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.
“Some” here either do not KNOW about our tactics that won the Cold War, don’t understand what it is that we did to win the Cold War, or they KNOW exactly what we did and do not want us to win Cold War II (Russia is playing hardball and this is undeniable). This is not surprising because many of them want us to lose via surrender in Iraq.
LLS
Yea, we see how that turned out.. we lost the chance to put agents in all DPI ports around the world and oversee their security procedures.. yep, another step back because too many people wanted to knee jerk react instead of looking into it a little more..
Last I checked I am real, and I don't trade in conspiracy theories. Russia is our main enemy no matter what smoke and mirrors was achieved with perestroika, glastnost, and Gorbachoff's ouster and eventual relocation to the USA.
Regardless of Paul’s view on terrorism, you can’t discredit him because he still supports tight border security and interior enforcement. And he’d immediately ask Congress for a declaration rather than waiting for the UN. Which pretty much blows the “they’ll follow us here” argument to shreds.
Drugs are legal.
You just can't make your own.
But if you've got the right doctor... 8^)
OK, sounds like someone has been drinking too much fluoridated water in their kook aid.
If it had been made plain that it was an attempt to respond to Hutchison Wampoa’s (Chinese) control of ports, it would have gotten more people on board with it I think. But hindsight and all of that...
Please explain the difference between Ron Pat Paulson’s views on Iraq and Cindy Sheehag’s?
Pray for W and Our Troops
Yes, that's the strategy.
Not that I know of.
It is current US policy to not rule out first-use of nuclear weapons. Do you think we should change that policy, which is the cornerstone of our nuclear deterence? Should we wait for an enemy to attack first before responding?
One of the big problem with the fluoride myth is that some conspiracies refer back to sodium fluoride (that is toxic), but they fail to note that the fluoride that is in some water supplies and in dental gels is monobasic fluoride, a different substance...
Of course not, he would have issued Letters of Marque.
Are you suggesting he would have attacked terrorist bases in Yemin, in Somalia, in Lebanon, and, of course the nation of Iraq who fired on our troops on a daily basis.
I would have supported those actions, but you know he wouldn't.
In fact none of those forces would be there. The middle east would be an Islamic/Soviet lake, safe transit for oil I'm sure. And yes, I think access to oil is a legitimate national interest. As to future attacks, there will be none once we've withdrawn our forces from around the world, we'll have no enemies, so future attacks are irrelevant.
With Gorbachaev (spelled correctly?) throwing verbal attacks against this adminstration and the US recently, I think there is much envy and anger towards us from the old school communist thought there. I do not think Russia is our enemy but I do think hey would revel in our collapse. Maybe that is why they support some of our enemies.
I had no idea the John Birch Society still existed — I suspect it’s now just John Birch with a website.
Dude, I don't care about the Saudi government, OK?
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