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Paul Right, Romney Wrong on Iraq and 9/11
John Birch Society ^ | 8-8-07 | Gary Benoit

Posted on 08/08/2007 1:30:04 PM PDT by CJ Wolf

Ron Paul was right during the Des Moines Republican debate when he said that our going into Iraq had nothing to do with al-Qaeda. And Mitt Romney was wrong when he interrupted him.

At the Republican debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 5, Congressman Ron Paul made clear that our going to war against Iraq had nothing to do with going after al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that attacked us on 9/11.

"The neoconservatives promoted this war many, many years before it was started," Paul said during the debate. "It had nothing to do with al-Qaeda. There was no al-Qaeda in Iraq." As Ron Paul elaborated on how wrong the neocons have been, Governor Romney, apparently attempting to telegraph his disgust with the congressman’s remarks, snidely said to the audience, "Has he forgotten about 9/11?" as he gestured with his hands. A couple seconds later, Romney again rudely interrupted — "Have you forgotten about..." — as Paul continued using the time allotted to him.

Later in the debate, Paul revisited the subject of al-Qaeda. "I supported going after the al-Qaeda into Afghanistan," he said, "but, lo and behold, the neocons took over. They forgot about Osama bin Laden. And what they did, they went into nation- building, not only in Afghanistan, they went unjustifiably over into Iraq. And that’s why we’re in this mess today."

Put simply, Ron Paul does not believe we went into Iraq because of 9/11. But Mitt Romney obviously believes we did. So who’s right?

It is true that President Bush and other neocons in his administration have repeatedly juxtaposed references to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to those of 9/11 in their public statements. In so doing, they have created the impression among many Americans — apparently including Romney — that Saddam Hussein had attacked us on 9/11. But the administration did not explicitly say this and did not even present evidence supporting this allegation. As President Bush himself said on September 17, 2003: "We’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11th [attacks]."

The administration did portray an al-Qaeda/Iraq connection as a concrete fact. Yet in a January 8, 2004 press conference, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged: "There is not — you know, I have not seen smoking-gun, concrete evidence about the connection, but I think the possibility of such connections did exist and it was prudent to consider them at the time that we did." In truth, the evidence simply was not there.

By interrupting Congressman Paul with his "Has he forgotten about 9/11?" protestation, Governor Romney not only made himself appear less than presidential, he also confirmed that, where Iraq is concerned, he does not know what he’s talking about.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911; 911truthers; asseenonstormfront; icecreammandrake; iraq; jbs; johnbirchsociety; lunaticfringe; mrspaulsshrimp; patbuchananlite; paul; paulbearers; paulestinians; porkzilla; preciousbodilyfluids; romney; sapandimpurify; tinfoilhats
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To: CJ Wolf
By interrupting Congressman Paul with his "Has he forgotten about 9/11?" protestation, Governor Romney not only made himself appear less than presidential, he also confirmed that, where Iraq is concerned, he does not know what he’s talking about.

On the contrary. This article confirms that the author doesn't know what he is talking about.
121 posted on 08/08/2007 3:03:34 PM PDT by soccermom
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To: CJ Wolf

No Wolfie. You have to be able to identify the enemy to fight a war. Ru Paul is either incompetent in that regard, or too cowardly to stand up for his country.


122 posted on 08/08/2007 3:04:32 PM PDT by Cyclops08
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To: CJ Wolf

LOL. 9/11 was just one manifestation of the threat AQ and militant Islamic fundamentalism poses to the US. Armed pilots could not have prevented WTC I, the attack against our embassies in East Africa, the attack against the USS Cole, and foiled plots like the Millenium bomber and the Ft. Dix six. The best defense against this enemy is intelligence, shared by all of the appropriate agencies of government. If we had had the tools provided by the Patriot Act prior to 9/11, it is quite possible that the perpetrators would never have even boarded those planes.


123 posted on 08/08/2007 3:12:50 PM PDT by kabar
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To: Cyclops08

Cyclopsie, Iraq and Saddam were identifiable enemy’s. Paul did propose a declaration of war in 2002 against Iraq, which I personally would have approved of, even though I know he’d vote against it.

But today a declaration of war is an ‘anachronism’, like most of the constitution. We just don’t do it anymore, instead we list a bunch of violated UN resolutions as justification. It seems like you are ok with that approach, am I correct?


