May 17, 2005
MILKING DUDS:
British memo reopens war claim (Stephen J. Hedges and Mark Silva, May 17, 2005, Washington Post)
A British official's report that the Bush administration appeared intent on invading Iraq long before it acknowledged as much or sought Congress' approval--and that it "fixed" intelligence to fit its intention--has caused a stir in Britain.But the potentially explosive revelation has proven to be something of a dud in the United States. The White House has denied the premise of the memo, the American media have reacted slowly to it and the public generally seems indifferent to the issue or unwilling to rehash the bitter prewar debate over the reasons for the war.
All of this has contributed to something less than a robust discussion of a memo that would seem to bolster the strongest assertions of the war's critics.
Frustrated at the lack of attention to the memo, Democrats and war critics are working to make sure it gets a wider hearing, doing everything from writing letters to the White House to launching online petitions.
They still don't get that not liking Saddam, like not liking Hitler or the Kaiser, is a sufficient causus belli for Americans. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 17, 2005 1:33 PM
They also need to get out of their LLL compounds more. Out here in middle America, many many (perhaps even most) people think that we should have taken Saddam out in 1991. Or any year thereafter.
This is on par with the French calling Bush a cowboy--and thinking that it's an insult.
Posted by: fred at May 17, 2005 2:13 PMNot to mention that everyone who had been paying attention knew that the decision to invade, short of a complete compitulation by Iraq including the surrender of Saddam, had been made.
Posted by: David Cohen at May 17, 2005 2:14 PMThey want a do-over on the 2004 election.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at May 17, 2005 2:58 PMI would like to think that we drew a bead on Iraq, lined up our sights, and executed, but is not necesary to come to that conclusion. There is a distinction between planning FOR something and planning TO do something.
The culminating staff exercise at my LFSP course at NAB Coronado in the early 80's was a Persian Gulf problem. We repeatedly took our two-week exercises in the Mojave Desert during this period, driving our amphibious tractors through the sand, just as we did in our roll on Baghdad.
Being ready for potential missions does not constitute an aggressive conspiracy. It would be military malpractice not to have beach and tide plans for Cuba and Nicaragua; when these would actually be needed is a political question.
Posted by: Lou Gots at May 17, 2005 3:58 PM