the top ten myths about iraq, 2008 version

Juan Cole has his top 10 myths about Iraq, 2008 version. Read his post for all the details; the list is below.

Top Ten Myths about Iraq, 2008

1. Iraqis are safer because of Bush's War. Um, no. Read Juan Cole.

2. Large numbers of Iraqis in exile abroad have returned. Not true. Read Juan Cole.

3. Iraqis are materially better off because of Bush's war. No way. Read Juan Cole.

4. The Bush administration scored a major victory with its Status of Forces Agreement. They wish; fact is we're being booted out. Read Juan Cole.

5. Minorities in Iraq are safer since Bush's invasion. Oh so very false. Read Juan Cole.

6. The sole explanation for the fall in the monthly death rate for Iraqi civilians was the troop excalation or surge of 30,000 extra US troops in 2007. Simplistic and inaccurate, oh and also wrong. Read Juan Cole.

7. John McCain alleged that if the US left Iraq, it would be promptly taken over by al-Qaeda. You'll be surprised to know John McCain is wrong wrong wrong. Read Juan Cole.

8. The Iraq War made the world safer from terrorism. Au contraire, Iraq is now a major training ground for terrorists, which it wasn't before March 2003. Read Juan Cole.

9. Bush went to war in Iraq because he was given bad intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction capabilities. No, the intelligence was just the de facto Bush administration's EXCUSE to go to war. Read Juan Cole.

10. Douglas Feith and other Neoconservatives didn't really want a war with Iraq (!). Outrageously, blatantly, and intentionally misleadingly, history-revisingly false. Pushing a war with Iraq was the Neocons' pet project in the 1990s. Again, Read Juan Cole.

In conclusion, believe nothing the de facto Bush administration, the Republican Party, and the right-wing noise machine say about Iraq. Oh, and be sure to read Juan Cole..