Query: Did Bush invade Iraq to claim power as war president?

[JDPriestly]

The generally accepted theory among critics of of Bush has been that Bush's primary reason for invading Iraq was to grab Iraqi oil and that a secondary reason was that Bush wanted to have the political advantage of being a "war president" at election time. I'm beginning to believe instead that Bush's main reason for invading Iraq was to have the excuse TO GRAB ULTIMATE POWER OVER THE MILITARY AND OVER US CITIZENS AS A WARTIME PRESIDENT.

The NSA spy scandal is just one of many power abuses. He has used the war as an excuse to run up huge debt and has used the borrowed money to pay off his friends and to win more influential friends in the military and defense industry. I think this theory holds up. What do you think?

[Inland]

1. The never ending war on terror gave him the opportunity

to return this country to the fifties cold war status.....which is right where they want the country in all respects.

The paralell between the cold war and war on terror must have struck them. IT was a way to return to unquestioned presidential power.

[Ezlivin]

2. It's a silent coup

He wasn't elected in 2000 - friends on the Supreme Court made a special ruling to place him in power;

The PNAC called for a "New Pearl Harbor" - 9/11 handily happened on his watch;

He wasn't elected in 2004 - friends from Diebold ensured additional ghost votes to keep him in power.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Yes, you are right. He loves to play the "War President" card.

He's on the ultimate ego trip, paid for by all of us.

[Democrats_win]

4. Follow the money: Distraction for failing economy & tax cuts.

Things were really bad in from 2001-2004 but look what happened, the Neocons won in 2002 and 2004. It worked and they got their massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans unlike what happend to Reagan in 1982 when he lost a lot of seats in congress.

The rich saved their tax cuts and that money never helped America because American corporations were at 75% capacity and didn't have plans for any new projects.

Multinationals borrowed that saved money at low interest rates and with their own tax cuts invested in offshore operations.

Meanwhile Americans lost their jobs and deficits rise.

[tetedur]

5. Bush really wanted to proclaim martial law in NOLA

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12666834.htm

Two days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, President Bush went on national television to announce a massive federal rescue and relief effort.

But orders to move didn't reach key active military units for another three days.

Once they received them, it took just eight hours for 3,600 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., to be on the ground in Louisiana and Mississippi ....

Between 1992 and 1996, the Pentagon provided support in 18 disasters and developed five training manuals on how to work with FEMA and civilians in natural disasters. ...

On Thursday from N.O.:"It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces, the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice," he said.

On Friday he said:"This storm will give us an opportunity to review all different types of circumstances to make sure that, you know, the president has the capacity to react."

Former FEMA Director James Lee Witt, who served under President Clinton, believes that the Bush administration is mistaken if it thinks there are impediments to using the military for non-policing help in a disaster. ...

Clearly, Bush is as ignorant as a bag of rocks but no one on his staff is stopping him from appearing ignorant. He struggled for control of the military with Blanco and tried to get her to cede her power. He had the authority and yet he didn't "pull the trigger." Your point concerning his quest for power is well taken. As he consolidates more and more power and goes unchallenged, what does this bode for the future? Can the damage to the Constitution be reversed?

[newyawker99]

7. Hi tetedur!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[JDPriestly]

10. "to make sure . . . the president has the capacity to react."

Didn't realize how funny that statement was. Bush will never have the capacity to react adequately to much of anything, but not of a lack of presidential powers -- rather because of a lack of intellect, curiosity and conscience.

[gulliver]

6. It was at least "a" reason.

Someone had a post yesterday about the old saw "politics ends at the water's edge." That is just exactly the sort of logical rule that a guy like Karl Rove would turn upside down. (You can go a long way understanding Rove by simply turning things upside down.) It's Aristotle's logic, so it is powerful.

The whole lead up to the Iraq war during the election of 2002 shows that the war was being politicized. And every good instinct, habit, and government practice of Americans was subverted. Our logic and traditional rules were run backwards simply to increase power for Bush.

There is no evidence that Bush did anything that would show he was not attempting to abuse his war powers for political gain. He merely asks us to trust him on it. To my knowledge, there have been no memos, no official orders, no nothing to indicate that Bush did anything concrete to show he was not abusing power. Why? Because he was.

[JDPriestly]

11. Thank you. How right you are.

[Imagevision]

8. We invaded Iraq because US. Oil concerns instructed Bush to do so.

And besides, Bush & Cheney are first & foremost oilmen.

[JDPriestly]

12. I used to think that. Now I think it was to grab power.

The oil is secondary. We still don't have the oil. Our government hasn't sent in enough manpower to ensure safe recovery of the oil as I understand it. No, the whole thing was a subterfuge for grabbing power.

[cassiepriam]

9. For Cheney it was an oil grab, for Bush an ego trip. nt

[JDPriestly]

13. It is more than just an ego trip, I believe.

It is a strategy to gain power and the right to conduct domestic intelligence and curtail the rights of Americans. It's becoming more and more obvious to me, especially as I read the posts responding to my original post.

[windbreeze]

14. Thank God....

I began to wonder if anyone else was seeing this, as I was..I think we live in very dangerous times...I think this year is going to be more pivotal than many realize...
wb

[cassiepriam]

15. Yes, of course, war prez was pretext to grab power. But why?

I agree totally with your description of his behavior.
But why would he want so much power? I am talking about the underlying psychological reasons for his behavior.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

16. He's not invoking Iraq in this case.

He's invoking the 9/11 resolution. I know it's difficult to keep track, what with the various abuses of power and congressional grants of authority to him.

[formercia]

17. He learned it from his daddy.

He saw the mileage poppy got from Gulf War I and figured it would work the same for him. It did and just like poppy, his poll numbers have tanked now that the truth is being revealed.