"Sending Americans into battle is the most profound decision a president can make. The technologies of war have changed, the risks and suffering of war have not. For the brave Americans who bear the risk, no victory is free from sorrow. This nation fights reluctantly, because we know the cost, and we dread the days of mourning that always come."
--George W. Bush,
State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Said our judgments were all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy and it is not an option.".
--George W. Bush,
State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
"You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east and there are a lot of new members and if you just take the list of all the members of NATO and all those that have been invited in recently, what is it twenty-six, something like that, you look at vast numbers of other countries in Europe, they're not with France and Germany on this, they're with the United States."
--Donald Rumsfeld, January 23, 2003
The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war
You don't need a weatherman to see that grassroots opposition to a U.S. war with Iraq is gathering fast. Today's peace movement already draws big protest crowds even before the shooting has begun, and its ranks are more diverse than the 1960s movement, which took a few years to grow. Fueling dissent is the perception that Bush's call for a unilateral first strike against Iraq is arbitrary.
-Rene Ciria-Cruz, Pacific News Service
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
The battle plan is based on a concept developed at the National Defense University. It's called "Shock and Awe" and it focuses on the psychological destruction of the enemy's will to fight rather than the physical destruction of his military forces.
"We want them to quit. We want them not to fight," says Harlan Ullman, one of the authors of the Shock and Awe concept which relies on large numbers of precision guided weapons.
"So that you have this simultaneous effect, rather like the nuclear weapons at Hiroshima, not taking days or weeks but in minutes," says Ullman.
--CBS News Report, January 24, 2003
I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
'cause I know that the hypnotized never lie
"Tonight I ask Congress and the American people to focus the spirit of service and the resources of government on the needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens: boys and girls trying to grow up without guidance and attention, and children who have to go through a prison gate to be hugged by their mom or dad."
--George W. Bush,,
State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
Yeah!
We are veterans of the United States armed forces. We stand with the majority of humanity, including millions in our own country, in opposition to the United States' all out war on Iraq. We span many wars and eras, have many political views and we all agree that this war is wrong. Many of us believed serving in the military was our duty, and our job was to defend this country. Our experiences in the military caused us to question much of what we were taught. Now we see our REAL duty is to encourage you as members of the U.S. armed forces to find out what you are being sent to fight and die for and what the consequences of your actions will be for humanity. We call upon you, the active duty and reservists, to follow your conscience and do the right thing.
--calltoconscience.net
There's nothing in the street looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced by-the-by
And the parting on the left is now parting on the right
And the beards have grown no longer overnight
President Bush's attitude will be evident in the annual State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday. He will undoubtedly rattle his sabre but is not expected to draw it yet. And on Friday, Mr Bush will hold talks at Camp David in the US with Tony Blair about their strategy. Trying to convince an unconvinced world that action is needed is going to be a large part of their task.
--Paul Reynolds,
BBC News Online world affairs correspondent
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
"The United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February the 5th to consider the facts of Iraq's ongoing defiance of the world. Secretary of State Powell will present information and intelligence about Iraqi's -- Iraq's illegal weapons programs, its attempts to hide those weapons from inspectors and its links to terrorist groups.
We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm for the safety of our people, and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him."
--George W. Bush,
State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
Lyrics as recorded by The Who
on their 1971 album, Who's Next
Lyrics abbreviated to meet fair use standards