Fool Me Once, Shame On You
by James Glaser
March 9, 2010

Remember back when George Bush and his cohorts fooled us into believing that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that some how they could attack us with them? We knew Iraq had been devastated by the First Gulf War and that we had an embargo on that country for years, but fear got America to believe the President. After all, would an American President lie to the American people?

Well, now we know the answer to that question, and yes, an American President would lie and had lied to the American people. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and there never had been. Plus Iraq never had a means to attack us with them if they had them. Yes, shame on George Bush, because he fooled us.

Now we have a new President, and now it is shame on us, because we have been fooled again. This time it isn't Iraq, nor is it weapons of mass destruction. This time we are fighting because the War in Afghanistan, according to President Barack Obama, is the "Good War." This is how National Public radio reported it:

Obama's willingness to escalate the war in Afghanistan was no secret. In fact, it was his policy and his preference since before he took office. During the campaign, he was one of many Democrats who saw Afghanistan as the "good war,"

"And that is why, as president, I will make the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban the top priority that it should be. This is a war we have to win," Obama said as a candidate.

So, as the saying goes, "Fool me twice, shame on me." George Bush fooled us once and now Barack Obama has fooled us this second time. Here is how Inter Press Service reports on Obama's Afghan War.

Published on Monday, March 8, 2010 by Inter Press Service
Fiction of Marja as City Was US Information War

by Gareth Porter

WASHINGTON — For weeks, the U.S. public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against what it was told was a "city of 80,000 people" as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban in that part of Helmand. That idea was a central element in the overall impression built up in February that Marja was a major strategic objective, more important than other district centers in Helmand.

It turns out, however, that the picture of Marja presented by military officials and obediently reported by major news media is one of the clearest and most dramatic pieces of misinformation of the entire war, apparently aimed at hyping the offensive as a historic turning point in the conflict.

Marja is not a city or even a real town, but either a few clusters of farmers' homes or a large agricultural area covering much of the southern Helmand River Valley.

It seems now that American Presidents feel that they can say whatever they think might keep their justification for war acceptable to the American public. It doesn't have to be true, it just has to be bought. Bush used weapons of mass destruction, and Obama uses a major offensive on a mythical city filled with terrorists.

Here is what the main-stream Washington Post said:

The Washington Post reported Feb. 22 that the decision to launch the offensive against Marja was intended largely to impress U.S. public opinion with the effectiveness of the U.S. military in Afghanistan by showing that it could achieve a "large and loud victory."

The false impression that Marja was a significant city was an essential part of that message.

Either way, we were fooled once, and are now fooled twice. So shame on the American people.

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