Velma Berger – 5/8/05

This page was last updated on May 8, 2005.

The big lie; Velma Berger; Beaver County Times; May 8, 2005.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“We recently received the official report that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

“This should have been front-page news because that was the one single reason for our rushing to war.”

[RWC] It might have been “front-page news” had it been news. The fact is, interim reports and testimony before Congress since early 2004 have been telling us we found no stockpiles of WMD in Iraq.

“However, I think by this time we realize we had been lied to.”

[RWC] Ms. Berger apparently can’t tell the difference between being wrong and lying. Every “post mortem” report has indicated that decision makers – both Democrat and Republican – did not misrepresent the information provided to them by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies. The information may have been wrong, but all reports to date indicate we weren’t “lied to.”

“The many reasons given later, after the invasion, were not threatening enough for immediate action.”

[RWC] “The many reasons given later” were actually enumerated in the Iraq War Resolution of 2002. It’s too bad folks like Ms. Berger tend to ignore this fact.

“Now, more than two years later with 12,147 injuries and 1580 servicemen dead, they admit there were no weapons of mass destruction.

“The car bombings go on almost dally and the casualties keep mounting. Three more servicemen killed on the day that I wrote this letter.”

[RWC] If the terrorists stop killing, the casualties will stop. Using Ms. Berger’s logic, we should abolish our domestic law enforcement agencies because their “casualties keep mounting” as a result of fighting crime.

“Someone should be held accountable for this lie. The president spoke last week and he still has no timetable for bringing our troops home.”

[RWC] Why do folks like Ms. Berger believe it’s smart to tell your enemy when you are going to leave the battlefield?