Why Iraq?
It seems some who come here and say Iraq was wrong and no threat to the USA forget a few things.
Flopping Aces already has a large section on this as seen on the sideboard: Iraq/al-Qaeda Connections. Here are my additions.
- Saddam violated the Gulf War Cease Fire protocols continuously for 12 years. That is 12 YEARS of diplomacy, sanctions, limited bombings, threats of more land actions, more failed diplomacy, more threats, and more of Saddam thumbing his nose at the world while he illegally rearmed. A “Cease Fire” is not a peace treaty. Legally, the US could have responded at any time.
- Saddam, and many others, violated the “oil for food program” to the tune of billions of dollars/euros. This included untouchable high level members of the UN.
- Saddam, very publicly, financed terrorists in Palestine and had contacts with Al Qaeda. These include meetings with known operatives in the Czech Republic (confirmed by Czech internal security forces), the Salmon Pak (South of Baghdad) and the Ansar al-Islam (northern Iraq area) terrorist training camps (One of them held a painting of the WTC burning while Saddam smoked a cigar).
- Provided medical aid and training for Al Qaeda as they fled the Afghan area. A case in point is the confession by Al Qaeda terrorists captured in Jordan (2004) when they attempted to conduct a WMD attack (Sarin/VX gas and other chemicals:20 tons total, w/explosives: see links) in Amman, Jordan. These terrorists told the story of how they escaped Afghanistan, fled to Iraq, followed the convoys hauling goods out of Iraq before the Coalition invasion (remember those? The media doesn’t and they reported them), and ended up in the Becca Valley with the WMDs and Iraqi forces, working for a man named Zarqari. Name ring a bell? The Iraqis were STILL dealing with Taliban thugs in Baghdad when I was deployed there in early 2007.
- Openly defied UN resolutions, many with use of force clauses.
- Even during their final inspection in 2003, the UN teams were still finding MORE chemical weapons systems that Iraq “forgot” to document. Also included in the same report was two Iraqi surface to surface missile systems which greatly exceeded the range limitation stipulated by the cease fire (UN report titled: s-2003-232 :Twelfth quarterly report of the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in accordance with paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999))
- Continued attacks on Coalition aircraft patrolling the Iraqi agreed upon No-Fly Zones. Attacking US aircraft is an act of war.
- Sorties by MIG-25RB Aircraft into the southern No-Fly Zone (how he got those and maintained them with “sanctions” in place is a really good question). Entering the No-Fly Zone is an act of war.
- Attempted to assassinate a former US President.
- Provided aid and comfort to terrorists retreating from Afghanistan.
- Aided in the first attack on the World Trade Center through proxy and direct supply of Sarin components. This too is an act of war.
- Saddam had intimate knowledge of 9-11-01. His state-run media printed warnings that the US would be hit in the “arm that was hurting”, a reference to New York City. He also put his entire armed forces (refitted with NEW tanks) on alert days prior to 9-11.
- Saddam had WMDs. Every nation consulted (France, UK, Russia) and the UN all agreed he had them. Democrats on the Intelligence Committee sated he had them throughout the 1990s. Saddam boasted of fooling the inspectors in the 90s. We attacked him several times with aircraft and missiles in the 90s. Clinton even ordered the commencement of “Operation Desert Fox” to punish Iraq for non-compliance with inspectors. No one complained then.
- WMDs have been found all over Iraq. Usually in smaller amounts, but this is to be expected with the amount of warning Saddam had of the invasion.
To the leftists who will rant and rave at what I write, look at the links. Are you one of the left who “Supports the Troops when they kill their officers,” or do you advocate SF Indymedia’s more direct approach? Yes, right from Indygate’s’s own site!!
How About reports on the thwarted WMD attack on Jordan in 2004?
