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Richard Perle Calls For War Against Iraq, Iran
'Get Saddam Out Violently'
11/21/2001 4:02:39 PM
United Press International
Washington, DC -- Top Bush Adviser: 'Get Saddam Out Violently'
NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2001
WASHINGTON � Iraq could be next on the military's target list in the war
on
terror, says one of President Bush's and Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld's
top informal national security advisers.
"I think Iraq should be the principal next target because it poses the
biggest
threat to the United States," said Richard Perle, chairman of the Defense
Policy Board and one of Bush's famed "Vulcans" � his national security
team
during his campaign. "I think the only way you are going to get Saddam
Hussein
out of there is violently."
The remarks further signal a high-level effort to promote a war with Iraq.
Perle believes the regime in Iran must also be overthrown but believes it
could
be achieved without direct U.S. military pressure.
"I think if we destroy the Taliban and then Saddam Hussein the others will
be
more tractable," he said.
The Defense Policy Board is an informal advisory board that debates policy
issues and provides non-binding recommendations � often conflicting ones �
to
the defense secretary. Its membership includes Henry Kissinger and several
former defense and White House officials.
Perle said Tuesday the connection between Sept. 11 terrorist Mohammed Atta
and
Iraqi intelligence agents, combined with Saddam Hussein's known stockpile
of
biological weapons � an arsenal that includes anthrax � should be
sufficient
evidence for the administration to put Baghdad in its cross hairs.
"The possibility of [Iraq] placing vicious weapons of mass destruction in
the
hands of people like Mohammed Atta can not be ignored," he said.
Moreover, Iraq has been pursuing a nuclear weapon, according to Perle. "He
is
working hard to acquire nuclear weapons. It is simply a matter of time
before
enough nuclear material is collected ... and he knows how to build a
bomb."
Perle believes the military can succeed without the vast numbers and
firepower
mustered for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The military now has a
preponderance of
precision munitions which are far more accurate and therefore would
require far
fewer planes to deliver on target.
He also mentioned the B-2 bomber, which has proven its ability to fly long
missions to discharge its weapons with a low risk of being shot down.
"We don't need 1,600 planes. We don't need 500,000 men," he said.
Following the pattern set in Afghanistan, Perle advocated strengthening
internal resistance to Saddam Hussein by funding, equipping and training
the
Kurdish factions in the north and the Shi'a in the south. If they are able
to
seize those areas, they will also have control of the majority of Iraq's
oil
fields, cutting Saddam Hussein off from his primary source of funding.
"The opposition to Saddam Hussein is potentially a strong opposition. It
isn't
strong today because it was getting no external support," he said,
comparing it
to the resurgent Northern Alliance which has prospered under its recent
U.S.
patronage.
"The combination of a modest number of American forces, opposition forces
and
defections together with precision bombing and careful strategy encourage
me to
think he can be brought down more quickly than we think," Perle said.
"Even the
Republican Guard is no longer reliable."
The threat posed by Iraq's armored force is overstated, he said.
"Saddam Hussein is strong relative to opponents who have no armor and
little
else."
For American aircraft armed with precision weapons, massed armor columns
are
nothing more than juicy targets.
One of the main obstacles the White House would face in taking on Iraq is
whether it can construct a powerful enough coalition to fight the war.
Perle
believes the issue is moot, given the power, precision and reach of
weapons.
"The need for a coalition has been vastly overstated," he said. "At the
end of
the day we don't need much support ... We will get better performance out
of
our coalition partners when we don't need them."
Timing is everything, according to Perle.
"If too long elapses between the destruction of the Taliban and the
destruction
of bin Laden and [the second phase of the war on terrorism] our normal
predisposition is not to be at war. The moment the sense of danger has
passed,
a democracy tends to relax," he said. "I wish we hadn't conceived of this
war
against terrorism in phases ... it runs a risk there will be a break in
momentum."
Taking out Saddam Hussein hard on the heels of the destruction of the
Taliban
would have a sobering effect on other countries known to harbor or sponsor
terrorists, he said.
"You're next," he said the message would be.
After Iraq: Iran
Next on Perle's list would be Iran.
"It's part of the problem, not part of the solution," he said.
Perle's approach to Tehran would be different. He asserts the people of
Iran
are increasingly disaffected toward their government and favorable to the
United States. That instinct could be "encouraged" with propaganda and
support
to political opposition groups.
"There may be ways to get other resources to opponents," he said.
Perle believes the overthrow of the government in Iran could be bloodless.
"We should be doing everything we can to encourage the centrifugal forces"
of
change there.
Perle said the United States should then turn its attention to longtime
allies,
Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
"The Saudis don't shelter terrorists but they have been careless in the
way
they have made money available" to clerics who encourage anti- American
sentiment, he said. "There is not a lot we can do beyond remonstration."
Perle predicted the Saudi's will suffer at the hands of the religious
fundamentalists the government has allowed to prosper there.
"The Saudis in the end will be consumed by the flames they've been
feeding," he
said. "Osama bin Laden has been eager to get his hands on the money,
power, and
wealth of Saudi Arabia."
Egypt should be pressured financially to silence its nation's clerics who
preach against the United States in their prayer sessions, fomenting
discord.
"It's high time we said to Mubarak we would like to see that stopped," he
said,
suggesting that large chunks of the $2 billion in aid Egypt receives from
the
United States could be cut for every week that preaching is allowed to
continue. "Those prayers are a direct threat to the American people."
-- Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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