What did you think about Iraq back in 2002-2003? What did you do or not do?

[FrenchieCat]

I just want to know where we DUers stood in 2002-2003 in reference to going into Iraq.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Marched, went to information sessions, paid for ads

I saw, in my mind's eye, the suffering this war would cause. I saw faces of suffering-both American and Iraqi. I withstood a wild woman spitting on me after telling me that the Constitution should be used for toilet paper. I listened as a fundy woman had her child run up to us and tell us Bush was the Second Coming of Christ.

I talked with a reporter from the Democrat-Gazette, which, despite its name, is a right wing rag--our efforts were portrayed as something quaint that those crazy hippies up in Newton County were doing, and they also said that the Depleted Uranium ad which I wrote and paid for, which included quotes from the Christian Science Monitor were incorrect because there was no DU problem. I went to information sessions at the local Methodist Church, and found many folks who wanted to know the truth.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Thanks for your actions!

I marched twice in S.F., and wrote to many Senators and Reps. I lost sleep as well as I was listening to Ray Taliaferro everynight (he comes on at 1:00 a.m. on KGO radio in the Bay Area). I was not a happy camper!

[hippiechick]

2. Marched in DC in 3/03, helped organize and protested locally

... from Oct 02 - Feb 03.


:hi:

[FrenchieCat]

4. Did you watch Colin Powell's testimony to the U.N.,

and if so, what did you think?

[hippiechick]

17. Only vicariously thru DU ...

... unfortunately alot of the good stuff happens during my work hours and I can't stream C-Span etc without incurring the wrath of my boss. :(

[k8conant]

6. Although DC is only 60 miles away, I was home debating my idiot husband...

who at least now says we should get out of Iraq. He used to insist the invasion of Iraq was "self-defense".

[FrenchieCat]

29. Interesting that your hubby thought that.......

did he buy into the Al-Qaeda/Saddam link that we were sold?

[Greyhound]

5. Wrote and called, but there was no march in the red state hell I lived in at the time.

It is possible that there was a march and the reich-wing that controls that state successfully suppressed the information.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Certainly "they" did their best to keep that kind of information

away from the majority of Americans.

Marches could only be seen on C-Span. Also Crowd numbers were underestimated "if" reported. :(

[Clark2008]

7. My son was very, very young and I was going through a divorce

at the time.

I tried to do all I could, but, between going back to work after being a stay-at-home Mom and raising such a small boy, I couldn't go to any of the big marches (there were none in my area). I couldn't afford to travel to them, anyway.

I do count some of my writing to my congressman as valid, however. He's a Repub and one of the few Repubs to vote AGAINST the IWR. John J. Duncan Jr.

[skipos]

9. I believed the Powell presentation. I thought Saddam had WMDS. I had trust in my government.

A mistake I will not make again.

I felt that Bush was going about it (without UN & worldwide support) the wrong way, but I am WAY more opposed to the war now. Back then, I wasn't digging for the truth enough. I wasn't pro-war, but I wasn't strongly opposed to it either.

This whole experience was a big wake up call.

[FrenchieCat]

10. Too bad you couldn't read French Internet reports on the Colin presentation!

The French were laughing at Powell, calling his "evidence" cartoons! They also editorialized the American press' lack of analysis on his testimony. I was really disgusted with the media's promotion of this testimony as truth without providing any evidence of why that was.

[skipos]

11. I wasn't digging very deep for real news at that point in time

and was WAY to trusting of the gov and the media.

Further, I couldn't learn French if my life depended on it. Spanish is much easier for me.

[FrenchieCat]

13. Just for the future, many French Internet sites has option for English version!

There were a few reports in the U.S. Press as well, just not mainstream corporate news!

MEDIA ADVISORY: A Failure of Skepticism in Powell Coverage
Posted Tuesday, February 11, 2003 by vgdesign

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR)

In reporting on Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 5 presentation to the United Nations Security Council, many journalists treated allegations made by Powell as though they were facts.

Reporters at several major outlets neglected to observe the journalistic rule of prefacing unverified assertions with words like "claimed" or "alleged."

This is of particular concern given that over the last several months, many Bush administration claims about alleged Iraqi weapons facilities have failed to hold up to inspection. In many cases, the failed claims-- like Powell's claims at the U.N.-- have cited U.S. and British intelligence sources and have included satellite photos as evidence. >>More
http://www.takebackthemedia.org/newspro/arc86.html

[FrenchieCat]

12. Does anyone remember this?

Poets Against the War

Word has spread like wildfire from mailbox to mailbox, and to date over 5,300 poets have submitted poems or personal statements to register their opposition to the Bush administration's headlong plunge toward war in Iraq. In doing so, they have honored a long and rich tradition of thoughtful and moral opposition by poets and other artists to senseless and murderous policies, including those of our own government.

