Posted on 07/12/2003 2:17:32 AM PDT by kattracks
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:15:05 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
JMHO: We went into Iraq for a number of reasons, and there were a number of different "SMOKING GUNS" we were searching for. This coordination / alliance / cabal / brotherhood / syndiate / cartel / conspiracy / collusion (Dare I use the phrase "AXIS OF EVIL?) between the Sadaam/Baathist regime and the terrorist organization Al Qaeda constitutes a SMOKING GUN.
There may be a very simple explanation for this phraseology: Saddam and his sons ruled through fear, and this was a warning to the "henchman" of the regime that the hand of Saddam could reach them anywhere if they were to turn traitor in the coming conflict.
The problem with the CIA is that everything has to be spelled out in black and white, all t's crossed and all i's dotted, or it doesn't exist. IOW, their analytical powers are severely hampered by their risk intolerance (not to mention their lack of honest-to-goodness operatives and skilled translators, as opposed to an overabundance of bureaucratic desk jockies, thanks to Congress).
'Gag' Order Contradicts Value Iraqis Like
Don't know quite what to make of it.
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