124 posted on 08/08/2007 3:15:52 PM PDT by CJ Wolf
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To: CJ Wolf
Via Digg.com:

Ten Facts About Ron Paul That May Shock You

  1. Ron Paul is a reincarnation of Thomas Jefferson.
  2. Ron Paul doesn't go the gym. He stays fit by exercising his Bill of Rights.
  3. Ron Paul delivers babies without his hands. He simply reads them the Constitution and they crawl out in anticipation of freedom.
  4. Ron Paul has no alarm clock, but instead wakes every morning to the call of freedom.
  5. Ron Paul was raised in the wild by a pair of American bald eagles.
  6. Ron Paul doesn't cut taxes. He kills them with his bare hands.
  7. Ron Paul lives in a house made of integrity.
  8. Ron Paul doesn't sleep. He deliberates.
  9. I just saved a bunch of money by switching to Ron Paul.
  10. If you pull Ron Paul's finger, a band will march by playing Yankee Doodle Dandy.


125 posted on 08/08/2007 3:19:42 PM PDT by George W. Bush (Rudy: tough on terror, scared of Iowa, wets himself over YouTube)
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To: elhombrelibre

LOL. Posting the same drivel another 100 times on a Paul thread, I see. Maybe you and the Paul bashers need to kick it up a notch. The whips and chains in the dungy basement so far isn’t working for you guys.


126 posted on 08/08/2007 3:24:48 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: kabar

You know you list all those attacks and what did we do? Pretty much nothing. It wasn’t the patriot act that would save us. When Bin Laden declared war on us in 1996 we should have sent Jack Sparrow the Jihad hunter after him at a minimum.


127 posted on 08/08/2007 3:26:55 PM PDT by CJ Wolf
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To: George W. Bush

lol


128 posted on 08/08/2007 3:27:59 PM PDT by CJ Wolf
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To: jveritas

I have no problem with Mr. Paul but he’s absolutely wrong as Joseph has shown.


129 posted on 08/08/2007 3:34:17 PM PDT by ikez78 (http://www.regimeofterror.com)
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To: CJ Wolf

“It wasn’t the patriot act that would save us.”

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/12/17/81913.shtml


130 posted on 08/08/2007 3:39:15 PM PDT by soccermom
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To: samtheman

Well said. That’s really the way it would have been had Algore won.


131 posted on 08/08/2007 3:44:54 PM PDT by Alas Babylon!
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To: CJ Wolf
But today a declaration of war is an ‘anachronism’, like most of the constitution. We just don’t do it anymore, instead we list a bunch of violated UN resolutions as justification. It seems like you are ok with that approach, am I correct?

This is good enough for me:Text of Joint Resolution On Iraq Passed By The United States Congress, 296-133 by the House of Representatives and 77-23 by the Senate on October 10 and 11, 2002: Joint Resolution to Authorize the use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq.

132 posted on 08/08/2007 3:58:13 PM PDT by kabar
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To: soccermom

“Now that the Patriot Act has been gutted by the Senate, however, plots like those cited above will presumably proceed to their successful completion.”

I think we’ve foiled a few as well since the the Patriot act was gutted. But then again, the article doesn’t say how the patriot act helped foil these plots and it is newmax after all. It’s like linking to the JBS. ;-)


133 posted on 08/08/2007 3:58:17 PM PDT by CJ Wolf
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To: kabar

Good for you, you support the UN.


134 posted on 08/08/2007 3:59:15 PM PDT by CJ Wolf
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To: Alas Babylon!
That is what the myopic leftists and aPaulogists don't seem to understand. The War in Iraq is about 9/11 --- not because Iraq was behind 9/11, but because we want to prevent similar attacks. Romney gets it and Benoit illustrates that he doesn't know what he's talking about if he thinks the motivation of 9/11 is limited exclusively to seeking justice. Perhaps the steroids are confusing him.
135 posted on 08/08/2007 4:01:01 PM PDT by soccermom
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To: CJ Wolf

It’s crap like this that causes me to totally discount the Birchers.


136 posted on 08/08/2007 4:01:46 PM PDT by sauropod (You can’t spell crap without the AP in it.)
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To: Recovering_Democrat

I don’t think Paul is an extremist, just a loon with no chance.


137 posted on 08/08/2007 4:02:00 PM PDT by darkangel82 (Socialism is NOT an American value.)
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To: CJ Wolf

LOL! Yep — what kinda nut would link a JBS article? ;-)


138 posted on 08/08/2007 4:02:30 PM PDT by soccermom
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To: CJ Wolf

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. The point is that we were attacked repeatedly culminating with 9/11, an attack that inflicted more casualties than Pearl Harbor. The question is what do we do now. The Patriot Act is part of that response and yet Ron Paul seems to be in a state of denial. He votes against the Patriot Act despite 9/11. What’s wrong with this guy?


139 posted on 08/08/2007 4:03:38 PM PDT by kabar
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To: CJ Wolf

I suggest you read those 23 reasons why we went to war in Iraq contained in the Joint Resolution. Most of them had nothing to do with the UN.


140 posted on 08/08/2007 4:05:25 PM PDT by kabar
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