Re: Re[2]: French ruling party having a riot on the Internet

[Steven Champeon <schampeo () hesketh com>]

on Tue, Nov 08, 2005 at 12:02:46PM -0700, Dude VanWinkle wrote:
> err hate to get dragged into this, but have you heard of a particular
> CIA agent who was outted, due to her husband saying that there was no
> attempt to buy yellow cake uranium from africa by saddam?
>
> Does thjat sound like everyone in the US govt agreed?

Objecting to a specific instance does not disprove a general claim. 

I'd point you to "The Threatening Storm", by former CIA/NSC official
Ken Pollack, for a good rundown of "what we thought we knew" prior to
the Iraq war, and why it was considered the least worst option by many
in a good position to know. 
 
> Scare tactics were used to get ppl to agree to the "war" effort
> (bringing ajax to the UN, etc)

I don't disagree that the Bush administration used stupid tactics to try
to win the hearts and minds of the general populace; I consider that
second only to the disastrously idiotic lack of planning by Defense
Sec'y Rumsfeld and his team when it comes to why the war has been so
divisive to Americans. Whether I think the people could have been so
convinced by a "we don't know if Saddam has nukes, we do know he has
used chemical weapons, let's try to invade-and-impose-democracy"
strategy is irrelevant at this point. But please try to keep to the
facts and use generally accepted argumentative principles, OK? Thanks!

Whether Wilson's trip to Niger was conclusive doesn't have anything to
do with whether or not most people with access to the relevant
information thought that Saddam had WMDs. It only suggests that the
Bush administration wanted to use that as part of their argument,
could not, and reacted like the schoolyard bullies they are. It does
not, unfortunately, mean that once GWB is out of office that Iraq,
as a problem to its neighbors and to the US, goes away.

> I think GWB and followers were the only ones who thought it was nessasary.

Well, I thought it was necessary, too, even if I think they screwed the
pooch on execution and follow through, and regardless of whether or not
in retrospect I think it was a wise strategy to exacerbate the already
hostile relations with Iran, ignore international law WRT the use of
torture, alternately annoy and coddle Pakistan, etc. So, unless you count
me as a "follower" of GWB, which I strenuously deny, then you're wrong.

Next?

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