

"The 29th [of April] was a watershed moment in a negative sense, because the Iraqi Army would not fight with us, some actually picked up weapons and fought against us. Before that fight, there were a few true believers. After the 29th, I don't think you'll find a true believer in this unit."
-- Captain Douglas Rogers, Delta Company

"The Iraqi security forces are militias beholden to local leaders, not the Iraqi government. Half of the Iraqi security forces are insurgents. I don't believe we should be here in the middle of a civil war. We've all lost friends over here. Most of us don't know what we're fighting for anymore. We're serving our country and friends, but the only reason we go out every day is for each other. I don't want any more of my guys to get hurt or die. If it was something I felt righteous about, maybe. But for this country and this conflict, no, it's not worth it."
-- Sergeant Kevin O'Flarity, Delta Company

"In 2003, 2004, 100 percent of the soldiers wanted to be here, to fight this war. Now, 95 percent of my platoon agrees with me."
-- Sergeant First Class David Moore, a self-described "conservative Texas Republican" and platoon sergeant who strongly advocates an American withdrawal.

Honor our soldiers for Memorial Day - Listen to what they are telling us.

A searchable index of Bush lies on Iraq - now available on US House of Representatives website

Iraq on the Record:
237 specific lies about Iraq by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Powell - all in a neat searchable index. Brought to you by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee.

Check it out here.
http://oversight.house.gov/IraqOnTheRecord/

From the website:
Iraq on the Record is a searchable collection of 237 specific misleading statements made by Bush Administration officials about the threat posed by Iraq. It contains statements that were misleading based on what was known to the Administration at the time the statements were made. It does not include statements that appear mistaken only in hindsight. If a statement was an accurate reflection of U.S. intelligence at the time it was made, it was excluded even if it now appears erroneous.

Complete text in pdf here

Now, all of those who say Bush didn't lie, you can see for yourself. The specific lies are listed with an explanation as to why they were lies and how they were misleading.

MSNBC POLL:

	Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment? * 447211 responses
	Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial. 88%
	No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors." 4.4%
	No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching. 5.9%
	I don't know. 1.9%

Right leaning Rasmussen pollster: Bush at all-time low: 34%

The President’s Job Approval has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports

Rasmussen polls have generally been kind to the President, usually registering about 5 - 8% points higher than most other polls.

Four Americans 'Strongly Disapprove' of the President’s performance for every one who 'Strongly Approves.'

Rasmussen:
For the second straight day, just 34% of American adults Approve of the way that George W. Bush is performing his duties as President Sixty-three percent (63%) Disapprove. Only 13% Strongly Approve of the President’s performance. That’s also the lowest level ever recorded. Forty-six percent (46%) now Strongly Disapprove. To appreciate how far the President’s support has fallen, it’s worth looking back to the numbers from early in his second term. In February 2005, the Strongly Approve and Strongly Disapprove numbers were essentially even. Now, there are nearly four Americans who Strongly Disapprove of the President’s performance for every one who Strongly Approves.

Bush ignored 2003 warnings: Iraq invasion destined to create terrorism, not defeat it

Just as Bush ignored dire, specific and repeated warnings of the impending 9/11 attack (after receiving the warnings, he went on vacation - for a month), Bush also ignored National Intelligence Council warnings in January 2003 that predicted a "U.S. occupation of Iraq could lead to internal violence and provide a boost to Islamic extremists and terrorists in the region." The reports even mention the use of "guerrilla warfare" against US troops.

Washington Post:
The two assessments, titled "Principal Challenges in Post-Saddam Iraq" and "Regional Consequences of Regime Change in Iraq," were produced by the National Intelligence Council and will be a major part of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's long-awaited Phase II report on prewar intelligence assessments about Iraq. The assessments were delivered to the White House and to congressional intelligence committees before the war started.

The report warns that there was a significant chance that domestic groups would fight each other and that ex-regime military elements could merge with terrorist groups to battle any new government.

The second NIC assessment discussed "political Islam being boosted and the war being exploited by terrorists and extremists elsewhere in the region," one former senior analyst said. It also suggested that fear of U.S. military dominance and occupation of a Middle East country -- one sacred to Islam -- would attract foreign Islamic fighters to the area.

How much more accurate a warning did Bush need to know that attacking Iraq was a mistake and not in the best interest of America? This is a clear case of dereliction of duty and ignoring information that warned against taking a harmful and costly step that has made America less safe and destabilized a nation.

Did that deter Bush hellbent on his arrogant unilateral plan? Noooo!
Bad President! No banana.

• 15 U.S. troops have been killed since Friday.
  
• According to Alastair Campbell, the outgoing defence attaché at the British Embassy in Baghdad, the "troop surge" by American soldiers in Iraq is failing.

Bush High Crimes confirmed by former Deputy Attorney General Comey

Bush High Crime #1 - Illegal Spying
Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey witnessed a despicable event. Andrew Card and Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez tried to get then Attorney General John Ashcroft to sign approval to reauthorize the warrantless spying program while critically ill in a hospital bed. Regarding the specific spying program, James Comey said:

"We had concerns as to our ability to certify it's legality.". . . "The domestic spying by the National Security Agency continued for several weeks without Justice approval."

The ghastly thing about this event was, as the witness James Comey describes:

" I was very upset, I was angry. I thought I just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man."

