After misleading the nation into war, attacking civil liberties, and blurring the line between church and state, the Bush administration does not deserve another term in the White House.It has become clear that the Bush administration lacked the evidence to go to war with Iraq. Those who supported the war have stated that evidence was flawed. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has publicly admitted that weapons of mass destruction are not likely to be found in
Iraq. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has admitted that the link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda was nonexistent.
Yet President Bush still acts as though the war in Iraq was a justified military move. He told the United Nations in late September that he was right to go to war, trying to get other countries involved with the reconstruction effort in Iraq. Yet what other countries would want to help in Iraq? The situation is growing deadlier by the day. President Bush has also damaged ties with several allies by ignoring international law and creating a war based on flawed evidence, despite world opinion against such an act. Bush has also claimed that America is liberating Iraq.
However,U.S. troops are not welcomed as liberators. The violence continues to surge. The U.S. death toll is over 1,000, while the Iraqi death doll has exceeded 12,000. Meanwhile, the war has inflamed the Middle East.
The Abu Ghraib prison scandal over the summer tarnished the reputation of the United States, and the U.S. occupation of Iraq has bred more terrorism. Yet even though evidence proves that the war has increased terrorism, has cost the lives of thousands of innocent people, and Hussein lacked WMDs, President Bush will not admit that going to Iraq
was a deadly, terrible blunder. He has publicly stated he still would have gone to war even knowing what he does now.
If re-elected, the Bush administration may attack another country, perhaps North Korea or Iran, since they were listed as being in the “Axis of Evil” during Bushʼs State of the Union speech a few months before the war in Iraq began in 2003.
The Bush administration has also created a state of endless fear to justify military actions and a suspension of civil rights and liberties. After the horrific events of 9/11, President Bush pushed the Patriot Act, and it was passed in the Senate and House with virtually no debate. This legislation has lessened our freedoms, allowing the government to check peopleʼs
library and Internet information.
The act also allows the government to detain people with little evidence. The Bush administration constantly issues new terror warnings while raising the color-coded terror warning system to pump fear into the country. The neoconservatives also use fear to justify military action in Iraq. Americans were led to believe that Hussein was a rising threat to freedom. We were told several times that Hussein possessed WMDs
and had a connection with al Qaeda, but none of it proved to be true. The use of fear and paranoia helps to justify war, such as the unjust war in Iraq that was based upon false evidence.
Meanwhile, other freedoms and progressive ideals will be set back if the Bush administration is re-elected. Bush will have the chance to appoint Supreme Court Justices, and he will most likely appoint conservative,
Christian fundamentalists. If this happens, Roe. v. Wade, which ensures a womanʼs right to choose, may be overturned, ending legalized abortion. Bush will also continue his assault on gay marriage and try to get a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. This issue should be left for state courts to decide, not the national government.
Of course, there are other reasons not to re-elect the Bush administration. Their environmental record is poor. The draft may be re-instated to fight other wars under another four years of George Bush. The world will continue to shun the United States. Obviously, too many issues matter this election season to sit home on Nov. 2. After misleading the nation into war, failing to listen to world opinion, ignoring domestic issues, and attacking civil rights and liberties, George Bush deserves the pink slip in November.