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“Bush took his case to the American people, and they vindicated his decision to invade Iraq. ”
No benson, that is not vindication. That is support and authorization to continue. It would have been vindicated if all those wmd’s had been found, or Hussein was found to be hiding Bin Laden. Neither of which happened. So yes- I believe they were fooled and lost focus. That’s what happens when you use patriotic frenzy as a foreign policy.
I debated on whether to join this discussion here about Iraq. In 2003, I agonized about this. I followed every piece of news I could on the issues, I actually subscribed to Stratfor. I argued with friends who were reflexively against the idea of invading Iraq. I did NOT dismiss the idea of invading Iraq out of hand. However, as the facts unfolded, I was apoplectic. I do not believe that we operated on the best intelligence out there. The facts are actually pretty out in the open now. The fact that we didn’t wait to allow the UN inspectors to finish, that we never got international atomic agencies to weigh in on whether Iraq was using the famous aluminum tubes for nuclear reactors (they relied on one CIA rookie for info on those facts), Iraqis never bought that uranium cake from Niger (ala Joe Wilson and the outing of Valerie Pflame), the sifting of intelligence was really a function of the the overwhelming neocon political goal of removing Saddam Hussein and inserting the United States strategically into the region.
I followed the Iran/Iraq war for 10 years — from the perspective of oil trading, and then the first Iraq war, but I really believe that the entrance of the US into the war was a foregone conclusion — the administration was hellbent on doing this and did it. Now? Surprise. The key counterbalance to Iran (the one that we supported in the 10 year war) is now gone and we are dealing with a power vacuum that is accelerating Iran’s nuclear ascendancy.
“Mrs. Benson who is a lovely lady!”
And a self-described LIBERAL!!!
“I haven’t become so entrenched as to become
unwilling to hear the other side of the story.”
Uhm, lemme think about it…
Oh yeah, CONSTANTLY!! : P
RF;
Am I supposed to respond to your point? Have you now deemed that I am now worthy of engaging in discussion?
Sorry, too late.
Good night, all.
No, I am from NW England where the main industry historically was cotton. More large scale than high end.
Same thing about women working / textile industry is true of West Yorkshire (Leeds, Bradford etc) as well, although the industry there was woollens.
cobble,
when have I dismissed my opposition?
I’m always willing to engage.
I haven’t become so entrenched as to become
unwilling to hear the other side of the story.
On Iraq, I’ve stated, it could have been avoided,
looking back now.
A choice was made however.
And we still don’t know the ultimate outcome.
I know I wouldn’t call it a loss, that’s for another
generation as long as we’re still here to talk about it today.
Oh, and I talked a bit with Mrs. Benson who is a lovely lady!
“Yes he won but I don’t think 2.45 percent is a decisive margin.”
Nice one, rf. : )