Posted on 09/11/2007 10:52:54 AM PDT by Austin Willard Wright
ABC News' Nitya Venkataraman and Nancy Flores report: While his 2008 rivals in Washington, D.C. spent the morning in congressional panels debating the future of US involvement in Iraq, GOP Presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul charged the U.S. has "dug a hole for [itself]" in Iraq, and simultaneously defended his anti-war place in the Republican party and jabbed the current administration saying, "you don't have to be a war monger to be a conservative."
At a policy forum at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., Paul described Iraq as a "preemptive war" saying it was a "planned invasion and occupation" of a "country that was no threat to us whatsoever."
What might seem like bold rhetoric from the fiery Texas Republican on the anniversary of a historic day is actually nothing new for Paul. His assertions at the forum were consistent with his presidential platform and congressional career, both of which draw heavily from libertarian and constitutionalist ideals.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.abcnews.com ...
Wow....a freeper defending that scumb-bag Aristide. Anything for the Frederation I guess. Do any other Fred fans want to defend Aristide too? C'mon, don't be shy. Fred and Jean Claude need your help!
Aristide is a racist, I've little concern he'll have a position in a Thompson administration.
I'm not worried about Alex Jones in a Paul administration either, there won't be one.
In what way did I defend Aristide?
I merely pointed out that he was actually elected to his position - I never said he was a good guy or that he wasn't a criminal.
You're really grasping at straws now.
Paul has denounced 9-11 truth theory, many, many times. Fred, by contrast, has never recanted his support for putting that Marxist thug Aristide back in power. At first, he tried to falsely claim he only opposed the "embargo." He gave that up (though never recanted) after the form he himself signed supporting Aristide's restoration to power was publicized.
You want to spend $1 trillion of American taxpayer's money...and send four thousand Americans to die and tens of thousands more to be wounded...to save Iraqis?...by all means, go form an Abraham Lincoln Brigades and do it
But leave me and my family out of it...we've got plenty to do in defending ourselves from those that want to kill us all to be getting involved in trying to rebuild Iraq...and Saddam was not capable of threatening America
But more to the point...why would you support the invasion of Iraq to save Iraqis when that humanitarian invasion would undermine our efforts to destroy Al Qaeda?
The CIA believes the Iraq insurgency poses an international threat and may produce better-trained Islamic terrorists than the 1980s Afghanistan war that gave rise to Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, a US counter-terrorism official said.
A classified report from the US spy agency says Iraqi and foreign fighters are developing a broad range of deadly skills, from car bombings and assassinations to tightly coordinated conventional attacks on police and military targets, the official said.
Once the insurgency ends, Islamic militants are likely to disperse as highly organised battle-hardened combatants capable of operating throughout the Arab-speaking world and in other regions including Europe.
But the May report, which has been widely circulated in the intelligence community, also cites a potential threat to the United States.
"You have people coming to the action with anti-US sentiment ... And since they're Iraqi or foreign Arabs or to some degree Kurds, they have more communities they can blend into outside Iraq," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the report's classified status.
--Iraq insurgency may have international ramifications: CIA
Iraq insurgency may have international ramifications: CIA
Islamic extremists are exploiting the Iraqi conflict to recruit new anti-U.S. Jihadists. Those Jihadists who survive will leave Iraq experienced in, and focused on acts of urban terrorism. They represent a potential pool of contacts to build transnational terrorist cells, groups, networks, in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries.
--CIA Director Porter Goss, testimony to Congress, February 16, 2005
And who are these radicalized Islamic terrorists? Are we really drawing existing terrorists into Iraq so that we can better kill them? Not exactly...two separate studies indicate that most of the terrorists killing American soldiers in Iraq were never before engaged in terrorist activities...the American presence in Iraq is inspiring them to become Islamist terrorists
From the study done in 2005 by the Israeli think tank, Global Research in International Affairs:
From the partial data available of Arab volunteers killed in Iraq, we can further learn that some of them, not only Saudis, came from wealthy or upper middle class families. Some were students who left their studies in order to join the battle in Iraq. Only few were involved in past Islamist insurgencies in Afghanistan, Bosnia, or Chechnya. Three Saudis, two Lebanese, and one Kuwaiti were sons of Afghan alumni. Yet, the vast majority of Arabs killed in Iraq have never taken part in any terrorist activity prior to their arrival in Iraq. One Syrian was 13 years old and with his father in Fallujah, where the two were killed.
Many of the Arabs killed in Iraq, especially the Saudis, went to Iraq in groups, consisting mainly of friends, and some were influenced by brothers or other family members to join the Jihad.
