Nineteen years ago, the US invaded Iraq on the promise of ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction.’ While we now know it was a claim based on lies and propaganda, the architects of the Iraq War—who knew the lies they told at the time and planned the war years in advance—continue to walk free…
The Bush Administration claimed the invasion was a necessary step, justified by the fact that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction and Saddam Hussein was a threat to the world.
They told you they were targeting terrorists — and that it was all part of the broader War on Terrorism launched in the aftermath of 9/11.
But two decades later, we know that was never the case. We know those WMDs backed up by US Intelligence were just lies and propaganda sold to you by politicians and parroted over and over again by a war-hungry media.
We know that the cost of this war has included the lives of more than a million Iraqis. We know that the invasion did nothing to stop terrorism — and it instead created a vacuum of chaos, death and destruction that has allowed terrorism to run rampant in the region with the help of a US Occupation that is still going on to this day.
But what ever happened to some of the most outspoken architects of the Iraq War? Where are they today, and have they ever faced consequences for the horrific and unspeakable war crimes they committed?
Bill Kristol – He is the co-founder of the infamous Neocon think tank ‘Project for the New American Century’ which called on the Clinton Administration to attack Saddam Hussein back in 1998 — and then warned of a “new Pearl Harbor” a year before 9/11. One of the top supporters of the Invasion of Iraq — he now resides as a political commentator and pro-war talking head — where his pinned message on Twitter is a quote from the famous Ukrainian Nazi leader who oversaw the killing of thousands of innocent civilians during World War II.
John Bolton – Another PNAC bro who served as the Bush Administration’s Under Secretary of State. A man who never met a war he didn’t like — Bolton sold the lie of WMDs, which kept him in Government — and he most recently served as Trump’s National Security Advisor, where he advocated for bombing Iran and North Korea, and supported a failed Government Overthrow in Venezuela. Yet he’s never been charged for the crimes he has committed.
Donald Rumsfeld – Then-Secretary of Defense, he also made PNAC to the Bush Administration. Yet even though Rumsfeld was caught lying about everything from WMDs to CIA torture — he was never charged for his crimes before he died in 2021.
Paul Wolfowitz – And it’s a similar case for the former Deputy Secretary of Defense, who went on to double down in his support of the invasion of Iraq — claiming in 2013 that even if Saddam didn’t have WMDs back then — the war was still justified because it would have happened eventually. And yet this man has never been charged with a crime.
Dick Cheney – Then there’s the former Vice President — one of the most corrupt, evil Americans to exist. This man was the architect of not only the Iraq invasion but also the NSA surveillance program which continues to target innocent Americans. Cheney knew exactly what he was doing, and he has made millions from his work with Halliburton, as he turned to the private sector to profit off of the wars he helped start. He’s also still alive, and still hasn’t been charged for the war crimes he committed.
George W Bush – That’s also the case for former President George W Bush. He went from standing in front of that “Mission Accomplished” sign to being fully rehabilitated as a friendly, retired grandpa who paints in his spare time and shares candy with Michelle Obama.
Rachel Blevins 