U.S. Advisor Says Last Minute Iraq Peace Offer Was a Trap (Designed Only To Discredit the U.S.)

Reuters

[Happy2BMe]

U.S. Advisor Says Iraq Peace Offer Was a Trap
(2003-11-09)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A last minute peace deal offered by a top Iraqi official in the run up to the war that toppled Saddam Hussein was a trap designed to discredit U.S. policy, an advisor to the Pentagon said on Sunday.

Richard Perle, former chairman of the Defense Policy Advisory Board who had met with a Lebanese businessman who conveyed the Iraqi offer meant to prevent an invasion, said the offer had not been credible.

Perle told ABC television's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" that the offer by former chief of intelligence, Gen. Tahir Habbush made through Imad Hage, a prominent Lebanese-American businessman, was one of many approaches for a last-minute peace deal.

"There were a number of governments that were trying to broker something with the Iraqis," Perle said. "So this was not credible, this offline approach, indirect as it was."

The Bush administration has been accused by Democrats of being overeager to go to war with Iraq, ignoring possible diplomatic avenues to peace including that conveyed through Perle and exaggerating the threat from Iraq.

The offer that came to Perle was to allow the United States to inspect for weapons of mass destruction, which the Iraqis said they did not have, and to turn over a top al Qaeda operative who was in Iraqi custody.

Perle said it also included oil concessions and he thought it was part of an effort to use that offer to discredit U.S. intentions.

"This was a trap," Perle said. "I think it was clearly a trap. It was intended to discredit the administration's policy, it was intended to discredit our effort to liberate Iraq."

ABC News reported last week that Hage had met with Iraqi officials, including Habbush, to discuss the peace offer. Hage had also met with Perle in London to convey the information.

© Copyright 2003, Reuters

[Happy2BMe]

The DNC must have studied the same tactics on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

[Happy2BMe]

Saddam offered peace just like the RATS tell the truth about the Senate Intelligence Committee ping!

[Publius6961]

U.S. Advisor Says Iraq Peace Offer Was a Trap

Really? Who'd a thunk?

D'OH!

After 12 years of playing games?

What's remarkable is the number of ignorant morons who would even give the reality a second thought.

[meenie]

At first, I couldn't believe it happened. Now that Perle has admitted it, it is probably true. Where does the controversy go from here?

[Happy2BMe]

"Where does the controversy go from here?"

Answer: Senate Intelligence Committee

[exDem from Miami]

All Saddam had to do to stop the war was go on live TV and say he was opening Iraq to American inspection. Probably could've had a French, German, and Russian diplomatic types standing beside him as props. No need for the cloak and dagger, offline feints.

[livius]

This was in the press just before the war, actually, although it was more of a rumor than anything else. Everybody quite rightly dismissed it as being Saddam doing what Saddam always did, playing for time. After all, he stalled the UN for years by "agreeing" to their demands, and he clearly hoped it would work with us in a unilateral agreement outside of the UN.

If I recall correctly, it was rejected because it was: (a) not our policy to make unilateral agreements with regimes that were violating UN policies; and (b) more of the same old same old. The only agreement, unilateral or not, which would have spared him the war would have been his announcement that he would step down immediately - something he clearly had no intention of doing.

[MeekOneGOP]

Saddam offered peace just like the RATS tell the truth about the Senate Intelligence Committee ping!

... and just like CBS cancelled The Reagans Miniseries NOT because of the firestorm ! ...

CBS will not broadcast THE REAGANS
on November 16 and 18. This decision
is based solely on our reaction to
seeing the final film, not the controversy
that erupted around a draft of the script.

[WaterDragon]

U.S. Advisor Says Last Minute Iraq Peace Offer Was a Trap (Designed Only To Discredit the U.S.)

Of course it was a trap, and the only people who don't acknowledge that are the same folks who were protecting the murderous Saddam (and they are the same folks who defended the murderous Stalin).

[AmeriBrit]

marked