From the SMH:
Australia's premier intelligence analysis agency told the Federal Government that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction threat was not the prime motive for the United States going to war against Iraq, a former intelligence officer said yesterday.

It was regarded as a "secondary issue", less important than regime change and reshaping the Middle East by putting in place a pro-US government in an oil-rich country and introducing democracy to the region.

Wow. What a surprise... *rolls eyes*

It goes on to say:
"In the assessments on the US, it was being made very clear to government all the things which were driving the US on Iraq. WMD wasn't the most important issue. In fact, it was seen as a secondary issue," Mr Wilkie said yesterday.

"It was also about the credibility of the US military. The US sees its military and threat of force as one of its most important foreign policy tools. They had threatened to use force and would lose credibility if they didn't," Mr Wilkie said.

So... 3240+ Iraqi civilians had to die for our arrogance and so we could 'save face'. How noble. How fucking noble of us. Wow. Aren't we a noble bunch. We ought to be so fucking proud of ourselves and how noble our country is right now... America, the America we are taught in school, has been soiled, defiled and abused. It's gone. That America no longer exists. We should all be ashamed we've helped it happen. And we should all learn from this and try to start fixing it. Step one, don't let them wiggle out of this. Bush had no fear going in because he was 100% certain that he would not be held accountable for anything in the end. At worst he wouldn't be re-elected. Whoop-dee-do. Americans leaders won't ever be tried in the Hague. And the new war crimes court? Bush repealed the signature. America doesn't support it, according to the Bush administration, so we are therefore exempt from it. And if you think otherwise and want to try to bring someone up on charges, go ahead and see what happens to your country... Ask Kissinger. Yes, there are those who want to try Kissinger for war crimes. Betcha didn't hear that on Fox News. America has become a bully and it has no remorse about it.

So now it looks like the White House, along with the Republicans in Congress, has managed to rally to troops to squelch the investigations into the allegations of 'rigging' the war. Go team... Yay. We're number one. We killed a lot of people. Go us...

"But you have to expect them to try to save face, to 'wiggle out', Maggie."
Why? Why do we stand idly by and just say "well, that's the way it is". The very fact that we know they will do so and we'll let it happen is indicative of what's wrong. It's not "right". When did right and wrong go out of vogue? These people, these 'hawks', should be held accountable for what they did and they should not be let off the hook with a shake of our collective heads. That just exacerbates the problem. More apathy means more raping of America to come. This is not the time to stand on your party loyalties, either. This is a time for Americans to stand together. It's a time for the people to save the country, not the despots and despoilers who are dragging it through the mud. What can you do? You can speak up in Walmartia and tell the truth. You can write something. You can educate someone. You can write someone. You can correct someone who has learned rhetoric instead of fact. You can start to spread the seeds of truth and try to help them grow so that in 2004 more Americans will know more of the story, not just the soundbites they hear on TV.

Let me put it this way; This point in American history WILL go into the history books your children will read. Would you rather them see that we just let it happen? Or would you rather it said we stood up and put politicians and empire builders back in their place?

Somebody try to fucking justify this war to me one more time. Please. I'm listening. >:| But I warn you, I'm hostile. I'm hostile because people outside the US are saying bad things about America... and I can't defend my birth nation because what they're saying is pretty much true. So I just have to hang my head and say "yes, you're right". Where's the pride in that? Isn't that what we're taught is paramount in our American life? Pride? Truth? Justice? Isn't all that the 'American way'?