Posted on 08/16/2002 11:22:11 AM PDT by ejdrapes
http://www.msnbc.com/news/788858.asp
Key figures involved in the Persian Gulf War have questioned America’s preparedness for another attack on Iraq. Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft say international support is critical for a campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
SCHWARZKOPF, SPEAKING on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” also argued that the United States will need better intelligence before it attempts a “regime change” in Iraq. He noted that during the Persian Gulf War, when he led the international coalition that defeated Iraq, the military was never able to locate Saddam Hussein. Schwarzkopf commanded a force that involved more than 40 nations in 1991 and the general said a coalition in favor of ousting Saddam was essential. “We have to have that kind of support,” he said. Schwarzkopf told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Thursday that a military campaign without the assistance of Saudi Arabia would be difficult. More than 200,000 American troops were based in the desert kingdom during the 1991 war but the Saudi leaders have refused to help in a new attack on Iraq.
Separately, Scowcroft, a former national security adviser to President Gerald Ford and former President George Bush, warned against moving on Baghdad while the war on terrorism in progress. In the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, he wrote there was little evidence linking Saddam to terrorist organizations and “he is unlikely to risk his investment in weapons of mass destruction, much less his country, by handing such weapons to terrorists who would use them for their own purposes.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...
Hey look here - you can't tell this to a bunch of war mongers who want their own war on their own timetable. They pose as 'generals'. They probably never even wore a boy scout uniform.
What does Powell, Scowcroft, Schwarzkopf, and the Joint Chiefs know about war and protecting American lives compared to these know-it-alls.
Oh I forgot. He has been annointed a strategic planner, and a geopolitician by Chris Matthews. He used to be a field general.
Yeah, sure.....The Israeli-Palestinian dispute is the root of all our problems internationally, eh? Bullsh/t. And anyway, how do you propose we solve this dispute? It's been tried a million times, and a million times it's failed. Try to comprehend this is you can: Palestinian terrorist orgs and their state sponsors don't want peace. The state sponsors, in particular, see perpetual war between the Israelis and Palestinians as convenient way to divert the attention of their Jidadist populaces away from their own dictatorial regimes and onto an external enemy -- Israel.
Gulf War II - The mission will define the coalition.
By the way, Dick Armey has also seen the evidence. Is he a traitor to the GOP for voicing his principled opposition to going to war against Iraq?
Sounds good -- that is the correct principle. But what is the mission? And what is the billigerent act upon which the mission is based?
Wars are very easy to get into, and many here seem very anxious to jump in and watch it on television. But wars are sometimes impossible to stop, and often take unintended turns. We'd better be damned sure what were are getting into and why. The military has seen the evidence, and has many, many doubts...
Okay, and bless you..I was hoping to "hear" this.
Furthermore, there's no more deader fish than retired generals and even retired CEO's. They may be revered, admired, honored and listened to politely, but it's always the leaders in the catbird seats that do the filtering and deciding.
We have a difference of opinion, AAM. Only time will tell if the two retirees hearing back-door military scuttlebutt are correct or not. I put my pesos on Mssrs. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and those who know daily the complete picture of what's going on.
Leni
I don't think the Bush administration is making any logistical assumptions.
Wolfowitz was in Turkey just recently and I'm sure they are on-board.
The Air Force did in-large a small Airbase on Qatar to handle about anything in our inventory. Bahrain is a quite player with airbase facilities that we use frequently. A little tidbit about Bahrain.
We foresaw the Saudis complaining years ago about attacking Iraq from Al Kharg, SA. So we moved logistical assets to Bahrain. Fighter A/C from Al Kharg could then depart "Als Garage" and touch-and-go from Bahrain to attack the Iraqis ground targets enforcing the Southern no-fly zone. The Saudis could then claim the attack did not originate from SA.
On Kuwait, we have about 10,000 troops there at this moment. The bases are in place. I believe Kuwaitis are playing lip service to other Arabs. Bush should have no problem getting these guys on-board, Hell, the U.S. did saved their little butts from Saddam before.
Germany has elections coming up in September. Gerhard Schroeder comments is playing to his farthest left of center of his base, and to the Greens who the SPD party share government power. He's trying to secure his base. It looks like him and his party are in trouble and may indeed lose the elections to the CDU.
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