John Ashcroft was an unlikely hero that day. He refused to sign and with all the strength he could muster, told them why he refused, why the program was illegal.

The bottom line here is that by witness James Comey's account, these men got in to see critically ill Ashcroft with one phone call from the White House, and Comey said:

"I have some recollection that the call was from the president himself."

• More at Thinkprogress
• See the stunning testimony by Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey
• This is just the tip of the iceberg, Comey is testifying on the attorney firing scandal
• UPDATE: NYT editorial suggests Bush responsible for authorizing illegal spying
• UPDATE II: from Crooks and Liars -- George Washington University Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley says that the latest NSA warrantless wiretapping revelations – wherein the administration knowingly broke the law and continued spying on American citizens after top DoJ officials refused to certify the legality of the program — make this a "clear impeachable offense" "The problem comes down to the failure of Congress to deal with what is a very ugly and unfortunate fact: this would be a clear impeachable offense." Under FISA, spying on American citizens on American soil without a warrant is a felony.
  
• UPDATE III: Bush refuses to answer questions on the Comey allegations.
  

Game Over
IMPEACH

The Call for Impeachment Grows

Detroit City Council is unanimous: IMPEACH BUSH and CHENEY

The Detroit City Council today unanimously passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney by the US House of Representatives.

Detroit joins a growing list of cities, and the state of Vermont, which have passed resolutions urging the impeachment of the president and vice president.

Just look at the growing list of city and state governments that have passed or are entertaining impeachment resolutions! Nothing like this happened to Bill Clinton whose approval ratings during his impeachment were up to 68%. When will our representatives get the message and respect the will of the people?

Bush and Cheney must be held accountable.

Fred Thompson insults Michael Moore then refuses to debate him on healthcare -- study finds US last in healthcare among wealthy nations

Fred Thompson cowers from debate with Michael Moore

Although Fred Thompson fears a debate with Michael Moore over US healthcare, he sees fit to insult Moore's multiple award-winning works in a recent NRO article:

"Simply calling his movies documentaries rather than works of fiction, I think, may be the biggest fiction of all. " - Fred Thompson

If anyone was ever the subject of demagoguery by wingnuts, it's Michael Moore. You see, that's a normal reaction by wingnuts ... if they don't like the truth, they try to suppress it and swiftboat the messenger. Compared with left wing blogs, have you noticed how many conservative bloggers moderate and delete comments by fellow bloggers that offer contrary opinions? (i.e. Bob Krumm, Terry Frank, Mark Rose, etc... ) They live in a world of denial and self-supporting sycophantic rhetoric. When some bursts their 'Rush Limbaugh fantasy bubble,' they shut them out and if they can't, they smear them; hence the new verb, 'swiftboat.'

Thompson has become the fantasy candidate that conservatives are desperately clinging to. His clever video response to Michael Moore won instant praise from his faithful. Moore was undoubtedly pleased with the publicity as it will help his new documentary on US healthcare: SICKO. But why would Thompson see fit to insult Moore then smuggly hide behind his desk with Cuban cigar, refusing to debate healthcare issues with Moore? Here's why - Michael Moore was right about Iraq and 2 new studies show, he's right about US healthcare: it's the most expensive in the world and the least effective among wealthy nations, and it's gotten more expensive and corrupt under the Bush Administration.

U.S. health system scorecard issued by the Commonwealth Fund Commission:

"Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the United States consistently underperforms on most dimensions of performance, relative to other countries. Compared with five other nations—Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom—the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives. The U.S. is the only country in the study without universal health insurance coverage, partly accounting for its poor performance on access, equity, and health outcomes."

"The US spends twice what the average industrialised country spends on healthcare but we're clearly not getting value for the money," - Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis.

The study also noted that:

• 45 million Americans, or 15 percent of the US population, have no health insurance, which contributes to the country's medical woes
• The US ranked last in most areas, including access to healthcare, patient safety, timeliness of care, efficiency and equity
• Americans were also last in terms of whether they had a regular physician.
  

Statistic show that healthcare costs as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product remained stable during the Clinton years but has risen abruptly and steadily since Bush took office. The state of healthcare in this country under Bush is simply bad and not cost effective. No wonder the Bush Administration is now trying to swiftboat Moore, simply because he went to Cuba to seek healthcare for 9/11 heros neglected and lied to by the US government and healthcare providers. No wonder Thompson doesn't want to debate. Moore tells us about Fred Thompson and his relationship to the healthcare industry . . . obvious reasons why he's ducking a debate :

Moore to Thompson on debate topics --

(1) Your work as a lobbyist in light of the fact that the health care and insurance industries have maintained the current health care system through their effective control of the political establishment.

(2) The fact that you raised hundred of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the health care and insurance industries.

(3) Discuss the fact, highlighted in yet another conservative outlet The New York Sun, that you inexplicably wanted to cut funding for AIDS research.

(4) Your relationship with the Frist family and by extension HCA, one of the nation's largest for-profit hospital chains. It has been reported that former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is serving as one of your confidantes on your potential presidential campaign. The Frist family has historically controlled HCA, which paid a record $1.7 billion in civil and criminal fines, including a $631 million penalty for Medicaid fraud – in other words, ripping off the taxpayers.

Michael Moore slamdunks Fred Thompson, and the wingnuts are too oblivious to see it.