hier mal ein weiteres Schmankerl zum Thema WMD:
Okay, well, outtakes: went back to the microfilm today to February 1998, when the Clinton adminstration was making the case for attacking Iraq. How things change. Clinton was arguing that Saddam not only had WMD, but that one day he might want to make more WMD, and this wasnt acceptable. Interesting to read between the lines - the Clinton administration seemed to be arguing that the potential for future production was itself a valid reason to strike. Military force is never "the first answer,' Clinton said, but sometimes its the only answer. It Saddam isnt stopped now, the AP story said, quoting Clinton,He will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to rebuild an arsenal of devastating destruction. And someday, someway, I guarantee you, hell use that arsenal. Thus spake Clinton in 1998. He went on to note that the strikes planned could not possibly destroy Saddams arsenal, because A) they didnt know where everything was, and B) they didnt want to kill Iraqis by unleashing clouds of toxins. And it gets better: a sidebar noted that this war plan Desert Thunder had been prepared weeks before, in case Saddam stiffed in the inspectors.
Bill Clinton had a plan to go to war before the crisis flared! What does that tell you? Obviously, he was looking for any excuse! Halliburton! We all know about the ties between Clinton and Halliburton he gave them a sweet no-bid contract after his Balkans war, you know.
Anyway: it's deja vut all over again. You want to talk imminence? WMD? Democratic concern and conviction? Go back to the papers of 1998; its all there, right down to the terrorist links: Hezbollah, for example, swears it will strike Israel if the US attacks Iraq. (A poll of Palestinians showed that 94% supported Iraq, and 77% wanted Iraq to kill Jews if the US attacked Iraq.) Bob Dole was quoted as supporing the strikes but urging Clinton to seek Congressional Authorization. A story on Bush 41s reaction said that the former president would completely support Clinton if he decided to attack, but noted that Bush 41 urged Clinton to get more international support - which was lacking at the time.
And indeed, Kofi struck a deal. Which fell apart by summertime. Which lead to cruise missile strikes. Which lead to boredom and disengagement. Which lead to half a decade of Saddam on the throne and the dissidents in the shredders and the tots in the gulag and dead people heaped in ditches and oil-for-palaces deals and Uday and Qusay pleasuring themselves in Rapeland Incorporated and Abu Nidal putting his feet up in a Baghdad apartment, pouring a nice cool glass of tea, and thinking: ah. This is the life.
Im so old I actually remember when the Democrats cared about Iraq.
http://www.lileks.com/bleats/archive/04/0204/021004.html
Ein weiteres Indiz, dass sich die Plaene von Wolfowitz auszahlen?
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syria has sent messages to bitter foe Israel via Turkey offering to restart stalled peace talks between the two countries, Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam said Wednesday.
The messages carried by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul expressed ``Syria's readiness to resume peace talks from where they broke off'' in January 2000, Khaddam said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3763659,00.html
Zahlt sich die Bush-Doktrin am Ende doch aus?
I don't really like the Bush Doctrine, okay?
After 9-11, I thought we should confine our efforts to the Al Qaeda organization. Instead, Bush decided to condemn half the Middle East with his Axis of Evil speech and roll tanks into Iraq.
It bothered me. It still bothers me. But dammit, if you look at the patterns, it seems to be working. The Middle East thinks Bush is batshit crazy, and their governments are afraid of us. Do you get that? The bad guys are afraid of us, because against all logic and common sense, we went into Iraq and we took Saddam down. . . .
In 2001, New York was burning and we were afraid. Today, there are American flags flying in Baghdad and our enemies are afraid.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/michaelduff/103623.html