Wolfowitz: We ‘won’ the Iraq War

The Hill ^ | 08/06/14 08:17 AM EDT | Kristina Wong

[dfwgator]

The Saudis still aid Hamas.

[Leaning Right]

The sad truth is that Iraq is a complete disaster today because Saddam Haddam was far more effective at dealing with radical Islamic extremists than George W. Bush ever was.

Radical islam's two greatest enemies were the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein. Carter removed the first one. Bush II removed the second one. Radical islam could not have asked for more.

[Billthedrill]

The "long" view can lead you down some interesting pathways. Looked at by accomplishment of national goals, Germany won WWII. Who, after all, is (1) now the preeminent national power in a (2) Europe under a central government, who possesses (3) the most powerful economy, (4) the greatest political influence in Europe? True enough, the border isn't on the Volga, but otherwise it's quite a Reich that eventuated.

There is a great deal wrong with that conclusion, naturally, but that's the road you drive down if you don't measure the outcome of a conflict in finite terms. Our objectives in Iraq were to remove Saddam and replace him with a less aggressive government, to safeguard oil supply and shipment lanes, and to ensure that Saddam did not use state resources to support organized terrorism. Those we accomplished.

To tack on a stable state afterward as an objective is, I think, to misrepresent what happened. Nation-building was not why we went there; it is why we stayed there long after the nominal objectives were accomplished. Quite a number of us on FR predicted its ultimate failure (which, incidentally, has not yet happened although it isn't looking all that great at the moment). Just my $0.02.

[Olog-hai]

Were? Still are. Just sleepers waiting for an opportunity. Saddam proved it with the move on Kuwait, just for one.

When you throw five-figure checks at the families of Hamas suicide bombers, is that anti-extremism?

[bravo whiskey]

maybe but thanks to the POSOTUS we lost the peace.

[dfwgator]

And Obama removed the third one, Kadaffy.

[Olog-hai]

Yes, that’s true. And they’re as untouchable as Iran per so-called “foreign policy”. Does not mean that any of them are anti-extremist, obviously.

[Vaquero]

A politcal anti Israeli group. Not Al quiada. Not who took down the WTC and hit the pentagon. This was a personal Bush family vendetta.

[dfwgator]

Exactly. So why pick only on Saddam?

[TADSLOS]

This, coming from a consummate ivy league, elitist neocon who never served a damned day in uniform.

[Olog-hai]

Equivocation. We have no friends in the Middle East except Israel.

[Leaning Right]

And Obama removed the third one, Kadaffy.

You're right. Now I'm even more depressed.

[Vaquero]

Ding ding ding we have a winner!

[dfwgator]

Equivocation. We have no friends in the Middle East except Israel.

Not after Obama is finished.

[dfwgator]

Not to mention Mubarak.

[Olog-hai]

Better ask the liberals. They seem to think we have friends and enemies in the Middle East other than Israel. Even Bush acted as if Iran was untouchable. It would have been a very wise tactic to put down both Afghanistan and Iraq in order to neutralize Iran, but then liberalism took over.

Islamic Socialism is Nazism no matter who exhibits it.

[dfwgator]

Bush listened to much to that Saudi agent, James Baker.

[Olog-hai]

Not exactly. Obama let al-Qa’eda in to remove Qaddafi.

[Vaquero]

Israel is currently the enemy of the CIC of this nation. Hopefully they understand the people of the nation is not their enemy

[dfwgator]

“We came, We saw...He died.”