-- Global Research in International Affairs
ARAB VOLUNTEERS KILLED IN IRAQ: AN ANALYSIS
I can tell you this. In November or December of 2001, when, you know, America and coalition forces invaded Afghanistan, and fought the battle of Tora Bora, although we didn't capture or kill bin Laden or Zawahri or some of the other top lieutenants, Al-Qaida was essentially dead.
It was not only that most of the members had been killed or captured. It was repudiated throughout the world. And it -- you know, the internal documents show that they were in great despair. Unfortunately, Iraq has given -- the -- the war in Iraq has given them new life. And I -- I fear the progeny of Al-Qaida are going to be with us for a long time.
--Lawrence Wright, author of Looming Towers--Pulitzer Prize winning book on Al Qaeda
Michael Scheurer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden desk on the invasion of Iraq:
if Osama was a Christian it was the Christmas present he’d always asked his parents for but would have never believed it would actually be delivered. Ah it broke the back of American counter terrorism efforts and counter terrorism policy ah in many ways and I have to say I’m not an expert on Iraq in terms of Saddam’s regime but before we went into Iraq we should have really balanced the two. Ah whatever the threats Saddam posed, what we’ve done by going into Iraq is basically validate what everything that al Qaeda has said about the Americans for the past decade in the eyes, at least in the eyes of Muslim. The Americans lust after ah Arab oil. They’ll destroy any Muslim government that stands up to them. They’ll destroy any Muslim government that threatens Israel. They will, they intend to annihilate Islam and occupy our sanctities while I bet no one even mentioned to the President before the invasion of Iraq that Iraq is the second most important place in Islam so ah in terms of what we have now, what we have is Afghanistan to the tenth degree because Afghanistan when the Soviets invaded was an Islamic backwater. It took a long time before the Middle East really began pumping fighters and money into Afghanistan. Iraq is smack in the heart of the Arab homeland and it’s going to be a magnet for Mujahadeen for the foreseeable future.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in a letter intercepted and translated by Centcom states that AQ would like to “prolong the war”:
The most important thing is that you continue in your jihad in Iraq, and that you be patient and forbearing, even in weakness, and even with fewer operations; even if each day had half of the number of current daily operations, that is not a problem, or even less than that. So, do not be hasty. The most important thing is that the jihad continues with steadfastness and firm rooting, and that it grows in terms of supporters, strength, clarity of justification, and visible proof each day.Indeed, prolonging the war is in our interest, with God’s permission
No he hasn't.
He has definitely said that he disagrees with some of it, he has elliptically hinted that he may agree with some of it, and he is still a favored candidate of Alex Jones and other hardcore Truthers.
Had he definitively repudiated Truther conspiracy theory, Truthers wouldn't be backing him - it is, after all, their only issue.
To be honest, I'm not that concerned about one incident concerning Thompson's lobbying 16 years ago. Particularly since restoring a freely elected official to power is something Paul might support. He'd certainly have been opposed to deposing him, twice.
We're lucky we haven't had trouble with Haitian suicide bombers.
Aristide was legitimately elected and was deposed by an illegitimate military dictator.
Once restored to his elected office, Aristide did indeed turn on the Haitian Constitution and illegitimately overstayed his term of office, becoming a dictator.
But when the US returned Aristide to his rightful office, he did have a legitimate claim.
Since when is it the US's job to protect the constitutions of other countries?
In case you haven't noticed we are having trouble enough defending our own constitution.
He's not normal. and that's why the hostility is directed at him.
If the FALN gets frisky, we'll have to end the occupation of Puerto Rico.
Interesting that he said this at an institution which was in the forefront of feminizing men by cutting off their reproductive organs.
That's not true at all.
The US stands by its allies.
Indeed. From the likes of enemies of our Constitution like Ron Paul, for one.
It's not, though I've no problem relations with other nations, or with opposition groups.
However if Ron Paul is going to take a benign historical view of Iran based on the injustice of the US overthrowing Mossadegh and installing the Shah, then it's rather disingenuous to criticize Thompson for taking the side of a Marxist thug in the same position as Mossadegh.
We’re lucky Haiti hasn’t turned into a terror state after what we’ve done.
Ron Paul, truth, that's 5/7 the way to truther, can't go there.
Besides, it's Thompson we're supposed to be bashing here. You know, change the topic.
And since they're in Iraq, our action is even authorized by the first Authorization to Use Military Force, Paul voted yea, which puts no time or geographical constraints on the President.
LOL
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