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So was Trump for WMD in Iraq Before He was Against It?
Flopping Aces ^ | 02-15-16 | Wordsmith

Posted on 02/16/2016 9:42:50 AM PST by Starman417

Trump has exaggerated his supposed opposition to OIF. PolitiFact:

Again, Trump said he was against the war from the very beginning.

"I'm the only one on this stage that said, 'Do not go into Iraq. Do not attack Iraq,'" Trump said. "Nobody else on this stage said that. And I said it loud and strong. And I was in the private sector. I wasn't a politician, fortunately. But I said it, and I said it loud and clear, 'You'll destabilize the Middle East.'"

Trump often repeats this line, and we've rated a similar Trump claim Mostly False, because he didn't appear to take any public position on the war until after the March 2003 invasion. In this more recent version of the statement, he also said he stated his opposition to the war "loud and clear." But the public record of his positions is thin.

Trump's public opposition to OIF only seems to have started in 2004. Before that, would a President Trump have "lied us into war"?

Hat tip Marc Thiessen for these tweets by Andrew Kaczynski:

So there's no proof Trump spoke against going into Iraq but on-record proof he tacitly supported regime change.https://t.co/HboFCopDb5 - andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) February 14, 2016

FACT: Trump wrote about taking out Iraq WMDs more than a year before Bush was even president https://t.co/yQOUJnBC47pic.twitter.com/X30M0G7miC - andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) February 14, 2016

Trump 2000: Iraq has WMDs. Is a threat. Has incentive to attacks us. https://t.co/yQOUJnBC47pic.twitter.com/YLkaRJTSCN - andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) February 14, 2016

So would Trump have "lied" us into war even before 9/11? Andrew Kaczynski:

The text of the 2000 book Trump wrote is damning, not only did he believe Saddam possessed an active WMD program, he also supported war to topple Saddam.

In the book he refers to Saddam as a terrorist threat to the US as well.

This is like a gift from heaven to either Bernie or Hillary whoever wins. It makes clear Trump has been lying though his teeth and his view on Saddam was no different then Bush's at the time.

Kaczynski:
Donald Trump offered a new reason for why, after exhaustive searches, no one has found proof he opposed the Iraq War before it began: People didn't write everything he said.

The comments are a stark difference from what The Donald said at a Republican debate in September of last year, when said he could provide 25 stories showing his early opposition to the Iraq War.

"Well, I did it in 2003. I said before that - don't forget, I wasn't a politician so people didn't write everything I said," Trump said to Meet the Press host Chuck Todd push Trump on the lack of evidence. "I was a businessperson, I was as they say, a world-class businessperson. I built a great company, I employed thousands of people so I'm not a politician but if you look at 2003, there are articles. If you look at 2004, there are articles - in fact, I saw somebody commenting on it last night, that Trump really was against the war."

In September, asked about his Iraq War opposition, Trump said this:

"You can check it out, check out - I'll give you 25 different stories."

A detailed search by BuzzFeed News in September (and other news organization in recent days) did not produce evidence at all Trump opposed the war before the March 2003 start.

The week the war started Trump was quoted as saying it was turning into a "mess" but also said the war would positively impact the stock market, causing it "to go up like a rocket."

So in other words, like a true Democrat who believed Saddam posed a WMD threat and supported Bush's Iraq decision, Trump behaved like the typical weathervane politician and only thought OIF was a bad idea after the going got tough and the momentum of the mainstream press began trumpeting the narrative "Bush lied, people died", "No WMD" (as if that was the sole reason), "Bush attacked the wrong country", and "Mission Accomplished" ridicule.

(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...


TOPICS: Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: bush; iraq; trump

1 posted on 02/16/2016 9:42:50 AM PST by Starman417
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To: Starman417

Already posted

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3397667/posts

but you’re just a post and run freeper so I guess that doesn’t count.


2 posted on 02/16/2016 9:45:30 AM PST by McGruff (Flexibility is a good thing, but you should not be flexible on core principles - Ted Cruz)
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To: Starman417

I stand correct you’re a blog humper for Flopping Aces.


