The Two Bushes' Iraq Wars: Haass Book Excerpt | Newsweek Politics

Two Bushes, Two Iraq Wars

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Would there have been a second Iraq war had there been no 9/11? Counter-historical questions are impossible to answer confidently. Before 9/11 there had been some activity in the bureaucracy about Iraq, but there is little evidence that it amounted to more than background noise. September 11 transformed the administration into the proverbial hammer looking for a nail. Iraq became that nail.

Why is it that the fact that the first Bush administration signaled Saddam on at least three occasions that we did not care what he didbo in regards to Kuwait is always disappeared?

Our ambassador to Kuwait, April Glaspie, was personally asked by Saddam, our ally at the time, what our position on his border dispute with Kuwait was. She told him, per instructions, that we did not have one. State Department spokesperson, Margaret Tutweiller told the media that we had no obligation to defend Kuwait - a message Saddam clearly heard. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney did say we would oppose Saddam but was forced by the administration to retract his statement. All this happened as Saddam was massing his troops on the Kuwait border, so we knew he was serious about attacking Kuwait.. The fact that he bothered to ask us if we cared about it is proof that Saddam's invasion of Kuwait was clearly not an indication of hostility towards us.

We frequently hear discussion about whether FDR could have prevented Pearl Harbor, yet the public is never told by our media or historians that both Gulf Wars could have easily been prevented. Bin Laden attacked us because we had troops stationed in Saudi Arabia as a consequence of the first Gulf War. If we had averted that war there would have been no 9/11 or the subsequent wars with Iraq and Afghanistan.

The American public deserves to know these facts. I am sure the rest of the world does.

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Posted By: GregHere @ 07/13/2009 7:46:23 PM

.......................Both of the Bushes were Dangerous Desperadoes, they were a negative influence on life in America during the last 30 years, we would be much better off if we were able to alter history and write both of them out along with all that they have done.
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Posted By: mkf1 @ 07/11/2009 10:28:19 PM

Bullshit article. Demonstrates the absolute lack of intelligence of Bush and his advisors.
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Posted By: BernieO @ 06/27/2009 6:54:48 AM

Why is it that the fact that the first Bush administration signaled Saddam on at least three occasions that we did not care what he didbo in regards to Kuwait is always disappeared?

Our ambassador to Kuwait, April Glaspie, was personally asked by Saddam, our ally at the time, what our position on his border dispute with Kuwait was. She told him, per instructions, that we did not have one. State Department spokesperson, Margaret Tutweiller told the media that we had no obligation to defend Kuwait - a message Saddam clearly heard. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney did say we would oppose Saddam but was forced by the administration to retract his statement. All this happened as Saddam was massing his troops on the Kuwait border, so we knew he was serious about attacking Kuwait.. The fact that he bothered to ask us if we cared about it is proof that Saddam's invasion of Kuwait was clearly not an indication of hostility towards us.

We frequently hear discussion about whether FDR could have prevented Pearl Harbor, yet the public is never told by our media or historians that both Gulf Wars could have easily been prevented. Bin Laden attacked us because we had troops stationed in Saudi Arabia as a consequence of the first Gulf War. If we had averted that war there would have been no 9/11 or the subsequent wars with Iraq and Afghanistan.

The American public deserves to know these facts. I am sure the rest of the world does.