A_Wanderer said:
Sorry, I was just confused by all those years where they were supporting air strikes, sanctions and thousands of sorties based on the facts that Iraq had failed to disarm and it had made links with Al Qaeda. Those policies were justified then on the basis of what they intelligence community was saying; I don't see how that line of thinking within a Gore administration would have changed after September 11.
doesn't the very fact that there was all this anti-Saddam rhetoric, and actions, all of which fell short of a war, from 1991-2003 essentially prove that no one thought the war launched by Bush was a good idea?
there's more than one way to "deal with" or "disarm" or support "regime change" short of invading with 150,000 troops?
there were rumors all through the Clinton years of the US having agents on the ground in Baghdad and working with anti-Saddam revolutionary forces. the policy then was regime change, only it was getting the Iraqis to do it for themselves with support from the US.
the difference is that Bush chose to change the regime using the US Army. and that's a big, big, big difference.
also, just how many Democrats have apologized for authorizing Bush to use force since 2002? all of the presidential candidates, except for HRC who has deftly avoided this.
also, just how many Democrats can reasonably say that authorizing Bush to use force, if necessary, was tantamount to giving him a carte blanche to march in whenever he wanted?
also, is it not reasonable to look at the Democrats in 2002 and say that they supported a policy that might have worked had we not had what is, hands down, the most incompetent administration, president, and sec of def in the history of the United States?
i find it very interesting how Bush-like this conversation has become. it's all very, "i believe on Wednesday what i believed on Monday no matter what happened on Tuesday."
and you'll all notice that AEON is doing what the Republicans are trying to do -- wash their hands and avoid any responsibility for this failure.
and it is a failure. a REPUBLICAN failure. the REPUBLICANS have lost ANOTHER war. and it is the REPUBLCIANS fault.
never forget that. hold their feet to the fire.
they held the presidency and both houses of congress from 2001-2006. iraq is your fault.
so fucking man up and take responsiblity for it and admit that you've failed and stop being like a man without a map who can't admit he's lost. all this talk about supporting the troops and, again, they are just political pawns being used to create another natioanl security narrative, like they did post-Vietnam, to get the armchair generals and angry white men to foist all of their "we didn't lose 'Nam it was a TIE" shame onto Cindy Sheehan and Jane Fonda and Susan Sarandon.