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On ISIS, neocons and liberal hawks have a 'boy who cried wolf' problem
The Week ^ | Sep 3 2014 | James Antle III

Posted on 09/07/2014 7:43:53 PM PDT by WilliamIII

If you're wondering why America's political leaders seem so hesitant to devise a response to the frightening rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, let me tell you a story. It's about the neocons and liberal hawks who cried wolf.

Once upon a time, some foreign-policy hands warned that unless the United States invaded Iraq, Islamic radicals — the kind who murdered thousands of Americans on 9/11 — would obtain weapons of mass destruction.

During the hunt for Osama bin Laden, they warned against losing sight of the danger of a possibly nuclear-armed Iraq. "[T]he larger campaign must also go after Saddam Hussein," Gary Schmitt and Tom Donnelly wrote in the Weekly Standard after 9/11. "He might well be implicated in [the 9/11] attacks … or he might not. But as with bin Laden, we have long known that Saddam is our enemy, and that he would strike us as hard as he could."

Invading Iraq would not only prevent these weapons from falling into the terrorists' hands, the war hawks claimed. It would also result in the creation of a democracy whose people would greet us as liberators and whose government would become a reliable ally in the war on terror.

The Iraq War would drain the swamp of terrorists. It would light a fire in the minds of men. It would create a democratic domino effect throughout the region.

Obviously, most of this fairy tale proved to be utterly false. It now seems plain that the results of the Iraq War were almost precisely the opposite of what its most ardent supporters promised.

(Excerpt) Read more at theweek.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: isis; neocons; obamaforeignpolicy; obamanostrategy
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1 posted on 09/07/2014 7:43:53 PM PDT by WilliamIII
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To: WilliamIII

NEOKHANN!!!

2 posted on 09/07/2014 7:46:45 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: WilliamIII

The Week does not require linking and excerpting. Were you aware of that?


3 posted on 09/07/2014 7:52:14 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself.)
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To: WilliamIII

Might just be me but it continually amazes me how people can publish things that are exactly the opposite of what is true.

The neocons were right, are right, will be right.

America is the world policeman. Liberals and libertarians wish we weren’t— which is utterly irrelevant.

The colonialists were not isolationist. Jefferson did build the marines and attack the muslims in Libya.

Somehow it is useful to continually fill American newspapers with inane complaints about how we should not have to fight wars.


4 posted on 09/07/2014 8:05:40 PM PDT by lonestar67 (I remember when unemployment was 4.7 percent / Cruz 2016)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

no, didn’t know that. better safe than sorry


5 posted on 09/07/2014 8:05:45 PM PDT by WilliamIII
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To: 1rudeboy

Neocon schmeocon


6 posted on 09/07/2014 8:07:32 PM PDT by Califreak (Hope and Che'nge is killing U.S.)
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To: lonestar67

we may be the world’s policeman, but the invasion of Iraq was a huge mistake and created a disaster. about three disasters, actually.


7 posted on 09/07/2014 8:10:26 PM PDT by WilliamIII
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To: 1rudeboy

“Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.”


8 posted on 09/07/2014 8:11:03 PM PDT by JohnKinAK
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To: WilliamIII

Here are the Iraq war mistakes:

1. Saying the war started on false pretenses— it didn’t— he did have WMD
2. Saying we were losing when we were winning.
3. Demonizing our own soldiers.
4. Representing evil as innocent victims.
5. Refusing to celebrate our victories in iraq as victories.

Honestly, I think neo cons should gloat about present heartbreaks in Iraq. ISIS is exactly what Bush predicted would happen if we followed the libertarian/ Obama axis of non-war.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amr45PddqHM


9 posted on 09/07/2014 8:20:11 PM PDT by lonestar67 (I remember when unemployment was 4.7 percent / Cruz 2016)
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To: WilliamIII
The Iraq war would drain the swamp of terrorist.

This is what you a call a writer making stuff up to support a desired narrative.
10 posted on 09/07/2014 8:33:54 PM PDT by nhwingut (This tagline for lease)
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To: lonestar67

It did not take a lot of smarts to see the chaos in Iraq coming, even I could see we were screwing up when we left.


11 posted on 09/07/2014 8:39:11 PM PDT by jospehm20
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To: lonestar67

Yep.


12 posted on 09/07/2014 9:08:01 PM PDT by Eagles6 (Valley Forge Redux. If not now, when? If not here, where? If not us then who?)
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To: WilliamIII
Asked if he would have ordered the U.S.-led invasion if intelligence reports had accurately indicated that Saddam did not have the weapons, Bush replied: “You know, that's an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can't do. It's hard for me to speculate.”
Bush regrets 'intelligence failure' in Iraq December 1, 2008 8:13 PM By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

13 posted on 09/07/2014 9:20:40 PM PDT by sickoflibs (King Obama : 'The debate is over. The time for talk is over. Just follow my commands you serfs""')
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To: WilliamIII
George W. Bush Apologizes for Iraq War Mar 20, 2013

Says it was his biggest mistake.

14 posted on 09/07/2014 9:27:23 PM PDT by sickoflibs (King Obama : 'The debate is over. The time for talk is over. Just follow my commands you serfs""')
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To: lonestar67

” he did have WMD”

Please provide something describing the WMDs that Saddam Hussein possessed. The only weapons I’ve ever seen anyone produce were a few artillery rounds with poison gas.


15 posted on 09/07/2014 9:27:54 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: Pelham

Bunp!


16 posted on 09/07/2014 9:29:37 PM PDT by sickoflibs (King Obama : 'The debate is over. The time for talk is over. Just follow my commands you serfs""')
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To: WilliamIII

This article is utter garbage.


17 posted on 09/07/2014 9:34:26 PM PDT by ifinnegan
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To: nhwingut

‘The Iraq war would drain the swamp of terrorist.’

“This is what you a call a writer making stuff up to support a desired narrative. “

Actually it’s the writer paraphrasing Donald Rumsfeld from Sept 18, 2001:

“The best way to get at the terrorist networks is to “drain the swamp they live in,” Rumsfeld said, referring to action against countries that harbor terrorist activities. “

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=44863


18 posted on 09/07/2014 9:37:46 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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To: ifinnegan

except the parts - i.e. most of it - that are spot-on true.

“Thank you George Bush for invading Iraq and replacing our biggest enemy - Saddam - with a government Shiites, former exiles from Iraq who we had harbored during Saddam’s regime. Since you invaded and replaced Saddam, Iraq is now our closest ally. Thank you W!”
- Iran


19 posted on 09/07/2014 9:43:31 PM PDT by WilliamIII
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To: ifinnegan; WilliamIII

It looks accurate enough to me.

There was a ‘Democracy Project’ faction that believed that they could change the very nature of the Middle East by converting an Islamic country into a democracy.

Some of these people were affiliated with the Project for a New American Century which had issued a letter urging Bill Clinton to invade Iraq in 1998. Well before 9/11 you will notice.

I suggest you give this a glance:

http://www.rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/project_for_the_new_american_century


20 posted on 09/07/2014 9:51:43 PM PDT by Pelham (California, what happens when you won't deport illegals)
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