Posted on 07/25/2002 12:34:28 PM PDT by ZGuy
Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey told a Washington audience Wednesday, "We are in a world war, we are in World War IV." He said World War IV began on Sept. 11, 2001.
Woolsey, former director of central intelligence (1993-1995) under President Clinton, warned a packed audience at a Washington, D.C., symposium that this current world war will be unlike any other in history. The symposium discussed intelligence requirements in the new century and was hosted by the Institute on World Politics.
Woolsey said that America won the Cold War, which he described as World War III, and he expects America to meet the challenges of the new war.
The former CIA chief did not mince words as he challenged the administration to continue to pound out the message that America is not simply on a mission of self-defense but on a sacred campaign to safeguard the ideals of democracy.
"For the fourth time ... we are on the march, and we are on the side of those they most fear – their own people!" Woolsey exclaimed, pointing his finger at Iraq as the primary opponent of America in the new war.
Woolsey suggested it would be futile to wait for a "[former Soviet President Mikhail] Gorbachev figure to evolve" in Iraq. He said Iraq is ruled by a murderous family that will not give up power.
"Iraq can only be dealt with effectively by military action," Woolsey said. "I like to draw analogies. Iraq is like Hitler's Germany in the mid-1930s. There's no sense waiting, as the situation will only get worse."
Woolsey voiced his strong opinion that it makes sense to wage war against Saddam Hussein even without the "smoking gun" of a clear and provable nexus to 9-11.
"His general support of terrorism is enough," Woolsey concluded, pointing to the dictator's cease-fire violations, the testimony of defectors describing hijack training within Iraq, the meetings of the former Iraqi ambassador to Turkey with al-Qaeda members, and the Czech intelligence service's repeated public reports of meetings with bomber Mohamed Atta in Prague.
"Put all this together with the foiled attempt to assassinate the senior George Bush in Kuwait," Woolsey advised.
And Woolsey made it apparent that he was not impressed with Iraq as a potential battlefield opponent, noting that Saddam's standing army is much depleted from the days of the Gulf War.
He also cited the edge of the "smart bomb," suggesting that only 5 percent of the ordnance dropped on Saddam's forces in the Gulf War were smart weapons.
"Sixty-five percent of the bombs used in Afghanistan have been smart weapons. There will be at least that level in any campaign in Iraq," Woolsey said. "The U.S. is totally capable of success."
Woolsey said the U.S. military needs to deploy only 100,000 to 200,000 troops to successfully invade Iraq.
He noted that the U.S. will likely gain access to one or more countries in the region that could be used as jumping-off points for an invasion. He specifically noted the U.S. will likely get the green light from Turkey, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar to allow U.S. troops.
As to dealing with al-Qaeda, Woolsey suggested the conflict will be protracted.
"We will have to deal with them in their lairs. It will be a long and bloody conflict lasting years, perhaps decades," he said.
"We've got to get busy," Woolsey advised, noting that only an aggressive policy will keep things from going from "bad to catastrophic." He described al-Qaeda as a canny and dangerous enemy.
"For two years the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] was being warned about flimsy cockpit doors." According to Woolsey, al-Qaeda sat back and added up the elements: flimsy cockpit doors, box cutters allowed on board, and a general policy to be passive in hijack situations.
That lesson, said Woolsey, should be extended to potential enemy attacks on the U.S. infrastructure, such as the country's electrical grids. "We need to be asking, 'What are the functional equivalents of a flimsy cockpit door?' "
Woolsey emphasized that the victory in the new world war will be won by echoing themes that led us to success in World War II.
"We won before because we were fighting for freedom," he said.
Conscription for all aged 18-35; mandatory 1 year of service to the country, with service including non-military activity.
"War-time" federal tax on gasoline and airline fuel
Mandatory establishment of Neighborhood Watches
Heavy promotion of War Bonds
Other ideas?
Cut national speed limit to 30mph. Ration gasoline. Why not just general mobilization.
I missed a World War? I hope we won it.
Interesting rationale. I guess the U.S. is going to go after Saddam Hussein after it topples the Saudi government, along with the governments of almost every nation on the Arabian peninsula.
Seriously -- until this happens, you'll never convince me that this country has any intention of fighting a "war."
Bad intelligence? :-)
I was kind of wondering the same thing myself. Well, what do you expect for a Clinton man?
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