WMD Links and more evidence about WMDs
Investors.com(requires subscription, sorry)
More WMD stuff:
Captured Ba’athist “Safehouse”
Last UN Report on Iraq, including finding a number of 122mm Chemical Artillery Shells and R-400 Biological Weapon bombs filled with a liquid (after 12 YEARS of searching and “100% declarations” by Saddam’s Iraq). It also details Iraq’s Al-Sammoud missile program (range exceeds cease fire and UN mandates) and Iraq’s lack of cooperation of substance. You can access all of the UN Records here too.
Or, how Former Sec of State Allbright was surprised no WMDs were found:
And more:
And probably best of all, articles from the former Romanian spy chief, Ion Mihai Pacepa, which details the Russian efforts to hide WMDs of client states. Do you have any idea how far this was buried in the internet? If I didn’t know the author’s name and nationality, I would have never found it.
And since people love Wikipedia:
And finally this:
“Moreover, the IIS paper targeted a number of French individuals that the Iraqi’s thought had close relations to French President Chirac, including, according to the Iraqi assessment, the official spokesperson of President Chirac’s re-election campaign, two reported “counselors” of President Chirac, and two well-known French businessmen. In May 2002, IIS correspondence addressed to Saddam stated that a MFA (quite possibly an IIS officer under diplomatic cover) met with French parliamentarian to discuss Iraq-Franco relations. The French politician assured the Iraqi that France would use its veto in the UNSC against any American decision to attack Iraq, according to the IIS memo.
From Baghdad’s perspective, the MFA concluded that the primary motive for French continued support and cooperation with Iraq in the UN was economic. According to Tariq Aziz, French oil companies wanted to secure two large oil contracts; Russian companies not only wanted to secure (or lock in) oil contracts, but also sought other commercial contracts covering agricultural, electricity, machinery, food, and automobiles and trucks products. ….”
By the way, the US only exports 10-15% of the Mid-East’s oil. The big exporters are China, Japan, India, and Europe. So to the leftists, please stop the daily “two minutes hate” and your “quacking” it’s so very predictable and irrational.
WMDs in Iraq Recovered as of 2004 (unclassified version)
Nuclear:
- 1.95 tons of enriched uranium
- 1000 banned radioactive sources (cesium and other isotopes)
- 16 drums of yellowcake from Al-Qaim extraction plant
- An undisclosed rail gun system used to test nuclear detonations. Iraq developed this in secret in 1999. The gun was built at Al-Tahadi. It, along with 500 tons of natural uranium wsa found south of Baghdad in 2003.
Biological Agents.
- Live C. botulinum Okra B (makes batulinum toxin: 1 gram kills 10,000) found hidden in Iraqi Biological Weapon’s Scientist’s home.
- Discovered, continued, out-lawed and concealed, research on Brucella, Congo Crimean Hemorragic Fever (CCHF), ricin, and aflatoxin. None of this was declared to the UN even after 12 years of sanctions.
- Ricin discovered in Sargat, Iraq along with hidden sacks of castor beans (labeled as “fertilizer”) in al-Aziziyah.
- Human testing facilities (prisons) for BW agents.
- Mobile labs for BW agents buried in the desert. 11 found in Karbala.
- Mulitple small fixed BW sites/labs which the UN never knew about.
Chemical
- Multiple attacks against US troops using Mustard and Sarin gas filled shells
- Multiple attacks by terrorists against Iraqi civilians using chlorine gas
- Cyanide labs found in “Safe Houses” in fallujah
- 5,000 Lbs/2,268KG of Cyanide found in Taji (total cyanide as of 2004 was 2,370 Kg or 2.4 million leathal doses)
- Various Chemical Weapons Labs
My answer to the leftists who say “It’s our foreign policy that created terrorism” nonsense: Ever hear the Marine Hymn? That whole “Shores of Tripoli” line refers to the USMC and USN fighting the “Barbary Pirates”. Well, these “pirates” called themselves the “Mujahadin” and were waging a declared “Jihad” against the West (in the 1780s). And Europe was doing what it still does best: Appeasing. This sound familiar? In response, the US, against its argued principles of no standing Armed Forces, created the USN and the USMC to fight the Islamic terrorists. Who created who?
Questions for the islamofascists:
Open source intell that continues to debunk the left.
