Were Other Iraq Options Better?

Town Hall ^ | September 30, 2004 | Clifford D. May [Scripps Howard News Service]

[quidnunc]

We've come to believe we had just two choices in Iraq: (1) stay out and hope to keep Saddam Hussein “in his box”; or (2) proceed exactly as President Bush did – remove the dictator, occupy the country and attempt to bring peace, freedom, human rights and democracy to the Iraqis.

But there were other options. Thinking about them may help us determine where to go from here.

Start with this: Almost exactly two years ago, then-Presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer said that Bush administration's policy was “regime change.” But, he added, that did not necessitate a military invasion.

“The cost of one bullet,” he said, “the Iraqi people taking it (on) themselves … the cost of war is more than that."

Fleischer later explained he had meant that the administration would support any Iraqi effort to be rid of the dictator. Why didn't that happen?

“In the period between the 1991 Iraq War and the 2003 Iraq War,” notes former Clinton Iraq advisor Laurie Mylroie, “the CIA, working with Ayyad Allawi (now Iraq's prime minister) and his organization, the Iraqi National Accord, attempted several coups. Each time they were penetrated by Iraqi intelligence and failed.”

In other words, the U.S. could not secure regime change in Iraq through clandestine means because our intelligence community was no match for Saddam's formidable security apparatus — for which, blame Congress and every administration going back a quarter century.  

A second possibility: A 19th century style “punitive expedition.” We could have invaded Iraq, toppled Saddam and then told the Iraqis: “Don't make us come back.”

The problem is that would have guaranteed Iraq collapsing into civil war and chaos, with unpredictable consequences.…

-snip-

[Sociopathocracy]

Yeah, we could have given Saddam nuclear fuel just to see what he wanted it for.

[LRS]

John Kerry could have taken a Swift Boat flotilla up the Tigris River during the Christmas season of 2000, delivering a hit team lead by Jimmy Carter and Madeleine Albright . After all, Kerry was in Vietnam, and can name that tune in 3 notes...

[GSlob]

"...guaranteed Iraq collapsing into civil war and chaos, with unpredictable consequences..."
Why is/was this outcome so undesirable? They are going to have their civil war anyway, as soon as occupation army withdraws. So one should merely have optimized the timing and circumstances, as much as possible. I mean optimization with regard to one's own interests, not to theirs.

[mass55th]

Kerry could have given Saddam mouth-to-mouth resucitation and then married him instead of Teresa. Or, Kerry could have gotten John Edwards to sue Saddam. That would have left a mark.