3 posted on 02/16/2016 9:47:58 AM PST by McGruff (Flexibility is a good thing, but you should not be flexible on core principles - Ted Cruz)
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To: Starman417

at least we can confirm he said pu$$y 10 days ago that was important


4 posted on 02/16/2016 9:49:12 AM PST by Lib-Lickers 2
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To: Starman417

Even Bill Clinton thought there were WMD in Iraq. Intelligence in the Middle East made it known Iraq had WMD.
They used chemicals on their own people. When the U.S. invaded Iraq a large group of countries supported the move.
Obama and Clinton removed troops from Iraq. Soon we heard about ISIS. Obama wanted to undo any progress in Iraq by removing the troops. Now Trump is blaming George Bush for political reasons. There is lots of blame to go around. Trump may be blaming Bush so he can say Hillary Clinton supported Bush’s military work in Iraq in General Election.


5 posted on 02/16/2016 10:04:45 AM PST by FreedBird
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To: FreedBird

This is closer to the real story, and it is closer to Trump’s position:

With Americans still feeling the pain and fear of 9/ 11, in 2002 the Bush administration began to build a case for invading Iraq and toppling Saddam Hussein. George W. Bush created a special office in the Pentagon— called the Office of Special Plans— specifically for the purpose of supplying him with intelligence regarding Iraq, a task previously performed by the CIA. He put his friends Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz in charge of that intelligence reporting, creating a political “interpreting” operation that supplanted expert analysis by the CIA.

Suddenly the reports coming to the president, and leaked to the public, were full of contentions that Saddam possessed an arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, and suggested the possibility of nuclear weapons as well. Those accusations provided the ingredients for a well-orchestrated public relations campaign to lay the groundwork for an invasion with the express purpose of deposing Saddam Hussein. The justification: With WMDs at the ready, Saddam posed a threat to the United States.

After months of preparation and a demand that Saddam leave the country “or else,” on March 20, 2003, George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq to begin. U.S. forces rapidly dispatched the Iraqi military and toppled Saddam’s government. In December of 2003, Saddam was captured, and three years later, executed.

Mission accomplished, at least for George W. Bush. The man who plotted to kill his father, and committed untold other crimes, is dead. But 12 years later, more than 4,000 American troops have died in Iraq— and $ 1.7 trillion have already been spent, a number that increases every day. The weapons of mass destruction George W. claimed were there, and used to justify that human and financial cost, were never found.

The people of Iraq? The horror of Saddam has been replaced by the horror of civil war, ISIS, and an entirely uncertain future.

Stone, Roger; Hunt, Saint John (2016-02-16). Jeb! and the Bush Crime Family: The Inside Story of an American Dynasty (Kindle Locations 4272-4286). Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.. Kindle Edition.


6 posted on 02/16/2016 10:11:32 AM PST by SubMareener (Save us from Quarterly Freepathons! Become a MONTHLY DONOR!)
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To: McGruff
Hey Putin/Trump lover...read it and embrace it


7 posted on 02/16/2016 10:21:32 AM PST by lormand (Inside every liberal is a dung slinging monkey)
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To: lormand

I look forward to the first President Trump/President Putin summit. Expect shit will hit the fan shortly after.


8 posted on 02/16/2016 10:34:21 AM PST by McGruff (Flexibility is a good thing, but you should not be flexible on core principles - Ted Cruz)
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To: SubMareener
Trump Wrote Iraq WMDs Were Threat Year Before Bush Took Office:
Consider Iraq. After each pounding from U.S . warplanes, Iraq has dusted itself off and gone right back to work developing a nuclear arsenal. Six years of tough talk and U.S. fireworks in Baghdad have done little to slow Iraq's crash program to become a nuclear power. They've got missiles capable of flying nine hundred kilometers-more than enough to reach Tel Aviv. They've got enriched uranium. All they need is the material for nuclear fission to complete the job, and, according to the Rumsfeld report, we don't even know for sure if they've laid their hands on that yet. That's what our last aerial assault on Iraq in 1999 was about. Saddam Hussein wouldn't let UN weapons inspectors examine certain sites where that material might be stored. The result when our bombing was over? We still don't know what Iraq is up to or whether it has the material to build nuclear weapons. I'm no warmonger. But the fact is, if we decide a strike against Iraq is necessary, it is madness not to carry the mission to its conclusion. When we don't, we have the worst of all worlds: Iraq remains a threat, and now has more incentive than ever to attack us.
The America We Deserve , Donald Trump

SEE ALSO - Trump's Dishonest Iraq War Revisionism

...The invasion of Iraq, he proposed, was based upon a "lie." Its advocates, he submitted, were engaged not in a mistake, but in a conspiracy. And, worst of all, George W. Bush was to blame for 9/11.

