A Pack of Lies

It's only too obvious now: not one of our representatives at the national level had the guts to forestall the war in Iraq, denounce the lies that led us there, or lay the blame where it truly lies in a way that would matter. Oh, there were peeps, whispers of outrage, weak denunciations. Dennis Kucinich was a persistent voice against the war - he even visited Colorado Springs during the presidential campaign and we saw his passion face to face.

But none of it mattered against an onslaught of fear and rhetoric pushed by the Neocons after 9/11. George W. Bush took us to war in Iraq with the combination of personal vendetta and a pointless backlash against the Arab world that let the perpetrators of the attack go free in Afghanistan. The President paid no political price for this and has had to account for none of his mistakes. He has continued on his merry way, promoting the architects of the war, giving them medals, protecting his business partners, continuing to stifle our democracy at every turn, and blissfully ignoring terrorist threats.

George Galloway has done it today. He's a British member of parliament who was smeared recently by the US Senate Republicans in the oil for food scandal. He was asked to testify in front of the Senate Committee on Investigations. Senator Norm Coleman, the designated hit man for the Senate's smoke screen on this scandal (a scandal that was furthered by Houston based oil companies more than the Secretary General's son) had his clock cleaned by Galloway today. Most committees check the prepared testimony and find out what someone is going to say before they swear them in, but Coleman's ego got the better of him again.

And I commend Coleman for his willful ignorance in this case. He should have read Galloway's testimony, then he might have thought twice about his part in this play. I'm glad he didn't, because the Galloway testimony is clear and damning and wouldn't have been seen but for the cynical posturing of a hack politician. Instead, it was covered live by several news outlets. It was spoken boldly and succinctly to the Senator. And Galloway's testimony does what our guys couldn't do: it reclaims the truth and honor of this horrible mess for those who opposed the war and tried to stop it; it highlights the lies repeated by our leaders; and it lays blame for the deaths of our soldiers and Iraqi citizens at the feet of the President. It gives name to the pack of lies that took us to war.

Will this latest piece of evidence crack the consciousness of our fellow citizens? Only time will tell, but one can hope.