It is interesting to me that, TB was in the military.
Actually, while I have a military background, I have to step forward and make a correction. I was not IN the military, per se. I do, just the same, maintain a network of contacts. At one time, I overlooked the involvement of these friends who
did take the oath, back when I was a liberal. As I grew in understanding of life, the world, and the uniqueness of the United States, I also grew in respect of the work that these old friends did on our behalf, all over the earth. They deserve our support, and so does their Commander in Chief.
Of course he had them everyone knows that, but it is becoming more and more obvious that they were destroyed during the UN inspections.
Obvious? Wouldn't that be reassuring. I don't think we can afford to draw that conclusion right now, considering how unlikely it was for Sadaam to comply with the order to destroy his WMD, and yet remain unwilling to show that he had done so.
And dont forget when he gassed the Kurds he was a US ally at the time, we did not break off diplomatic relations with him, we slapped his wrist and continued supporting him (Rumsfeld was trying to build the Aqaba pipeline at the time working with Saddam on behalf of Bechtel).
In the past, we, that is to say the US, has given support to a country under a theory of "the lesser of two evils". This does not mean that the recipient is an "ally". Bechtel's interest as a contractor was just not sufficiently important to make this relationship a necessity.
While a pipeline helps provide economic stablity to the region, and hopefully lures a dictator like Sadaam into the arena of nations where we can bring his people out of tyranny through working economic relationships, and therefore enhance our interests, it is not a reason to overlook the murder of the Kurds.
In fact when He was gassing the Iranians we continued giving him logistical support and even increased oue support to Saddam, this whole scam had nothing to do with "freeing the Iraqi's" or protecting the world from Saddams tyranny, thats just good proppaghanda to gain the americans populations support for war.
Consider the other possible outcomes of the Iran/Iraq war, and you will see that another possibility would have been a larger, stronger Iran, and a situation that could be worse than the one we face now. As humans, we don't make perfect choices, but the knowlege that this area of the world is a complex mess cannot justify our withdrawl from this area because it is not clear cut and definitive.
There is good propaganda and there is bad propaganda.
When it is good, it represents the truth of our position and the reality of the conflict, the players, and what is at stake. This "good" variety is usually practiced by nations of free poeple, and the bad kind is usually used by dictatorships.
As far as the claim that the US cannot disclose its sources of information and intelligence, thats just another scam. What threat do these sources face now?
Not all of these sources are in Iraq, and the threat to them is great. Our operatives in Syria, for example, are monitoring the movements of important Iraqi figures, just as our people in Iran are doing. I can't tell you what has been discovered through these agents, but these sources face being compromised every day.
Also if their Intelligence and informayion they provided to the CIA was good and solid WHY HAVE THEY NOT FOUND ANYTHING IN OVER FOUR MONTHS!!!
It only takes a little imagination to picture different scenarios. First, the length of time Sadaam had to move and conceal on a daily basis. This creates "lag time" in intel. As the likelihood of war increased, and we talked and talked and talked, it very likely became increasingly difficult to maintain any semblance of a normal chain of intel in this primitive region. There is another factor, too. It's the "sucker factor". There are remnants of the Republican Guard who may be still working secretly to determine security leaks. Say they purposely let some small WMD location be known to a possible US operative to see if we show up there the next day. If we take the bait and swoop down, the agent is compromised and we only have a small "trophy" item to show for our efforts. Then we have lost the agent, who will be shortly disposed of by the Guard, and we can no longer find out
anything through this channel. Get the idea?
This was in the late eighties, no doubt Rumsfel was pissed and the demonization process of Saddam; and the US and Bechtels plans for regime change began.
This would actually be funny, if I wasn't convinced that you believe it. I know of no one at Bechtel or the intel community who agrees with this position, and you can bet that it would be well known if it were the truth. Sadaam was a demon long before Bechtel. As I explained, sometimes a Sadaam is just the lesser of two evils, and not making a choice to support one or the other is not an option.
The Demonization didnt begin when he gassed the Iranians or the Kurds or during is dictatorship of rape and murder in the eighties, it began when Rumsfeld and Bechtel were denied the Aqaba pipeline.
No, the demonization happened long before that. We hoped to use this demon to advance our interests in stability and freedom in the region. As imperfect
men, we often make errors along the way. Hopefully fewer errors than those who are unconcerned about tyranny in general.
Of course, you are free to characterize the US in any way you like. Your view may actualy be popular elsewhere. Perhaps Europe? Certaily among those UN nations named to important councils like human rights. Just an observation.
