Bush 'planned Iraq war pre-9/11'

[Ned]

Originally posted by NeOmega


What wars?

Oh, let me guess, you believe Bush when he says Iraq is over and won. And you also believe Afghanistan is a stable and prosperous democracy.

Both wars have hardly even started, but in typical short sighted, short attention spanned American fashion, you think they are over.

TWO YEARS FROM NOW soldiers will still be dying daily in Iraq, mark my words.

NeOmega, I think you doth protest too much. Your criticisms are entirely directed at post major combat operations.

Clearly our deficiencies here relate in many ways to the size of our combat forces. We simply do not he had an army large enough to occupy both Afghanistan and Iraq while leaving enough combat power left over to provide a credible deterrent elsewhere. But this is hardly Rumsfeld fault, is it? The size of the army we currently have was set under Bill Clinton.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Maybe Clinton didn't expect his successor to fight a half-dozen wars at once.

Hati, Kosovo, & Bosnia. I count at least three during Clinton's time.

[Ned]

Originally posted by shawnmmcc

Let's evaluate Iraq. If Bush's policy was regime change, without paying any attention to what resulted afterwards, then the man is a fool and learned nothing from history.

Let us be clear and let us be fair: The policy régime change in Iraq was set not by George Bush, but by Bill Clinton and by a joint resolution of Congress in 1998.

[Ned]

Originally posted by skywalker


Yes, he's good at PR.

Ned, you're WAY too trusting.

Skywalker, and you're way too eager to jump in with a personal attack.

The information about Rumsfeld requesting that the US soldier be a person of the year and not himself was directly from Time itself.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Agathon
Once again Bush is revealed as a total cretin.

One day it might come out that Bush knew all about 9/11 and let it happen so as to insure his re-election.

Improbable? Yes.

But if it ever happened you could be be 100% certain that all the usual suspects would be on here defending Bush to the hilt for his vision and "political savvy" and attempting to pin the blame on Clinton.

If Bush is a cretin, so is Bill Clinton and the United States Congress, for Iraqi régime change was the policy that began in 1998 with Bill Clinton and a joint resolution of United States Congress.

[Ned]

Originally posted by Agathon


The sooner the American right are cured of this ridiculous fantasy, the better for humanity. The US simply can't afford the diplomatic, political and economic costs of such an insane scheme.

They really should quit while they're ahead, or there'll be tears before bedtime.

Extrapolation to the extreme!

As I mentioned before, the Iraqi régime change was a policy set by Bill Clinton and United States Congress in 1998.

Everything else is fantasy dreamed up by the likes of General Clark.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Ned


Extrapolation to the extreme!

As I mentioned before, the Iraqi r�gime change was a policy set by Bill Clinton and United States Congress in 1998.

Everything else is fantasy dreamed up by the likes of General Clark.

And the National Security Policy of the United States by all accounts.

[Ned]

Originally posted by GePap

The porblem is that by limiting himself to a small number of sources that have shared biases the president simply does not get to see any side other than that his advisors hold. If Kennedy had been like this in 1962 we would have invaded Cuba and started WW3.

Kennedy did rely on a small number of advisors, particularly, his brother Bobby.

Bush does seem to have two or three warring camps in his regime that are constantly vying for power and influence.

I leave it for you to figure out who they are.

[Ned]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Who is overextending? BushII or Clinton?

Maybe Clinton didn't expect his successor to fight a half-dozen wars at once.

KrazyHorse, there could be some valid criticism of Rumsfeld for not asking to expand the size of the army.

Also, KrazyHorse, it's not the finding of the war that is the issue, is it?

[Ned]

Originally posted by Agathon


And the National Security Policy of the United States by all accounts.

That doctrine changed only after 9/11 in that we will now consider preemptive war.

A war against Iraq was all but decided as American policy well prior 9/11.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Hati, Kosovo, & Bosnia. I count at least three during Clinton's time.

Bosnia was not a large-scale commitment at time of Kosovo, AFAIK and Haiti was never much of one. I could be wrong, but I really doubt Clinton had anything like half the current number of US troops in combat situations at any one time.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Hati, Kosovo, & Bosnia. I count at least three during Clinton's time.

and Somalia??

[KrazyHorse]

You were in Somalia in 1998?

[DinoDoc]

We're getting there. I knew I missed a few.

[KrazyHorse]

At once, Dino. Perhaps you missed that one.