The Arab/Muslim Nazi Connection (why we call the terrorists ‘islamofascists’)
Debunking the 9-11 conspiracy by Popular Mechanics.
“Weapons of mass Destruction Found” by (Maj) Bryan Russell (NBC Officer, USAF) Great book to read on what was found in Iraq and Saddam’s connections to terrorism.
Unedited pictures showing what the left really is. Very Graphic!! Interesting are the signs that compare the President to Hitler (the two are complete opposites) and then call for the deaths of the Jews and destruction of Israel).
Chris – I have only gotten through half of this post so far (and skimmed the rest), but I wanted to say, excellent post. Absolutely excellent. I believe you and Scott have the best documentation of the Iraq/al Qaeda connection and reasons why it was necessary to go to Iraq after Afghanistan as the next step in the “war on terror”.
But, alas, the simple explanation for the obvious reaction all of this gets from the Left is: ideology trumps all facts. Osama bin Laden himself could surrender tomorrow and give a worldwide TV speech admitting his collaboration with Saddam’s Iraq and the Left still would not believe it.
Anyway, I need to go back and read this again and finish the rest that I skimmed, but did you happen to include a link to John Kerry stating in (I believe) December 2001 that we needed to go to Iraq next? I believe that John Kerry was the first politician to state that we needed to go after Saddam’s Iraq as part of the “war on terror”.
Keep up the excellent work you are doing here.
Curt – You have done an excellent job bringing in some great talent here at Flopping Aces. I believe Mike from Mike’s America and Chris have been your latest additions in the past year or so and they are excellent. I have been a big fan ever since I discovered your site and you keep getting better and better.
Keep up the great work, gentlemen.
Excellent rundown, but don’t tell the lefties WMD was used in the first WTC attack. If they find out a hundred thousand + could have been killed if not for a mistake by the terrorist they will all run home and hide in momma’s basement. I forgot, that’s where most of the elite lefties live anyway.
This won’t work — facts only work with the rational, not the hysterical, emotive left.
But, I have to say that this post is simply brilliant, comprehensive and clear. Well done ChrisG.
And one last reason. Fighting forces within a spitting distance of Iran. Your post should be required reading for all Dimmies,but than truth and proof make no difference.
Richard Romano wrote, “But, I have to say that this post is simply brilliant, comprehensive and clear. Well done ChrisG.”
Ditto.
Richard Romano also wrote, “This won’t work — facts only work with the rational, not the hysterical, emotive left“.
Then try this one on them. Like Millions Of Iraqis, I Made A Long Journey To The Nearest Polling Place Today.
Just a couple of excerpts to whet your appetite.
“I took refuge in a knee-jerk liberal identity for a long time, but now it’s threadbare and not as comfortable as it once was.”
“You may think that you have felt dumb before, but let me tell you something: until you have stood in front of a man who knows real pain and told him that you are against your country’s alleviation of his country’s state-sponsored murderous suffering, you have not felt truly, deeply, like a total moron.”
Needless to say, read the whole thing, including comments.
Thanks all. I first used this on yahoo answers and ended up becoming a “paste answer” since the same question was asked repeatedly.
Michael,
There is a “quotes” link 3/4ths of the way down. It ,may have the quote you are looking for. The “with us or against us” quote from Hillary on 12 Sept 01 is priceless and if her democratic opponents had any sense, they would use it against her in the primaries.
Unfortunately, you are all correct. Facts and reality do not work with the “anti-war” movement because they are not against war. They are very much FOR war, just not where the US is winning. If they were a true peace movement, they would be protesting the terrorists/islamofascists/Iranians/AQ and the real aggressors in this 1400 yr old war.
Great post; and one to bookmark, with so many relevant links. Thanks, Chris.
So many people I meet in my day-to-day, whether they follow politics or not, have been given the impression that “Bush lied” and we went to Iraq under “false pretenses”. Nor do they dinstinguish the difference between hindsight and flawed intelligience, which is ever a series of guesswork. And based upon what we knew at the time (and what we’ve learned after), Saddam and his murderous sons did pose a threat.