...Trump wants us to rig the game so he will always emerge as the winner. Irritated that Trump repeatedly gave money to the Democrats, including before the 2008 wave? Upset that Trump praised Nancy Pelosi as "terrific" when she picked up the gavel that would pass Obamacare? Annoyed that Trump called for an assault-weapons ban just as the right to keep and bear arms was being restored piece by piece? Angry that, just three years ago, he was slamming Mitt Romney for his harsh stance toward illegal immigration? Don't be. He "wasn't a politician" back then, and besides, "that's just what businessmen do." If, on the other hand, you are impressed that Trump isn't on record anywhere supporting the War in Iraq... well, that's because he has always had brilliant instincts and will make a top-notch commander in chief.


9 posted on 02/16/2016 10:46:52 AM PST by Heartlander (Prediction: Increasingly, logic will be seen as a covert form of theism. - Denyse O'Leary)
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To: Starman417

LIes-lies-all lies.

You apologize or Trump is sueing!


10 posted on 02/16/2016 10:51:51 AM PST by sickoflibs (Trumpetir : 'I don't care what he says, or ever said. He is the only one I trust"')
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To: Heartlander

I am not going to argue this any more. Trump is going to absolutely crush the field in South Carolina, move on a crush them in Nevada and the SEC. After that he is going to run the table and arrive at the convention with more than 50% of the delegates. He will then go on to crush the Democrat in the general election.

Consistent conservatives and establishment Republicans can moan, grown, and complain all they want and it isn’t going to change the outcome.


11 posted on 02/16/2016 11:05:28 AM PST by SubMareener (Save us from Quarterly Freepathons! Become a MONTHLY DONOR!)
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To: Starman417

Flopping Aces should change their name to Flopping Jokers.

They have never written anything of significance. All they do is covertly take Establishment positions and are pseudo Tea party conservatives at best. They are competing with Beck, but he is still the bigger dumb@ss. Oh but they try really hard.

I don’t understand why you fall for their bull lock, stock and barrel?


12 posted on 02/16/2016 11:10:36 AM PST by Enlightened1
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To: SubMareener

No, I get it - Trump could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and you’d vote for him... Sad, but I get it...


13 posted on 02/16/2016 11:19:24 AM PST by Heartlander (Prediction: Increasingly, logic will be seen as a covert form of theism. - Denyse O'Leary)
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To: Heartlander

As long as it was in self-defense. ;-)


14 posted on 02/16/2016 11:22:33 AM PST by SubMareener (Save us from Quarterly Freepathons! Become a MONTHLY DONOR!)
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To: McGruff

Your boy Putin is not going to take kindly to Trumps pro-homo views.


15 posted on 02/16/2016 12:27:03 PM PST by lormand (Inside every liberal is a dung slinging monkey)
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To: SubMareener

Essentially correct, but significantly lacking in many other pertinent details. Never mind, you couldn’t care less; if The Donald said it, it HAS to be true.


16 posted on 02/16/2016 12:58:32 PM PST by ManHunter (You can run, but you'll only die tired... Army snipers: Reach out and touch someone)
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To: SubMareener

...and then he’s going to crush the rest of us. Viva El Donaldo!

p.s. He IS the Democrat.


17 posted on 02/16/2016 1:01:14 PM PST by ManHunter (You can run, but you'll only die tired... Army snipers: Reach out and touch someone)
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To: ManHunter

Yes, some of the details have come out, and some are still classified. For example the 28 secret pages of the 9/11 report. The rule of thumb with classified documents is that when they do come out the government always ends up looking worse than you thought. That was why the information was classified in the first place.

I am not blindly following Donald Trump. I worked in the military/industrial/intelligence complex for 50 years, and what I post here is based on that experience.


18 posted on 02/16/2016 1:06:12 PM PST by SubMareener (Save us from Quarterly Freepathons! Become a MONTHLY DONOR!)
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