In the face of the near unanimous opposition from U.N. members, despite the disapproval of the vast majority of citizens of the world, in defiance of the advice of its own intelligence agencies, and contrary to both common sense and fundamental notions of morality, the Bush administration seems to be on a rocket sled headed for war.

The next few weeks will likely prove to be critical. Please register your protest and add your name to our numbers by submitting a poem or brief commentary.
http://www.takebackthemedia.org/newspro/arc86.html

[ieoeja]

19. I believed (some of) the Powell presentation. I thought Saddam had WMDs.

And I opposed the war because:

1. Saddam professed no ideological opposition to the United States, and
2. only a complete moron thinks you can impose ideology by force (without genocide).

Alas, PNAC was running the show and full of complete morons who think we can impose our ideology by force.

What do you see missing in my reasons? I have absolutely no moral scruples whatsoever about using our military might where and when it can serve our ends. To an amoral scum-bucket like myself, this war was just a stupid fucking war. To support this war you needed either a serious absence of knowledge or my lack of scruples combined with PNACs lack of brains.

I happen to believe most Americans are better than me in the scruples department. And even better than PNAC in the brains department. So I put down the original support of this war to a lack of knowledge. 80-90% of the rightwingers I know in Chicago opposed this war from the beginning, while about that high a percent of the Democrats I know in southern Indiana supported it. That shows you the difference knowledge can make as the news business in southern Indiana is so horribly one sided.

[FrenchieCat]

41. It is very true that media makes a big difference in everything.....

and since they pushed for this war, it was that much easier for those who could have slowed it down to support it instead! The media is certainly complicit to all that this war has brought us. The funny thing about it is that they don't act like they had anything to do with it. The media stinks like shit!

[Alexander]

14. I'd love the Hillary supporters to answer this one.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

15. Thanks to DU...

and the amazing researchers - many who have been forced to move on -- I knew we were being lied to about Saddam, Iraq, WMD, and the connection to 9/11.

I did everything in my power at the time (I thought) to stop the invasion: I marched repeatedly, I called and faxed my representatives, I educated everyone I ran into about what was really going on (even though many thought I was nuts at the time), I helped pay for ads, I signed up to help groups who were actively working against the invasion, I started a website exposing Bush and his policies, and I marched some more.

Could I have done more? Yes, looking back. Would it have had any influence on the eventual invasion? Probably not.

I think the only thing that even had a remote chance of putting the brakes on was massive civil disobedience in the Capitol -- thousands of protestors arrested every day for weeks, action that could NOT be ignored by the media and would force attention on the justifications for the invasion.

[Arugula Latte]

24. Hell Hath -- I'm curious. Did anyone you tried to warn come to you

later and tell you that you were right about the war?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

30. My own Mom was one who had thought....

everything I was talking about sounded nuts! :D But when much of what I'd talked about started to be covered in the MSM (eventually), she began to see that I had been telling the truth. Now, in her mind, if I say it, it is gold. My own sister went from 100% apolitical to a liberal firebrand under my tutelage.

I have had people acknowledge that I was right from the beginning about Iraq/Bush, but I'm in SF CA so it wasn't like I was converting hardcore Rush fans.

My most fun was in the heart of redsville -- Dallas and Lubbock. At two events (a graduation and a wedding) I'd had the chance to pass along some truth when the subject of politics was brought up, and was looked at as the "crazy" person from San Francisco. You should have seen their faces when I started on about PNAC! :D I still laugh about it to this day. But some folks at those events who had never heard about PNAC and the neocons came by later to sit and listen to what I had to say. I always made sure to give them websites to check and reports to look for -- I wanted our conversation to be a starting point for them, not the end.

The newly liberal firebrand is the family member who lives in redsville and who has taken over the education task in her area. The next time I visit it will be interesting to see what everyone else has to say now....

[EFerrari]

16. We marched and held vigils and begged Feinstein to vote no

with the usual results. :mad:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

31. Which is why...

she no longer gets my votes. The Green candidate gets it, every time until DiFi is replaced by a better Democratic candidate.

[EFerrari]

33. The Party has to wake up and smell the corruption.

Democrats can do so better than this.

[nevergiveup]

18. I went berserk

Everyone at work thought I had gone crazy. Some of them have since admitted to me that my prognosis was correct but most are too fearful to mention the president's name in my presence. Yes, I am the boss and believe it or not I am usually a very gentle person.

[Cameron27]

21. I was at work during "shock & awe"

where everyone was cheering for the damned spectacle except for me and 2 other women. I just saw death, lies and death.

[Chemical Bill]

20. I wrote to my congressmen...

and said they should impeach * before he gets us into trouble. I bought a diesel car in March 2003, and started using 100% domestic, renewable biodiesel fuel. I went to a few protest marches, too.

Bill

[libnnc]

22. That was before I discovered DU

and I believed what I heard on the evening news.

