Posted on 07/06/2021 4:59:28 AM PDT by RandFan
... But when it comes to the Iraq War, it must be said that Rumsfeld made a host of bad decisions. Instead of planning for the worst, he almost seemed to plan for the best — a quick war with as few troops as possible.
The worst decision — the one that gave rise to others — was to go to war in the first place, though he was just one of several people atop the George W. Bush administration and in its orbit, starting with the president, who made that blunder.
The decision was based on the assumption — and that’s all it was — that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons. Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s president, wanted the world — and those who threatened his power internally — to believe that he possessed them, when he did not. He fooled us all.
In retrospect, it is stunning that it happened. We see now that the emperor had no clothes. Why did we not see it then?
We — and I mean, first off, we in the press — were blinded by post-9/11 anger and groupthink. We were awed by the gravitas of those making the false claims. Every Western intelligence agency says it’s true, so it must be, right?
The claims might not have been lies, in those cases when those who uttered them believed them to be true. But top U.S. officials, including Rumsfeld, knew that the evidence they touted as certain was really just an educated guess.
For example, a 2002 report by the Joint Chiefs of Staff that Rumsfeld read but never shared outside the Pentagon said of Iraq’s WMD: “We’ve struggled to estimate the unknowns... We range from 0% to about 75% knowledge on various aspects of their program.”
(Excerpt) Read more at rollcall.com ...
We are promised a liberal dose of wisdom, if we'd only ask.
All fair criticisms. But, we did the EXACT same thing years later in Libya and then again in Syria, two enormous blunders that the media collectively ignores.
We continue to refuse to learn the lessons of our mistakes which makes it impossible to stop making those same mistakes over and over again.
Rumsfeld screwed up the Mayaguez incident in 1975. Total incompetence.
It was a farce. We had to get OBL and could not find him. So we got Saddam just to finish daddy’s war. Voting for the Bushes was my big mistake.
The decision was based on the assumption — and that’s all it was — that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons.
Or does he expect us to believe that Hussein had some, used them, and then got rid of the remainder?
Iraq kept “locking on” to our planes in their “No Fly Zone,” ever since ending the prior war. Also, Iraq failed to allow UN weapons inspectors, too.
Both were illegal by Iraq's signed agreement that ceased the original war. Either action restarted the war from our side.
Any “WMD” talk is fallacious as a cause of war.
Besides, trucks were noted carried large amounts of likely chemical weapons into Syria just prior to our major attacks, for which we did not try to enter.
Although what you posted is true, fickle puritan conservatives will not continue to spew their sour grapes
“Or does he expect us to believe that Hussein had some, used them, and then got rid of the remainder?”
That appears to be exactly what happened. We did find some but they were old, degraded, and were probably more dangerous to Saddam’s army.
But that’s beside the point. Invading Iraq was stupid. A colossal blunder. And I say that as someone who supported it at the time. Saddam was an evil SOB for sure. But he kept a tight lid on the crazies. Once he was gone Iraq fractured into tribalism turned into a **** show.
Bush thought we could attract all the “bad guys” to Iraq and kill them. The problem is that there’s an endless supply of bad guys. Unless we reduce the entire ME to radioactive glass we will never get “all” of them.
Islam is the problem and Bush was either too stupid or to cowardly to say it and deal with it.
L
Drivelous sour grapes
Sometimes life presents you with a Hobbesian choice, i.e., two bad alternatives. Rock and hard place, so to speak.
Would we have been better off with crazy Al Gore in 2000, or that self-important fop Kerry in 2004?
That’s pretty much where we are: Turd Sandwich vs Giant Douche.
I still think getting rid of Saddam was the right call.
I am furious with the Bushes treatment of Trump. Yes I would have voted for them over the dem-Marxist alternative.
Worthless “damned if you do and damned if you dont” Monday mornings ng quarterbacking! If the author had any real balls, they shouldn’t have waited 20 years and Rummy dying to blast him. The real problem is that there no more total wars. We spend too much time and money playing to the press instead of targeting and exterminating the enemy. A war to win hearts and minds to tryto make us look nice in the eyes of the enemy is pointless and always leaves a vacuum.
So you still think invading Iraq was a good idea?
L
Yes, of course. The invasion ended the war in progress for 10 years and removed a dangerous threat to the region.
I’m with you. I supported it at the time, but that was wrong.
The worst mistake was electing President Bush, either one.
#MeToo.
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