Free Republic

The media are jumping on the old "Bush was planning to go to War with Iraq from Day 1" story again with the release of Bob Woodwards new book. They are reporting as if it is significant new news that Bush asked the Pentagon to prepare Iraq war plans at the end of November, 2001. In reality, this is an old story, as evidenced in Wesley Clark's book, Winning Modern Wars, published in October, 2003. Here’s what he writes on page 130: "As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had...

NEW YORK -- Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, the newest Democratic presidential candidate, said that when he returned to the Pentagon in November 2001 he had a chat about Iraq. In an exclusive excerpt from Clark's book, "Winning Modern Wars: Iraq, Terrorism, and the American Empire," published in Newsweek's Sept. 29 issue, Clark wrote of speaking with senior military staff officers about Iraq. Clark said Iraq was being discussed as part of a five-year plan involving the countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Somalia and Sudan. "I thought, this is what they mean when they talk about 'draining the swamp.' It...