Al Gore blasts George H.W. Bush for ignoring Iraq’s ties to terrorists and disregarding Iraq’s attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction. (September 29, 1992)
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
Just a few quick comments, not to want to go back and re-litigate, after the sentence has already been carried out.
First, there’s a difference between 1992 and 2003. Things changed. No fly zones. Inspections regimes. Sanctions. We now know that these – collectively – worked. No WMD in 2003. No, Bush didn’t “lie.” He honestly thought they were there. Three times, before he finally left office, Bush affirmed that there were no WMD or WMD “programs,” blaming the error on “bad intelligence,” which, I’m sure, is the answer. Not his fault. Not anyone’s fault, probably. We just didn’t have the intelligence resources we needed to know what was really going on. Blame the “bad intelligence” on Clinton, or whomever you want. The lesson is that we need good intelligence, more than we need armies fighting land wars in Asia. I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that there actually were WMD programs in 1992. The broader argument was, given the possibility (or even probability) of active WMD programs, was the better course of action invasion or containment? The question is relevant today, because we are again faced with the same problem — this time in Iran — and the Iranian problem is arguably of greater magnitude than it would have been had the policy toward Iraq, circa 2003, been containment, as opposed to invasion.
But, again, the most relevant question is what we do now, regarding Iran. Invade, or contain?
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
I think an invasion of Iran and the long-term economic consequences of such a crack-brained undertaking might finally tap out the world’s last remaining superpower.
@ Greg, Who is the Word’s Last Remaining Superpower?
I’d like to think that would still be us.
Greg, only if we can nullify The Fraudulent One’s agenda will we remain a super power. How can anyone take anything Al Gore says with anything but disdain. He’s a know liar and hypocrite. He’s last week’s stale cheese.
@ Greg
Not on the current path. Do You believe that the next Superpowers will pay for the New Marshall Plan for the US, after the Obama Depression and His Surrender in Afghanistan? If You look at the numbers we are not winning on the War or the Economy. We now use Russian launch for NASA Missions. WE have record debt and Low Consumer Confidence as well as monumental Taxes coming to pay for the Obama Regime Agenda.
My advice to You, learn to speak Chinese, Arabic, Pashtu, Persian dialect or Russian if you want to communicate with the pending Super Powers.