I'm probably in the minority here, re: Rachel's Iraq Special. But I thought, 'Is that all you got?'

[onehandle]

No big surprises for me. I guess it's because I'm a politics junkie. It should have been a prime time special on NBC, so that info in one batch could reach less 'educated' watchers.

Also... Don't get wrong... The Bush Cabal should be in jail, but in some ways, they seem less criminal, and Not At All insane like the current GOP players.

Ok, they stole, rather ineptly, a Presidential election. Then 9/11, afterwards there was little we could do in the fear grip of 'terra.' Rachel's special brought back the helpless anger I felt in those years.

The current crop are stealing elections and the House, gerrymandering states from coast to coast, changing laws to prevent Americans from voting, filibustering anything that will help America recover, mainstreaming hate speech against women and minorities, and on and on and on...

I never thought I would say this, but in some ways, the Bush years seem less... apocalyptic.

[Cigar11]

1. You can't fit The Bush Presidency in an hour

... there's way too much material

[leveymg]

2. I only saw part of one episode. Really, not one piece of new information in the whole thing?

Do you get the feeling it was "dumbed down" for an audience unfamiliar with the details? What would you have included that wasn't in there?

Thanks.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

3. There was nothing new and it pisses me off.

All this ended up being is yet another piece of corporate media propaganda. I'm am very disappointed in Rachel for going along with it. Indeed, she should have resigned by now rather than having been a part of it. I was more confident in her integrity than I should have been.

Some of you will be upset at this criticism of Rachel. I'm sorry. I have been a Rachel fan since she came onto the scene and I feel I got to know her a little bit. I thought I knew her well enough that I figured she'd not allow herself to be bullied or manipulated into being complicit in the biggest global crime in history - the lie of the Iraq War. I have to assume she was bullied because I am incapable of thinking she'd go along with this new documentary full of long-known information and devoid of anything new, especially cosidering the pre-broadcast hype. But by rehashing the same old stuff that hasn't resulted in jack shit in the way of justice, instead of putting the screws to Cheney and his gang of henchmen, she has the appearance of being a sellout. I would have expected her to stand on principle. I am discouraged and disappointed that she did not.

[spanone]

4. when's the last time any media has exposed any of this? ...never

[ChisolmTrailDem]

5. Oh I agree, it's never been broadcast to this extent and exposure. And

I am glad it was Rachel that did it. I haven't lost all my love for Rachel, I'm just disappointed - like I would be with one of my kids when they didn't live up to their full potential.

When she declared that "heads will explode" I expected some new revelations that would kick off the beginnings of justice, not the same stuff everyone who cares to know what happened (and those are the only ones who watched 'Hubris') already know. I was disappointed when the end of the documentary came and I was no further along than I was in 2003.

I guess I expected too much from it.

[shraby]

6. Propaganda is inherently untrue..every bit of the documentary was true.

How can you possibly call it propaganda?
It's not Rachel's fault those bumbling idiots are not in prison. It's her job to bring such information to the public which she did as coherently as she could with such a convoluted story.
It's the up to the DOJ and/or Congress to bring them to justice, and according to the Geneva Conventions, the international community to punish them if our country can't bring itself to.
A big element in this is the education of all Americans as to what went down. Mr. Shraby knew things weren't right about the Iraq War, but was working long hours and didn't have the time to follow it very good. All he could do was swear throughout the documentary about what he didn't know before.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

8. Perhaps my definition of "propaganda" is too expansive and its use not entirely appropriate here...

What I meant was that what is already known and left un-acted upon versus what is true but not reported is, to me, propaganda. It's meant to cement one version, the version upon which no action has been taken and for which none is expected - even as a result of this documentary being broadcast so widely by Rachel, as it never has been before. The sad fact is, 'Hubris' will not result in any more being done in the name of justice than has already been done with this decade old information. Which is to say, nothing.

I would be willing to remove the word propaganda if this explanation is insufficient.

[RobertEarl]

12. It could be an 'In your Face' show

As in: "Hey suckers, here's what we did and we got away with it and left you holding the bag". I could see Bush Cheney Rove having a good chuckle over the report.

[RebelOne]

7. I gotta agree.

I knew all the facts she had in the broadcast. I was aware of them before we even invaded Iraq. That is why I hated Bush and his cronies for the 8 years he was in office. All the innocent people who died or who were maimed for nothing.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

9. You know, Saddam was an asshole, no doubt. Regardless, I keep

remembering a picture from pre-war Iraq (I think) of a young couple walking along a boardwalk with the Euphrates (or Tigris) River on one side and shops and cafes on the other and something about the smell of coffee or tea and life being good. It's been alot of years but maybe someone here remembers this photo and associated story.

Anyhow, Saddam may have been an asshole if you got in his or his family's way, but otherwise the Iraqis seemed to have decent lives, with couples in love and tea on Euphrates. And a good economy from what I recall.

Those innocent people should never have died for a war conjured up by neocons to satisfy their greed. And neither should have all the troops from every nation that somehow fell for their con. They need to pay for what they did and 'Hubris' did not deliver as I know Rachel could have.

[OldDem2012]

15. I also recall that there was a synagogue in Baghdad when Saddam was in power....

....say what anyone will about Saddam, but he was not a religious fanatic. Saddam disliked Osama for the same reason, and never allowed Al Qaeda to operate on Iraqi soil.

No links to Al Qaeda, and no WMDs.

Everyone...everyone....who died during the Iraq War died for no valid reason whatsoever. W, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Tennant, and everyone else involved in their deaths should be tried for war crimes, primarily mass murder.

[WilliamPitt]

10. You are not alone.

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14688-the-united-states-of-aftermath

[leveymg]

13. I am glad the Charles River missed you that day.

That is a great story about the MSNBC Producer and her poisoned offer - I'm glad you missed that turn in the road, too.

Thumbs up.

[1-Old-Man]

11. If you had been paying attention at the time the show wasn't much, but ....

I am sure that for a lot of people who were just buying into the bullshit being repeated or ignored by the press the show was very informative. But for those of us, and obvious you, who paid attention there was nothing new to be seen, just a rehash of the last decade.

You know what the real problem here is? Eric Holder. If there had been any substantive investigation into the billions of missing cash dollars in Iraq, pallets full of $100 bills, it would have lead to the top of both the military and civilian management as well as political leaders. But it never happened and that asswipe is still at Justice.

[Cleita]

14. The problem with Bush getting away with what he got away with

especially since he should never have been sworn in as President until every last vote in Florida had been recounted, is that the abuses of his administration opened the door for the further abuses we are now experiencing. This whole secret cabal is now out in the open committing unabashed treason and other criminal acts blatantly and without apology because they can.

[kentuck]

16. i think it was good of her to remind people about what happened...

Seems a lot of people had forgotten or had never known, even some folks here on DU had not heard of some of the things she reported. So I think it was useful and beneficial.