Five years, estimates as high as nearly seven hundred-thousand deaths, (see Lancet Report published in the
BBC last year), Immeasurable historical and cultural losses, Massive damage to international political relations
and 400 billion US taxpayer dollars later - the American Network News Media is beginning to ask questions
about the legitimacy of the Bush Administration's manufactured War in Iraq. Thanks in-part to studies like this
one by the Center for Public Integrity:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22794451/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/misinformation_study
"The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively
galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/
"President Bush, for example, made 232 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and
another 28 false statements about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda. Secretary of State Powell had the second-highest
total in the two-year period, with 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10
about Iraq's links to Al Qaeda. Rumsfeld and Fleischer each made 109 false statements, followed by
Wolfowitz (with 85), Rice (with 56), Cheney (with 48), and McClellan (with 14)."
http://thinkprogress.org/report/iraq-timeline/
The cost in lives and culture is of course immeasurable, but here is a quantifiable commodity that many
people feel is of significance. If even just for the consideration of other domestic uses this amount of finance
could have been used for in our quality of life, our cities, our schools, our industry, our sciences, our farms,
and the long-term preservation and development of our national natural and cultural resources:
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
