The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace opposed the
war & has maintained that a policy of continued diplomacy
& appeasement remains the correct policy, despite the
history of increasing numbers of & the growing viciousness
of terrorist acts, including 9/11 (and in complete
disregard for OBL's declared global war against "the infidels").
The Bush Admin laid out their reasons, got overwhelming
approval from Congerss & a unanamous vote from the UN on
Resolution 1441.
When one objectively reviews what was actually said by the
Bush Admin, then compares what has been made public, it is
clear that Iraq did pose a clear & growing threat (not
an "imminent threat"). It is clear that, post 9/11, after
Iraq's 12 years of massive denial & deception, all in
clear violation of the Gulf War Cease Fire Agreement & 17
UN resolutions, Saddam was not going to disarm or give up
his WMD's & WMD programs, ET AL. We also had hard evidence
of Saddam's ties to & clear support of terrorist
organizations.
Remember that we had a significant presence in Iraq
to "contain" Saddam. Those troops were sorely needed in
the global war on terror. One way or another, Iraq had to
be dealt with post haste.
Please recall that our intelligence community capabilities
& our military had been dramatically cut in the previous 8
years. We needed those troops to prosecute this global war.
Since we were now in a global war on terrorism & these
terrorists had designs on gaining access to WMD's, Iraq
had to be dealt with as a priority in this war.
Iraq's ties to terrorist groups was known within many
intelligence communities globally, not just in the USA.
Much of that information was highly classified & could not
be made public. Some information was known & made public.
Given the growing number of terrorist acts, the ever
increasing viciousness & complexity of these attacks, it
was clear that eliminating the threat of terrorists
gaining access to WMD's was critical. Iraq had WMD's, WMD
programs & clear irrefutable ties to terrorists.
Saddam himself made Iraq a viable target of the war on
terrorism. It was his own choosing, not ours. He could
have complied. He steadfastly did not for 12 long years.
That is a fact.
OBL has made it clear that this is a global war & he is
waging it whether we respond or not. That is a fact. |
