RE: Obama finally apologizes for murder by drone strike... since it was an American
April 25, 2015 at 8:53 am
(April 25, 2015 at 3:19 am)abaris Wrote: Seriously, did you follow the build up to the invasion in 2003? Did you digest all the lies about WMDs and Saddam supporting Al Quaeda terrorism being put forth back then?
I did. The decision to go in was probably made during the summer of 2002. In addition to WMD's and a terror nexus, I've also heard the theory that G.W. Bush wanted Saddam's ass because Saddam tried to assassinate his father G.H.W. Bush in Kuwait in 1993. Of course no WMD nor sponsorship of al-Qaeda were found. This means Bush was wrong, though not necessarily that he was lying. Saddam used nerve gas on the Kurds in 1988. It's even possible he got rid of his WMD stuff once he knew Hans Blix was coming to town. Saddam had a long and continuous record of dissembling and obstruction on WMD, although it doesn't seem he supported international terrorism. Too concerned with his own staying in power to do that, I suppose.
*see CNN Iraq WMD Inspection timeline: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/meas...ast-facts/
The Bush Administration's motives and plans are a complex story. Other players like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, and so on played major roles. Powell was against the idea, I think.
It's clear Bush didn't do his homework. The aftermath was a complete fiasco with a trenchant Bush refusing to remove his blinders until 2007, when Petraeus took over command. (Petraeus has recently been sentenced for leaking classified info to his publisher following a stint as Obama's CIA director.) I don't like a lot of the stuff we've done in the Middle East. Our policy there indeed runs toward selfishness and lack of understanding: It was that way for France and Britain as well. But I'd like to see an American leftist go in there and do much better. The place is a hornet's nest.
