Crazy Republican Talking Point
Crazy Republican Talking Points
An array of crazy Republican talking points has been sold by the massive Republican Spin Machine until widely believed by many uninformed citizens. Essentially these political lies can easily be debunked by simple applications of common-sense and logic. Here are a few of examples.
Saddam Hussein was the next Hitler and Iraq the next Nazi Germany. This is a staple Republican talking point used to sell Bush’s invasion of Iraq. The claim is repeated on Right-Wing Republican talk shows, in media controlled by partisan Republicans and by hundreds of Republican talking heads.
Iraq was never going to be a threat to world peace on the scale of Nazi Germany under Hitler. The economy of Iraq was and is absolutely tiny compared to the United States. It could never fund a military threat that would seriously challenge the American military.
The United States spends much more each year on our military than the entire value of the Iraq economy by many multiples. Our nation spends 48 percent of the entire world’s military expenditures on our armed forces. The next four big defense spenders are Japan, China, France and the United Kingdom at 3 to 4 percent each.
Saddam Hussein was the dictator of a nation with around ten percent of our population. His population was not as skilled, healthy or educated as the American public. His nation was not united behind Saddam Hussein’s leadership like Nazi Germany was under Hitler.
The earliest aggressions by Hussein were met and repelled by military actions by other nations. By the time George W. Bush invaded Iraq, the Iraqi military was no threat to Iraq’s neighbors. Internal enemies of Saddam Hussein were growing stronger. Islamic militants were seeking to overthrow Hussein. Kurds were in revolt in northern Iraq. The Shia Moslems were restive in southern Iraq. The Iraqi economy was in shambles. Saddam Hussein was effectively contained and no real threat to America.
A second crazy Republican talking point concerns the outing of covert CIA agent Valerie Palme by highly placed operatives at the Bush White House. The essential lie is that Valerie Palme status as a covert CIA agent was not secret. The claim is that her CIA status was “well-known in Washington cocktail circles.”
It is simply not true that Valerie Palme was widely known to be working for the CIA. Even her neighbors and best friends were unaware of her CIA connection. Logically, rumors at cocktail parties of Washington’s power elite are not equivalent to intentionally publishing her covert CIA status in major newspapers. The fact is that the White House intentionally leaked her identity, in violation of US law, to politically punish her husband for revealing lies used by the Bush team to push the United States into invading Iraq.
In a third example, the death of al-Zarqawi has been promoted by Republicans as a major blow against the enemies of American occupation in Iraq. It is an easy sale to those without a deep knowledge of al-Zarqawi and his actions in Iraq.
This terrorist was engaged in bloody violent actions that actually undermined the popularity of the Iraqi insurgency among average Iraqis. Iraq is populated largely by Shia Moslems. The terrorist organization of al-Zarqawi was targeting the Shia along with American forces under his leadership.
While nominally aligned with the Bin Laden international organization, al-Zarqawi was attacking Shia leaders against the wishes of Bin Laden and his international movement. The international Bin Laden terrorists want the Shia and Sunni Moslems united in opposition to American interests. The death of al-Zarqawi may eventually result in a more united opposition by both Shia and Sunni Moslem fighters. It seems likely he will be replaced by a more effective terrorist leader. I am glad al-Zarqawi was killed but his death is certainly not a major blow against those opposed to American occupation of Iraq.
All citizens should condemn this kind of intentional disinformation and failed logic. There are hundreds of similar examples of intentional lying and distortion by Republican leaders on the most important issues facing our nation. When citizens hear these kinds of crazy talking points, they should immediately challenge them.
Written by Stephen Crockett (co-host, Democratic Talk Radio http://DemocraticTalkRadio.com ). Mail: P.O. Box 283, Earleville, Maryland 21919. Phone: 443-907-2367. Email: [email protected] .
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