30 or 50 years from now, I wonder what kind of hindsight vision they will be looking at then?
Thanks for this post; more people should remember this. By the way, you might be interested in the Wounded Warriors Project. Its a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness for U.S. troops severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. It really puts a face on the cost of this conflict. Here’s a link:
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/aarwebshow
Jeff
Why is it that liberals claim ‘peace is priceless’ but make every effort to calculate the cost of liberation of Iraq and the WOT.
I see ‘Jeff’ has left his mark here at FA as well.
While we are trading links, the ones I’m submitting in this post certainly puts a face on the cost of this conflict. A face I’m not sure many liberals recognize.
http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/pdf/iraq_mass_graves.pdf
http://www.hudson.org/files/publications/murdocksaddamarticle.pdf
Skye,
Thanks. I have the one above but did not add it as an oversight (I have dozens and forgot). Thank you for providing it. It is sobering every time I see this Holocaustic event. Even more appalling since the full name of the Ba’ath party is the National Socialist Ba’ath party of Iraq.
I am sure the leftists, whose talking points always end up as terrorist propaganda (or is it vice versa?) will simply say, ‘well Rumsfeld armed Saddam.. See this handshake picture!” While forgetting that the USA does not make T-55s, T-62s, T-72s, MIGs/SU aircraft, Mirage Fighters, SCUDs, D-30 towed artillery, 2S1/2S3 SP Arty, R400 Chemical Bombs, Durandel bombs, Milan ATGMs, AT-2/3/4/6/14 ATGMs (not the US bazooka AT-4, the AT-4 “Fagot” ATGM on the BMP-1.. Oh, we do not make BMPs either), ZSU-57/24 AAA, RPGs, and many other system Iraq used.
They will also forget that all the high tech US provided stuff, minus very old M113s (which 3rd ID cut to ribbons in 2003), did not work when used against us. The left never wonders why.
you make a very good arguement. I know many people who agree. I, myself, believe Saddam Hussein was a horrible person, and evil dictator. However, i respectfully disagree with you claim. There is no 9/11 Iraq connection. Osama bin Laden attempted to make ties with Hussein in the 1990’s, but Hussein never responded to his efforts. Hussein ran a secular country and had no interest inreligous extremes.
And I do not wish for an immediate withdrawl form Iraq. I simply wish for a clearer picture of what the administration hopes to accompplish.
Who ever said there was a 9/11 connection? Not one person has. But there are reams and reams of evidence showing Saddam did in fact encourage and help AQ. Your belief that Saddam never cooperated with terrorists because he is secular is quite misinformed.
curt.
i just reread the arguement and while it is not explicitly stated a 9/11 Iraq connection is exactly what is being argued. see “Saddam had intimate knowledge of 9-11-01.”
http://www.husseinandterror.com/
http://www.ctc.usma.edu/default.asp (this site is HUGE)
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5CNation%5Carchive%5C200410%5CNAT20041011a.html
There are just three sources out of many (some in the article above). Saddam’s state-run media spoke of hitting America in the injured arm (New York) and he put his military on full alert a week prior to 9-11. A mural in the Ansar al Islam (now calling itself Al Queada) camp in northern Iraq had a mural of Saddam smoking a cigar while the WTC burned with the saying “job well done” under it. The Ansar al Islam camp was fully sanctioned by Saddam.
Chris,
I am not sure how I missed all this (maybe it’s because I was student teaching for 5 months) but that was a heck of a post and you and Scott really are a hell of a tag team on this and this info certainly matches with what I’ve been told by people on and off the record including Tommy Franks #2 Lt. General Michael DeLong who saw the intel on the al Qaeda/Saddam connection in Northern Iraq and said a lot that wasn’t mentioned elsewhere (http://regimeofterror.com/archives/2006/09/3star_general_reveals_addition/). Buzz Patterson has told me the same as has others who can’t yet go on record. Great post, I’ll be saving this one for my permanent files.
