Quote:
Originally posted by RawAlex@Jun 22 2004, 09:04 AM
When you want to talk about re-writing history, let's talk about Chenney still talking about how Saddam and BinLadin were best buddies and they were both working together to get the US. Let's talk about how the Bush administration has managed to make the US public believe that the war in Iraq is as a result of the 9/11 attacks, that Saddam is somehow personally responsible. Let's talk about how the whole WMD thing just sort of disappeared into the wind... and how suddenly that wasn't the justification for war.
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Are you saying that the US intelligence community didn't really believe that Iraq had WMD's? Are you saying that 9-11 didn't legitimately increase the concern within the United States defense establishment that WMDs in the hands of state actors such as Saddam were a clear and present danger to the United States? On what do you base that?
What were Bush's reasons for going to war? Not just "WMDs". Not just "9-11". Bush didn't concoct WMD intelligence. It was there before he even took office. The belief was prevalent among many in the highest echelons of the US intelligence services that Saddam had WMDs going well back into the 1990s.
These are the reasons given in the ultimatum to Saddam in the order that they appear.
1. Bad faith and violation of 12 years of UN resolutions
2. WMD intelligence
3. history of Saddam's actions in the Middle East
4. harboring and supporting terrorists including Al Qaeda
5. Danger that Iraq could continue to support terrorists elevating to WMDs.
Why do you not believe that he and many others didn't honestly believed these things? The evidence for an al Qaeda/Iraq connection may be weak but it is there. It certainly leads some people to believe there is one (not me). Why not Tenet? Why not Bush? Why not Clinton or Kerry?
What indication, if any, did Bush give before 9-11 that he was anything but an isolationist? Prior to 9-11, Bush was accused of being isolationist and creating a "Fortress America". What changed him?
Last edited by Colin at Jun 22 2004, 09:30 AM