Bush says Iraq war was worth it

I just get so damed angry when this jerk takes the podium. I have a poem for all of you to mull over. This is for my Brother...And any of you who have someone over there.

Brother In Arms

By, Bryan Guzman

Puppet on a podium tells me all is well-
and we all dream in black and white-
and the color we see is a trick in the
shadows where light meets the fragile mind.

Puppet on a podium says the war we fight
is for hearts and minds- So ignore the blood
because it helps the flowers grow where once
there was nothing but sand.

Puppet on a podium says we’re free.
Free to see the deception in the shadows
of his smile. Free to be the lamb to a slaughter
in a black and white dream, Where the only
true color is the blood of our brothers…

Puppet on a podium say a prayer for me.
So that I may step out from the shadows
surrounding a lucid dream…Where the
only color is the blood of my brother.


Worth it to whom Mr. President?

Originally posted by biggie smalls
reply to post by BlueRaja

 

Cheney's stock in Halliburton went up, not to mention all of his oil buddies are reaping the benefits of a "free market" system in Iraq.

Follow the money trail...

Are there any sources you could point me to showing him to be making a fortune, and.....not doing what he said(charitable donations and getting no tax benefits from doing so)? I'd love to see the figures showing him raking in the billions, that people here suspect him of. Even halliburtonwatch.org, doesn't show him doing what is claimed by many on this site.


www.factcheck.org...

rawstory.com...

reply to post by BlueRaja


Cheney is compensated by Halliburton to this day. Even if he doesn't profit off of Blackwater and the other mercenary forces etc etc, he is making a KILLING (literally and figuratively) with stock in one company.


Cheney may still have Halliburton ties


Cheney's Halliburton ties remain

A report by the Congressional Research Service undermines Vice President Dick Cheney's denial of a continuing relationship with Halliburton Co., the energy company he once led, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Thursday.

The report says a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company.

Cheney said Sunday on NBC that since becoming vice president, "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years."

Halliburton makes a killing on Iraq war

Cheney served as chief executive of Halliburton until he stepped down to become George W. Bush's running mate in the 2000 presidential race. Today he still draws compensation of up to a million dollars a year from the company, although his spokesperson denies that the White House helped the company win the contract.

Cheney never denied he is involved with Halliburton, only that he never asked for the contract which is obviously a lie.

And there's more:

Meanwhile Dick Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure statement, states that the Halliburton is paying him a "deferred compensation" of up to $1million a year following his resignation as chief executive in 2000. At the time Cheney opted not to receive his severance package in a lump sum, but instead to have it paid to him over five years, possibly for tax reasons.

The company would not say how much the payments are. The obligatory disclosure statement filled by all top government officials says only that they are in the range of $100,000 and $1million. Nor is it clear how they are calculated.

Cheney also profited from pre-invasion Iraq when Saddam was still in power:

In 1998, Cheney oversaw Halliburton's acquisition of Dresser Industries Inc., the unit that sold oil equipment to Iraq through two subsidiaries of a joint venture with another large U.S. equipment maker, Ingersoll-Rand Co.

The Halliburton subsidiaries, Dresser-Rand and Ingersoll Dresser Pump Co., sold water and sewage treatment pumps, spare parts for oil facilities and pipeline equipment to Baghdad through French affiliates from the first half of 1997 to the summer of 2000, U.N. records show.

War, Hypocrisy, Profits


Want more?

Cheney's Halliburton stock options rose 3,281% last year, senator finds

Cheney continues to hold 433,333 Halliburton stock options.

Cheney continues to received a deferred salary from the company. According to financial disclosure forms, he was paid $205,298 in 2001; $262,392 in 2002; $278,437 in 2003; and $294,852 in 2004.

Cheney violates ethics law

Just as Cheney's wild claims about weapons of mass destruction turned out to be untrue and his claim that Halliburton had no ties to Saddam Hussein was bogus, his denial about profiting from Halliburton as vice president was also a bald-face lie. So while Cheney denied any relationship with Halliburton as vice president, he conveniently forgot to mention that he continues to receive from the company deferred salary of over $150,000 while maintaining 433,333 shares of unexercised stock options. Certainly, Cheney has a "financial interest in Halliburton" while working as vice president.

Cheney's Ties to Halliburton: Deferred Compensation Package Counts, Report Indicates


Who really is profiting off the Iraq war? Well Cheney sure is.


Any further questions?

Iraq is certainly well worth it to Cheney. How does Bush benefit?

Does he have any shady business ties with Blackwater or other corporations in Iraq?

He must be taking a hit on this one. Maybe Cheney is donating a few million here and there to his trust fund.

reply to post by biggie smalls


A 6 figure deferred salary over 5yrs, from money he made before is hardly profiteering. You didn't post anything showing figures different from the links that I put up, to show his bank account overflowing from war profits. If you'd read the links I posted, you'd see how he isn't even making anything off the shares in the company, as they're donated to charity. What I'm asking for is proof showing that he is in fact not donating the money, and/or making huge sums. If you're gonna make claims of folks making all this money, you need to show it. It's not my job to prove that he's not, and I have yet to see the proof. Why is it that most of that info is 2003ish? (Sen) Frank Lautenberg must not have come up with anything new, as I don't see any stories from 2008.

433,333 shares of unexercised stock options

The stock rising in value benefits the holder. Sometimes the cost of the options is only a few cents on the dollar and was probably been determined when issued. I bet he can make a fortune in the future if he hasn't already.

The American military is at war.

Everyone else is at the mall.

reply to post by BlueRaja


A few million dollars surely is a lot of money. He may have made the deal several years before the invasion, but the plans for the Iraq war had been made waaay ahead of time.

Blair planned Iraq from start

Blair planned Iraq invasion from start

The Americans had been trying to link Saddam to the 9/11 attacks; but the British knew the evidence was flimsy or non-existent. Dearlove warned the meeting that “the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy”. It was clear from Dearlove’s brief visit that the US administration’s attitude would compound the legal difficulties for Britain. The US had no patience with the United Nations and little inclination to ensure an invasion was backed by the security council, he said. Nor did the Americans seem very interested in what might happen in the aftermath of military action. Yet, as Boyce then reported, events were already moving swiftly. “CDS (chief of the defence staff) said that military planners would brief (Donald) Rumsfeld (US defence secretary) on 3 August and Bush on 4 August.”

Bush sought 'Way' to invade Iraq?


US Decision on Iraq has puzzling past

reply to post by biggie smalls


A few million dollars to someone that is already a millionaire is motive to kill 3000 Americans though, which is what many here would have us believe? The money he made before the invasion can hardly be called war profiteering. What I am interested in seeing is the evidence of how much he's made after the invasion.

Iraq war was planned in 1998- Four years before 911

It was – and is – called Project For A New American Century. This was a group made up of, among others, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz – then not officeholders.

This group sat down and plotted their course of action to dominate the word through use of unilateral preemptive force. On Jan 26, 1998, they sent at letter to then President Clinton which said the following:

“The only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction. In the near term, this means a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing.

In the long term, it means removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power. That now needs to become the aim of American foreign policy.

O'Neill: Bush planned Iraq invasion before 9/11

Hans Blix: Iraq war planned long in advance; banned arms not the priority

Secret US plans for Iraq's oil

The industry-favoured plan was pushed aside by a secret plan, drafted just before the invasion in 2003, which called for the sell-off of all of Iraq's oil fields. The new plan was crafted by neo-conservatives intent on using Iraq's oil to destroy the Opec cartel through massive increases in production above Opec quotas.

Iraq war planned 2 years before 9/11


This view includes a conspiracy element.

Without 911, Bush could not have invaded Afghanistan or Iraq. Both countries were needed to secure an oil pipeline in the Middle East with the US (companies/government) in control.

The 911 attacks launched the neoconservative plan to invade the Middle East to steal their oil resources (among other things).

He can only go so far.

How far? You decide.

An update to the news story:

Bush Defiantly Defends War in Iraq

President Bush defiantly defended the Iraq war as U.S. troops began a sixth year of combat in the long and costly conflict that has dominated his presidency. Bush conceded the war has been harder and more expensive than anticipated but insisted it has all been necessary to keep Americans safe.

Protesters marked the anniversary of the U.S. invasion with demonstrations near the White House and in other cities, though they seemed to lack the fervor of those that preceded the war.

Bush, in a speech at the Pentagon Wednesday, offered some of his boldest assessments of progress and said the war's legacy is absolute: "The world is better, and the United States of America is safer."

I think this man has lost it. Time to wheel out the impeachment wagon.





"Hi, mom!"

Originally posted by BlueRaja
reply to post by biggie smalls

 

A few million dollars to someone that is already a millionaire is motive to kill 3000 Americans though, which is what many here would have us believe? The money he made before the invasion can hardly be called war profiteering. What I am interested in seeing is the evidence of how much he's made after the invasion.

Can I ask what your motivation is to derail the topic of this thread? To have us argue over who made what when the war as a whole is completely wrong?

I don't care about profits for anyone. I care for my brother and my friends who are fighting for their lives because of this crap. That's what this thread is about. Lives. Not money. Nor is it about proof of who's making it. The war is wrong even if everyone goes home broke.

Cheny also stole about $50,000 in pension money from each salaried Dresser-Rand Employee.