Doug Pensinger wrote:
> ... this war was prosecuted by scaring the American People with
> images of mushroom clouds
On 20 Apr 2005, Gautam Mukunda responded by saying
I recall a speech by a fairly prominent member of the
Administration about Saddam Hussein using rape, torture, and mass
murder as routine instruments of his rule.
The problem is that you two are probably referring to two different
times.
My hunch is that Doug is talking about the time in the fall of 2002
and in the early part of 2003 and that Gautam is referring to the
latter part of the pre-invasion period.
In this issue, this is important for Gautam because when he does not
mention the dates in this case, he gives the impression that instead
of being ignorant of them, he has been suckered.
To me, Gautam gives the impression that he is telling Doug that in the
fall of 2002, President Bush argued mightly that the US should invade
Iraq because Saddam Hussein was bad. But President Bush did not.
Please remember that as of 17 Feb 2003, when I posted to the Brin
List, President Bush had not argued that the US should
... help the people of Iraq free themselves from a cruel
dictatorship.
That came later.
I think Doug is referring to the time before 17 February 2003. In the
fall of 2002 and the early part of 2003, the United States government
made two major public arguments for invading Iraq:
* To support UN Chapter 7 resolutions
* Find and destroy chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons
If you think little of the UN, then it makes more sense to focus on
the other reason given publically by the United States government at
that time: namely, to find and destroy chemical, biological, and
nuclear weapons whose use might not be deterred.
It looks to me that Gautam is referring to a different argument, one
that was made by the US government after 17 February 2003.
(As I said, I think the US government as a whole, not just the Bush
Administration, and its military were persuaded by yet a different
argument, one that was not publically stated: to overthrow the
government of and establish a major US presence in a geo-politically
important country so as to frighten the other dictatorships, such as
Saudi Arabia, into greater efforts policing against enemies of US.
Also, I have not stated, but think the Bush Administration had many
other unstated reasons for invading Iraq. But my concern here is when
public statements were made.)
--
Robert J. Chassell
[EMAIL PROTECTED] GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
http://www.rattlesnake.com http://www.teak.cc
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