“Bush’s terrorism justification not only deals in deliberate confusion, it also misrepresents the facts.”

“According to Bush, the U.S. military is defeat terrorists in Iraq, “so that we don’t have to face to face them in our own country.” In the next breath, he said that they were, “defeating Saddam’s henchmen.” Conflating the al Qaeda terrorists responsible for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon with the supporters of Saddam Hussein appears an all too obvious effort to exploit the American public’s weak grasp of international affairs. Baathist Iraq was not home to al Qaeda terrorists. If al Qaeda is now operating in Iraq, it is because a chaotic U.S. occupation made the country a suitable environment.”

“Reluctance to promise a democratic government is hardly surprising. The administration bungled the occupation of Iraq so badly that it effectively aborted any realistic hope of establishing democracy. Any Iraqi government installed by the U.S. is likely too illegitimate to survive as anything other than a police state. Rather than establishing a democracy, the administration is likely to be content with an authoritarian regime capable of maintaining itself in power, protecting new U.S. economic interests in Iraq, and making sure that Iraqi crude flows without interruption.” (Pravda)