Ford, CUDA pretty much nailed it. Saddam lost a war and agreed to terms to avoid being overthrown back then...he failed to live up to the terms, Bush pressed the issue holding the U.N.'s feet to the fire...they failed to live up to their charter and Saddam was the loser in the end.
If China ever gets the U.S. by the short hairs like that and then wants to inspect tell them to start with my house....I got something I want to show them!
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Tunnelcat, catch....
tunnelcat wrote:Saddam flipped the bird at the U.S. and the Bush/Cheney Administration, which was already looking for an excuse to invade BEFORE 911, fell for it.
It sounds like you think Saddam wanted the outcome he got and he tricked Bush into doing something he didn't want to do. I think you have it backwards.
As to your links where politicians get to play monday morning quarterback and cherry pick the analysis they want to use to support their new found understanding of what Saddam had or didn't have lets look at what they had to say when it wasn't politically expedient to spin the whole thing as a Bush con job shall we...
Before Bush was elected
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
This was a quote from President Clinton during a presentation at the Pentagon defending a decision to conduct military strikes against Iraq.
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
Bill Clinton went to the Pentagon on this occasion to be briefed by top military officials about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.
His remarks followed that briefing.
"Iraq is a long way from USA but, what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998
This is a quote from Albright during an appearance at Ohio State University by Albright, who was Secretary of State for Bill Clinton.
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998
This was at the same Ohio State University appearance as Madeline Albright.
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998
The text of this statement by Nancy Pelosi is posted on her congressional website.
"Hussein has .. chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999
This was from an appearance Albright made in Chicago.
She was addressing the embargo of Iraq that was in effect at the time and criticism that it may have prevented needed medical supplies from getting into the country. Albright said, "There has never been an embargo against food and medicine. It's
just that Hussein has just not chosen to spend his money on that. Instead, he has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction, and palaces for his cronies."
After Bush was elected but before anyone knew for sure what was in Iraq
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our
security."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002
"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime He presents a
particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real ..."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan.23.2003
"We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S.Constitution and Laws, to take necessary actions, (including, if appropriate,air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998
According to the U.S. Senate website, the text of this letter was signed by several Senators, both Democrat and Republican, including Senator John McCain and Joseph Lieberman.
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
This and the quote below was part of prepared remarks for a speech in San Francisco to The Commonwealth Club.
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002
Part of a speech he gave at Johns Hopkins.
"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue a pace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, December 5, 2001
The only letter with this quote from December 5, 2001 that we could find did not include the participation of Senator Bob Graham, but it was signed nine other senators including Democrat Joe Lieberman.
It urged President Bush to take quicker action against Iraq.
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002
"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998.
We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002
"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated
the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002
"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do" Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep
trying to develop nuclear weapons."
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
After finding out what was in Iraq
Insert endless lying two faced bull★■◆● blaming Bush for tricking them into believing Saddam was a threat here....
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Funny, for a guy they say is stupid Bush must be pretty damn brilliant to have crept into their minds before he was ever president and made them all believe Saddam was a threat. Hell, they even seemed to have more evidence and conviction that Saddam had WMD's than Bush ever claimed to have!!
But you go right on believing what makes you feel good....
,
This administration has nothing good going for it.
1. The removal of Habius Corpus.
War is hell, sometimes we even kill the enemy too!! OMG!
2. Ignoring the Geneva Convention so that they could torture their enemies.
Or acknowledging that the conventions didn't apply to un-uniformed belligerents hiding among civillians...you say potatoe I say Heh!
3. Misleading the U.N., Congress, the American people and the world with false or altered intelligence in order to wage a preemptive war of their choosing, causing the deaths of thousands of our military and untold numbers of Iraqis and neglecting the war in Afghanistan, which we had world support for and where the terrorists were located in the first place.
You mean only the times when Bush was in office right? Because no one seems to be concerned with all the testimony of Saddams WMD's and democrats war mongoring done before he was in office...
4. War profiteering and the creation of a military industrial complex fed by war.
Yea, right. That whole phenomena is definitely a new invention of the Bush administration.
5. Overusing and abusing our military to the point it's wearing out and getting spread thin, possibly endangering our national security.
As if Obama or Hillary were going to use them for anything other than serving drinks at the Whitehouse, maintaining Air Force One or for posing in front of anyway.
6. Bringing religion into government policy (which Reagan started) that has made a mockery of separation of church and state and polarized a relatively pluralistic society.
Oh my! He suggested letting churches dish out free food and blankets during national emergencies!! The horror of the theocracy is upon us!!
6. Running up a defecit so large that it will take generations to pay off, especially with the tax cut and spend mentality.
Well he does spend too much but did he really create the deficit?
7. Privatizing and scaling down our government to the point that it's almost nonfunctional and unresponsive to the people of this country (the Katrina response for example).
The Katrina disaster wasn't the result of scaling down the government it was the result of total failure of the responsible parties to act swiftly starting with the mayor and governor up through Bush's crony at the head of FEMA. So you get partial credit on this one I guess.
8. Wholesale and illegal spying on the American people WITHIN the U.S., not just communications to and from the outside of the country.
I haven't seen any evidence of any spying that wasn't related to tracking terrorist threats. Doesn't mean they didn't have access to unrelated info but can you show me where they actually harvested peoples info for any other purpose? Seems to me they simply performed that function with the same inaccuracy and inefficiency they always muster. I'll concede some concern over the potential but really it hasn't produced much to worry about.
9. The 'corporate invasion' of other nations to bring the 'free market' in the guise of 'democracy'. It's really just corporate manipulation of their governments, jobs and wages, or worse, creates slavery. This part is U.S. Imperialism at it's best if you ask me.
You need to get a dictionary and look up
imperialism and then decide who is going to be the world police of commerce if you don't want free markets! You? Obama? Ossama? The French?!??
By the way Spidey, those 'ideas' that I gave about Bush's reason for invading Iraq (Bush wanting to get back at Saddam for trying to assassinate his father, completing the job his father started, using his "politcal capitol" if he were President, etc.) that you called "stupid", weren't something that I made up. They've been floating around on the radio and internet for quite a while and are based on little tidbits of information that have been dribbling out. Rumors, I'm not so sure anymore with this President and his actions. 70% of the U.S. population believes this President has made the wrong choices.
Well besides reminding you that the fact that something is floating around on the internet proves nothing I just want to point out that when the media quotes polls that show "X" amount of people think Bush is doing things wrong doesn't mean they all think he should stop doing what he's doing!
70% might be 35% wish he would stop and 35% wish he would press on harder and faster!!
Here's some food for thought from a guy who had a little insight into what makes this country tick.
We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams, Oct.11, 1798
please. never served in the Military have you
