I am of the position that George W. Bush could have done nothing BUT take out Saddam. Every single intel agency in the world-—GB, FR, GER, Russia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, UN, and our own CIA (cough)-—said Saddam had WMDs. The possibility of al-Qaeda at the time getting a nuke or anthrax was too great to ignore. What we did after we were there, I’m open to debate.
But if I was presiden in 2002 under those circumstances I would have done the same thing.
Taking out Saddam was never the problem (What a massive Intel failure though you have to wonder if they were stupid or faking, could be either they ARE stupid), , the years of pointless occupation afterwards were, “nation-building” they call it. We should have installed some General to rule as a pro-American strongman and left it at that. If you have to go back in a few years and take out some more trash, big deal. But making camp and and letting our men get fragged by peasants with pipe bombs? All for what? Democracy? Which in Iraq with it’s shia majority means an Iranian satellite state? Piss on that. How much of it was neocon ideology and how much was $$$$$ reasons? I don’t know, probably a good deal of both,
As for Cheney, given the significant failures of the Bush administration in both foreign and domestic policy, and the fact that he was essentially co-President, especially on the FP side, it’s time to consider the likelihood that he is probably someone we should lower our opinion of. I won’t put his daughter’s sins on his shoulders but that doesn’t speak well of him either. Apples can fall from trees but presumably her primary political education came from dad.
Valerie Plame is a disgusting snake and the last kind of person you want working for the CIA but I guess I have to reevaluate my feelings on that since her snake husband was correct. Fitzgerald still shouldn’t have thrown the book at Scooter Libby though.
If there is a next GOP President, he needs to use the full power of the US Attorneys to focus on taking down American’s domestic enemies (lock her up was just a slogan, it shouldn’t have been). All I recall Trump’s USAs doings is taking down two pro-Trump GOP Congressman over trifles, and that hurt us in the midterms. They need to be taught that they merely exercise power that belongs to the President (at least when the President is a good one). I have no qualms about being a hypocrite and criticizing the usurper Joe Biden here but his actions are to be expected. Remember Trump kept that Indian prick in NY in place for a while and later caught flak for canning his ass. Eventually all the previous sides political appointees go.