Did you read the Clinton statements about Hussein and Iraq? How about the UN resolutions over WMD in Iraq? There's a very long history of suspicion about WMD in Iraq.Ickabod said:SC Vet:
I don't have time to sit here and address you point by point. Let me say this. Saddam had no weapons. Ok? Bush knew this. He says he went in "on the best intelligence".
I guess this is where we disagree. Iraq had two nuclear weapons programs, one in the early 80's, one in the early 90's. Iraq produced and used poison gas against the Kurds and Iran.
I don't see how you can argue that Bush "knew" there wasn't any WMD in Iraq when the preponderance of evidence prior to GW2 was the opposite.
That was one of Hussein's stupidest mistakes, ejecting the UN inspectors in 1998 (BTW, note the year). After that, no one could know what was happening in Iraq. So your assertion that the best people to know what was going on in Iraq, the inspectors on the ground, is false. There hadn't been any inspectors in Iraq since 1998. In any case, Iraq's early 90's nuclear program was entirely missed by the UN inspectors. I think that was probably a major reason why the US felt that the inspection programs were unreliable. That inspection failure happened again just recently in North Korea.We know for a fact that he ignored the "best intelligence" which were the inspectors on the ground in Iraq peaking around. What better intelligence is there than that? I'm not sure what part of that doesn't sink in, but that's the simple fact.
You've lost me. Isn't it true that Hussein attacked two Muslim nations without any pretext? How does saying that Hussein is a murderous terrorist make Muslims hate the US? How does that not make Hussein a terrorist? I'm sure the Iranian soldiers who were hit with poison gas and the 350+ Kuwaiti citizens who are still missing after GW1 were terrorized.Also, you stated Hussein is a terrorist because he went into Kuwait and Iran without provocation. Think about that statement for a minute. And you probably wonder why they hate us.
I don't get it, are you actually defending Hussein? Are you actually saying that he wasn't a menace to every country in the region, including US allies?
No, as I said, Saudi Arabia gets a pass because they've cooperated with the US after 9/11. Some elements in Saudi Arabia want to harm the US and the current Saudi government is now rounding those people up and putting them in jail.So you think Saudi Arabia gets a pass because they supplied only money to Al Qaida? As opposed to the country that supplied, well, nothing? But Iraq wanted us harmed? And i suppose supplying Al Qaida with funding doesn't indicate they wanted us harmed? And they've reformed? Ok, whatever. So did Hussein. He did exactly what he was asked....got rid of his WMD program, and we knew it.
Saudi Arabia couldn't supply WMD to al Qaeda so the harm they could do was limited to money. Iraq historically has always had WMD and used them. AFAIK, that was the basis of the decision to go to GW2.
I've never seen anyone allege that Bush "knew" that all the WMD had been removed from Iraq before the war started. Do you have some links for that? How could anyone know such a thing?
BTW, were you serious when you said that Iraq didn't want to harm the US or was that another bit of sarcasm that I'm missing? I'm sure Bush Sr would disagree with you, Hussein tried to have him assassinated.
I read those reports. Actually, they all said the same thing, that the Bush adminstration never claimed that Iraqi oil revenues would pay for the entire war and reconstruction, as you alleged.And Bush may have known the Iraqi oil revenues are too small to pay for this thing. But he said it. Wolfowitz specifically said it before Congress. What he knows and what he passes off on the American people are definitely 2 different things so i wouldn't let that little fact deter ya.
I report, you decide.
Wolfiwitz's statement is consistent with that, even he said that "Iraq would be able to pick up much of the tab for postwar rebuilding".
And that's exactly what is happening.
Do you have a link that supports your contention that Bush said Iraqi oil would pay for the entire military operation and reconstruction?
But I think this quote is very apt:
"NSC spokesman Mike Anton said that in the event of war and a military occupation the oil revenues would be used "not so much to fund the operation and maintaining American forces but for humanitarian aid, refugees, possibly for infrastructure rebuilding, that kind of thing."
That's pretty much exactly what the US has done and I don't see any problem with it.
Last edited: