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.
MAYNARD: Amen.
KNIGHTS: Amen.
ARTHUR: Right!
One!... Two!... Five!
GALAHAD: Three, sir!
ARTHUR: Three!
*BOOM*
The INS.
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?
Decrees stating that as of today:
* Everyone under the age of 18 is now 18.
* Our national language shall be Swedish.
* Everyone is required to change their underwear every half hour.
* To assist in enforcement, everyone shall wear their underwear on the outside of their clothes.
* A tax on pet food to provide funding for training programs to enable dogs and cats to take on the work formerly done by those aged 18-35 who have been conscripted to national service.
Sorry, that's all I can think of at the moment, but if I can find some whiskey I'm sure I can come up with some more suggestions.
Don't bet against this unless you get really good odds.
No.
The Cold War went for thirty years, including the Korea and Vietnam wars.
Yeah, the world doesn't hate us yet, but invading Iraq will change their minds for sure! [/Sarcasm]
Also, what worries me is the 300 TONS of radioactive uranium that was left behind from the Depleted Uranium ammunition from the last war...
That stuff is in the air, water and soil and food supply...
Why should we expose our troops to that? The radioactive environment will soon take its toll on the Iraqis without us having to do anything more...
Naaaahh. You know how those double-naught spies are always so far ahead of the rest of us.
How successful were we?
Another person, just like #42 ( wanted power,not to exercise it), who, in an interview w/ the New Yorker said," Perhaps I blocked out the massacres in Africa,out of my mind,because I didn't want to deal w/ them...". I kid you not. Neither he or #42 wanted to make major decisions in order to help other people in the world.Losers both.Now #42 wants to help......Puhhhhlease.
Y'all read this jackasses posts and make up your own minds.
Don't worry. It's a 4 out of 7 series. There're still WWV, WWVI, and WWVII, if necessary.
-PJ
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