Chris,
Are you sure that Saddam mural was in an Ansar camp? I know they had safehouses in different parts of Iraq and that NBC witnessed them chanting support for Saddam one day but didn’t know that mural was found there.
Mark,
Thanks. I am pretty sure the mural was at the northern Ansar camp as the references I have seen from it all point to it. 3rd ID’s website had it up for a while also.
It is amazing that everyone who was there in the US Military is saying this, but few here in the West seem to be listening. GEN Eisenhower feared this with the NAZI Death Camps and forced the German populace to walk through them along with forcing the media to document the camps.
You know what, Chris? People seem to easily forget a lot, as if they have amnesia. They seem to completely forget that most of the foreign countries involved in the Pre-Iraq War debate who we were asking for permission from in regards to overthrowing Saddam’s Ba’ath party were in fact telling us that they believed Saddam was trying to acquire fissile material along with chemicals for the manufacturing of Nerve Agents.
In fact, most of the countries that opposed us removing Hussein were repeating the same information. France was one of them, and so was Russia. Both of them said Saddam had WMD’s. Also, how about the countries of North African Nations who said Saddam sent members of his government to try and pursuade them to sell him fissile material that were made illegal for him to acquire after the first Persian Gulf War?
In December of 2001, the members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Committee on Intelligence signed a letter for president Bush written by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence chair Senator Bob Graham. It specifically was informing him that Saddam had WMD’s and that he did not destroyed all the ones he was told to after the first Persian Gulf war. It also said he was trying to acquire more WMD’s by revamping his military industrial program.
Senator Graham then proceeded to state that the only way to defeat terrorism is to spread democracy throughout the Middle East by liberating each and every country there. It is sad that people continue to claim that this war is the brain child of president Bush when it is not. History does not lie, and it spins a yarn of a tale much differently than that of anti-military Americans.
In 1996, Before he was a four star general, Tommy Franks was assigned to the task of creating a ground operations plan to liberate Iraq. It consisted of timed deployment phases, additional tours, post Ba’ath party rebuilding plans for Iraq’s infrastructure, check point locations, and aerial support plans. The plan was named 1003V OPLAN and it was the brain child of a bi-partisan Congress. Of which they knew that the plan was illegal, but not for long.
After two years of planning, the Congress passed the Iraqi Liberation Act which made it legal. From that moment on, democracy in Iraq in replacement of the Ba’ath Regime was the official foreign policy, and because of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, it had become one of the Supreme Laws of the Land.
As you can see, none of the claims many anti-military Americans make aren’t true. They also do not fit in terms of the way history has unfolded throughout time. Bush was not the one who made America believe that Saddam had WMD’s. America and her allies believed in that long before Bush was ever in office or took the stance in favor of liberating Iraq from the Ba’ath Party. Lets not forget the fact that he had to be persuaded by a letter from Intel Committee Congressional members and it’s chairmen to take that stance beforehand. Plus the fact that the letter contained content stating information that Bush is being blamed for as lies at the present moment.
Overall, I have been a life long Democrat and I am not willing to leave the party anytime soon regardless of how much I disagree with it’s participants. I don’t support the death penalty, I seldomly am in favor of tax cuts, and I think the border policies are to blame for America’s immigrant issues. However, I respect the views of people who disagree with me. No matter what party they are from. Still, when people lie, and try to brainwash me then I will not swallow down what they spoon feed me.
The notions of anti-military Americans are no exception, these creeds are nothing short of agitprop and I see people trying to force it down my throat often. Sometimes on colleges, T.V. shows, the radio, and some blogs. When this happens, I don’t care about party lines. I will refrain from buying into their garbage. Bottomline, this liberal is not a democrat zombie. I like the party, and respect it’s people. However, I think independantly from it’s idiosyncrasies and it’s main platform.
Kind of like a dog, who isn’t on a leash but doesn’t walk away and never return. I have never sold out any of my liberal roots. I just try to reach out past the party’s ignorance boundaries and search for info that is not being spoon fed to me.