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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (748126)	8/21/2006 6:13:22 PM
From: pompsander	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 769670

I respectfully disagree. Yes, we had to go into Afghanistan. We had no choice, and it was absolutely the right thing to do (as 95% of the public agree to this day), but even in the brighter light of post 9/11 the decision to go into Iraq was not a slam dunk. Was Iraq more of a danger than North Korea? Than Iran? It is disingenuous to say that in 2003 there was no option but for the United States to invade Iraq. Forget whether it was the right political decision, the right military decision or whatever.....we had a choice. Blast Clinton all you want, but Kosovo showed there were other ways to do things and achieve strategic objectives. O.K...so let's say for the sake of argument that we had to go into Iraq....have you reviewed all the Administration interviews from early 2003? From Cheney on Meet the Press, assuring we would be welcomed as liberators to Wolfiewitz claiming the war would pay for itself, it is one big snafu after another. This administration loves to say: "no one could have thought......" well, there were plenty of advisors, including traditonal republican strategists, who warned about the size of force, the focus of our initial security aims, our political misjudgements incountry....Its all there. Why does the President get a pass on terrible planning and execution just because, in some minds, we had to invade. I can't agree, GZ, that the administration that told us this had to be done should get a pass on managing it. There are always choices to be made...I thought in 2003 that North Korea was more of a threat than Iraq. I think so today. This administration sold us all on the criticality of going into Iraq RIGHT NOW or there would be mushroom clouds over America. In hindsight how stupid that looks. Now, North Korea...yeah, that might make sense.