Condoleezza Rice commented in a speech in Blackburn, UK that the US has made thousands of “tactical errors” in the war against Iraq. However, she stated “I believe strongly that it was the right strategic decision, that Saddam (Hussein) had been a threat to the international community long enough.” Ms. Rice additionally noted (derived from BBC):
*no-one should doubt America's commitment to justice and the rule of law
*the US had no desire "to be the world's jailer", and that Washington wanted "the terrorists that we capture to stand trial"
*the cause of advancing freedom was the greatest hope for peace today
*the use of force "is not what is on the agenda now" in the stand-off over Iran's nuclear program - adding that President Bush "never takes any option off the table"
*the US and Britain should continue to have "extremely close" ties relations and be united in the fight against terrorism.-BBC World Report
Lets examine some reasons for this war quoted by government officials:
Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz on the reasons for Iraq War
Excerpts from the news transcript of Sam Tannenbaus' Vanity Fair interview with Paul Wolfowitz-http://peacefuljustice.caltech.edu/0630/5.shtml
Q: Right. So Iraq naturally came to the top of the list because of its history and the weapons of mass terror and all the rest, is that right?
Wolfowitz: Yes, plus the fact which seems to go unremarked in most places, that Saddam Hussein was the only international figure other than Osama bin Laden who praised the attacks of September 11th.
George W Bush speaking to the UN, 13 September 2002: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2948068.stm
“To suspend hostilities [in 1991], to spare himself, Iraq's dictator accepted a series of commitments. The terms were clear to him and to all, and he agreed to prove he is complying with every one of those obligations...
He has proven instead only his contempt for the United Nations and for all his pledges. By breaking every pledge, by his deceptions and by his cruelties, Saddam Hussein has made the case against himself.”
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking to the press, 12 March:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2948068.stm
“He claims to have no chemical or biological weapons, yet we know he continues to hide biological and chemical weapons, moving them to different locations as often as every 12 to 24 hours, and placing them in residential neighborhoods.”
As we all know no trace of weapons of mass destruction were found. There were serious discrepancies in the intelligence information that proclaimed Iraq was creating nuclear weapons. Member’s of the Bush administration have apologized about this, but still support that this is a just war.
Lest we forget that we supported Saddam in the Iran-Iraq war, along we many other counties. “The Iraqi government continued to be supported by a broad international community including the most of the West, the Soviet Union, and China which continued sending arms shipments to combat Iran. Indeed, shipments from the US increased after this date, and the UK awarded £400 million in trade credits to Iraq ten days after condemning the massacre (Wikipeda).”
Additionally, prior to the Gulf War, Saddam met with April Glapsie, the United States Ambassador to Iraq, to discuss his concerns with Kuwait. The US assured Saddam that they would not become involved in the dispute. However, as we all know, that wasn’t the case. Immediately, the U.N got involved, along with the US. “The war, which proved disastrous for Iraq, lasted only six weeks, one hundred and forty thousand tons of munitions had showered down on the country, the equivalent of 7 Hiroshima bombs. Probably as many as 100,000 Iraqi soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians were killed (Wikipeda).” Funny thing is, the US stated they had no previous knowledge about Saddam’s intentions.
We all have to admit that Saddam was indeed a bit crazy, however, can we justify a 6 billion dollar monthly bill? The US has as much dirt under their nails as Iraq, if more. Protests are on-going in opposition to the war. Parents of American soldiers are crying for their children to come home. Innocent civilians in Iraq are being killed. The US is despised by the world. Peace is the only solution. We must fight terrorism some other way.
There were video images taken from satellite, however were used for espionage and were not allowed to be used in trial against Saddam. Not to mention that there was a team of Special Forces who took in some scientists to an old abandoned warehouse in Iraq to find mass amounts of NBC agents specifically used to make WMDs. I only know this because I met with one of the Special Forces members who, because it was after the war broke out (this was done before the war to validate our reason to go) and no longer considered classified information.
"Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity"
-Albert Einstein
Wow, that is some serious information. However, does that still justify this war? Why is it that America is allowed to have weapons of mass destruction, along with the initiative to create new technology with India and other countries, while other countries are not? I understand that Saddam could have been a threat, but there are many threats facing this world. My belief my friend, there were ulterior motives. Money, Power, Oil, World domination.