New Ad: "The Washington Follies"

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Bush: After Iraq, they'll never elect a Republican in '08.	A September CBS/New York Times survey showed that 42 percent believe the Democratic Party is more likely to make the right decisions on Iraq, compared to 32 percent for the Republican Party. [Roll Call, 10/18/07]
Rove: Threaten Iran. Talk about World War III.
Bush: But now everyone knows they've stopped developing nukes.	The National Intelligence Estimate, that represents the consensus view of all 16 American spy agencies, concluded that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen. [New York Times, 12/3/07]
Rove: We never let the truth stop us before
(Headline) THE BUSH LEGACY: WAGING WAR FOR POLITICAL GAIN. In 2002, an election year, Karl Rove and George Bush began the march to war with Iraq.	Karl Rove played an integral role in the White House Iraq Group, created in August 2002, a team of top advisers that helped the administration communicate the case for war to the American people. [NPR, 8/13/07]
The American people were told that Iraq was tied to the attacks on 9/11 and that it posed a threat to the United States.	In late 2001, Vice President Cheney said it was "pretty well confirmed" that attack mastermind Mohamed Atta had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence official. Later, Cheney called Iraq the "geographic base of the terrorists who had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11." Bush, in 2003, said "the battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001." [Washington Post, 6/18/04]
Bush said Iraq already had weapons of mass destruction and was developing nuclear weapons.	President Bush: “The threat comes from Iraq. It arises directly from the Iraqi regime's own actions -- its history of aggression, and its drive toward an arsenal of terror. Eleven years ago, as a condition for ending the Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi regime was required to destroy its weapons of mass destruction, to cease all development of such weapons, and to stop all support for terrorist groups. The Iraqi regime has violated all of those obligations. It possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. It has given shelter and support to terrorism, and practices terror against its own people.” [Cincinnati Museum Center Speech, 10/7/02]
We now know his reasons for going to war were false. And George Bush must have known some were untrue even as he repeated them.	In the months before the invasion of Iraq, President Bush and his advisers frequently cited classified intelligence reports that they said provided proof that Iraq was developing nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and had links to Osama bin Laden and other terrorists. Mr. Bush and his advisers said the threat posed by Iraq's development of those weapons and the possibility that Mr. Hussein might share them with terrorists made it necessary to overthrow the Iraqi government. Since American forces occupied the country, however, they have not discovered conclusive evidence of the existence of such weapons in Iraq's possession, and have also failed to discover conclusive proof that Iraq had forged a terrorist alliance with Al Qaeda. [New York Times, 7/14/03] The CIA warned the US Government that claims about Iraq's nuclear ambitions were not true months before President Bush used them to make his case for war. Doubts about a claim that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from the African state of Niger were aired 10 months before Mr. Bush included the allegation in his key State of the Union address this year, a CIA official has told the BBC. On Tuesday, the White House for the first time officially acknowledged that the Niger claim was wrong and suggested it should not have been used in the president's State of the Union speech in January. But the CIA official has said that a former U.S. diplomat had already established the claim was false in March 2002 - and that the information had been passed on to government departments, including the White House, well before Mr Bush mentioned it in the speech. [BBC News, 7/9/03] Former anti-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke charged that in the aftermath of Sept. 11, President Bush ordered him to look for a link between Iraq and the attacks, despite being told there didn't seem to be one. [CBS News, 3/21/04] President Bush said that his administration “never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al Qaeda.” [Washington Post, 6/18/04]
(Subhead) Here comes World War III.	In October 2007, President Bush said, “[I]f you’re interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.” [New York Times, 10/18/07]
Now, with a Presidential election likely to turn on the disaster in Iraq, George Bush has been threatening war with Iran, arguing falsely that the country is on the verge of developing nuclear weapons.	In February 2005, President Bush accused Iran of being "the world's primary state sponsor of terror, pursuing nuclear weapons, while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve." [NPR, 12/4/07] In August 2007, President Bush said, "Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust." [NPR, 12/4/07] The United States has said it is pursuing a diplomatic approach to Iran, including the threat of a new round of United Nations sanctions, but it has refused to rule out military action to halt Iran’s nuclear program. [New York Times, 10/17/07]
The Washington Post reported that National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley “said Bush first learned in August or September about intelligence indicating Iran had halted its weapons program…”	National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said Bush first learned in August or September about intelligence indicating Iran had halted its weapons program and was advised it would take time to evaluate. [Washington Post, 12/4/07]
Yet on October 17, Bush continued to paint a picture of a nuclear Iran and invoked the specter of World War III.	President Bush: “we got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.” [Press Conference, 10/17/07]
On December 4, Bush lied about when he found out Iran had no nuclear weapons program, saying: “I was made aware of the NIE [National Intelligence Estimate] last week.”	President Bush: “I was made aware of the NIE last week.” [Press Conference, 12/4/07] During his news conference this week, Bush said he was told in August by the director of national intelligence that there was new information about Iran, but not what the new information was. [Washington Post, 12/7/07]
His rhetoric against Iran has gone on unabated.
(Subhead) George Bush must be stopped.
A resolution is being introduced in the House of Representatives by Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii. It explicitly states that George Bush has been given no authority to go to war with Iran. It is a sad commentary on the Bush presidency that the resolution is vital and must be passed. Otherwise, there’s no telling what George Bush might do.	On November 16, 2007, Rep. Abercrombie introduced s resolution which states, “nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), any act that serves as the statutory authority for Executive Order 13382 or Executive Order 13224, any resolution previously adopted, or any other provision of law including the terms of Executive Order 13382 or Executive Order 13224 shall be construed to authorize, encourage, or in any way address the use of the Armed Forces of the United States against Iran.” [HJ Res 64]