[Forkboy]

25. DU is a definite eye-opener.

:)

[NoPasaran]

23. I got very depressed and drank a lot

I could just tell that the war would become a disaster. I thought that once invaded, Iraq would shatter and a dangerous area of the world would become even more so. I thought that even if Saddam did have weapons programs international diplomacy and acting in unison with as many allies as we could muster would be the way to go.

I dodn't march against the war. I still haven't. I think that only when governments are actually open to persuasion (or when they're on the verge of being overthown) do marches do much good, and why would Bush listen to the people when he's got a voice in his head he's convinced is God?

WHat I did eventually do was start looking for people who wanted a change in this country, first on the web and then in real life.

[mnhtnbb]

26. Marched. Wrote letters. Blogged. Donated to ads

Never had any doubt that war was the WRONG thing.

[Milo_Bloom]

27. Marched, Wrote, and pledged

I Marched in several Los Angeles marches. I wrote and called all of my representatives and several others I didn't think would betray us.

Finally I signed Michael Moore's pledge to never again vote for another Democrat who voted for bush's war

http://web.archive.org/web/20021012104852/http://www.michaelmoore.com/petitions/peacepledge/index.php

I made one exception, which I regret, and voted for Kerry. NEVER AGAIN.

[Texas_Kat]

28. I went and drafted a candidate to run for President

that wasn't 1) blinded to the consequences of this inexecrable war and 2) wasn't fooled by the Bush spin and personal political ambition.

That candidate changed the dialog in the Presidential race in 04 and contributed mightily to the Democratic victories in the 06 election cycles.

I'm proud of what I (and many others like me) did. I'm proud of Wes Clark for answering our call.

[illinoisprogressive]

32. I knew it was a 'dumb war'. But, I did not march or anything.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

34. Bad idea then REALLY BAD idea now!

I definitely thought that the war would be a BAD idea as soon as Bush et. al started suggesting it in summer of 2002, especially given that it seemed like such a drastic diversion from our ongoing campaign against remnants of Al-Queda/Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Not only that but the whole idea that Iraq posed such an "imminent threat" sufficiently dangerous to require an invasion of the country seemed puzzling to me given that the information that most of us had at the time (including, apparently, even Rice & Powell) suggested that Iraq's military had been severely broken as a result of GW1, not to mention the 11 intervening years of no-fly zones, scattered airstrikes, and crippling sanctions. The idea of Iraq, a country that couldn't even control its own airspace, being an "imminent threat" to anybody in the region (let alone us) was laughable and I couldn't believe how seriously Bush et. al (and eventually a sizable majority of the public) would eventually take it. I actually thought that there might only end up being some "saber-rattling" and possibly a demand for restoration of weapons inspectors (which seemed eminently reasonable) but I never imagined that Bush would actually invade Iraq in the end. I naively thought that enough people and advisers like Powell would eventually be able to persuade Bush to back off from what appeared to be (at least to most of us) his growing obsession with invading Iraq. I believed (at the time) that SH probably had some small stockpiles of leftover pre-GW1 biological/chemical weapons in his possession but NOTHING remotely resembling the kind of "imminent threat" (i.e. "mushroom clouds") that Bush et. al was alleging. Unfortunately, although I did speak out against the war to a lot of friends (and anybody else whom might listen without throwing bricks at me), I regret that I did not have the opportunity to do much more at the time nor was there much in terms of anti-war activism here in Indiana.

[jillan]

35. I fell for it - mushroom clouds and all

I even knew the word's to Toby Keith's boot in your ass song.

Never again will I be so stupid!

[FrenchieCat]

36. It begins with having a very strong distrust of the corporate media......

Once that's done, the rest pretty much falls into place!

[Capn Sunshine]

38. I only trust Frenchie

and that's all I have to say about that.
:toast:

[FrenchieCat]

39. !

:blush:

[Hippo_Tron]

37. I was 16 at the time, I believed the intelligence but wasn't sure I trusted Bush

[MadBadger]

40. Same exact situation as mine. Being 16 too.

[primative1]

42. Weird ...

Upon news that the first SHOCK AND AWE bombs had fallen, I attached a black flag to the antenna of my car and went off about my business.
What was weird was it was like in those old cheech and chong paranoia dreams ... every time I looked in the rear view either there was a police cruiser there or what looked like one ,and the whole thing made me incredibly paranoid .....
That was my one man protest moment ... great free country we live in when even expressing remorse in solitude is reason for paranoia.

[underpants]

43. Oct. 26th a week before I got married my wife drove me down to the train station

it was actually a foggy morning here in Richmond. It was very much like she was seeing me off to war.

I rode the train up to DC-got on the metro and met several DU'ers at the Vietnam Women's Memorial and then we went to the march.

I wrote letters to the editor. Called my rep and senators. I told everyone I knew everything I knew about this (they all thought I was crazy but have since admitted I/we were right).

I did everything I could.