Moving Target

Raw Story, in conjunction Ron Brynaert of Why Are We Back in Iraq?, reports: U.S. changed Iraq policy to begin airstrikes months before war.

The change meant that the U.S. began systematically bombing air defense systems and other buildings, even beyond the No-Fly Zones established in the wake of the Gulf War. The U.S. justified these pre-emptive airstrikes under a 1991 UN Security Council resolution which says that Iraq must “remove the threat to international peace and security in the region.”

The resolution, however, never specifically called for the use of force. Nor did it authorize the no-fly zones, a joint venture of the British and U.S. governments.

Some suggest the change indicates President George W. Bush lied to the nation when he declared in October 2002 upon signing the Congressional authorization on the use of force, "I have not ordered the use of force. I hope the use of force will not become necessary."

[…]

…President Clinton also bombed Iraq aggressively during his term… But unlike Clinton, Bush explicitly changed the rules under which strikes could be conducted, allowing pre-emptive attacks on sites they felt could threaten their forces in the future after an apparent decision to go to war.

What else can I say at this point? We need a formal inquiry. I can’t imagine how much more evidence of unethical (at best) and/or illegal (at worst) activity needs to be unearthed about this president and his administration before an inquiry is warranted. If it turns out this country was taken to war on a pack of lies, then there’s nothing we owe to our troops and their families more than an apology.