You know what, Chris? People seem to easily forget a lot, as if they have amnesia. They seem to completely forget that most of the foreign countries involved in the Pre-Iraq War debate who we were asking for permission from in regards to overthrowing Saddam’s Ba’ath party were in fact telling us that they believed Saddam was trying to acquire fissile material along with chemicals for the manufacturing of Nerve Agents.

In fact, most of the countries that opposed us removing Hussein were repeating the same information. France was one of them, and so was Russia. Both of them said Saddam had WMD’s. Also, how about the countries of North African Nations who said Saddam sent members of his government to try and pursuade them to sell him fissile material that were made illegal for him to acquire after the first Persian Gulf War?

In December of 2001, the members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Committee on Intelligence signed a letter for president Bush written by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence chair Senator Bob Graham. It specifically was informing him that Saddam had WMD’s and that he did not destroyed all the ones he was told to after the first Persian Gulf war. It also said he was trying to acquire more WMD’s by revamping his military industrial program.

Senator Graham then proceeded to state that the only way to defeat terrorism is to spread democracy throughout the Middle East by liberating each and every country there. It is sad that people continue to claim that this war is the brain child of president Bush when it is not. History does not lie, and it spins a yarn of a tale much differently than that of anti-military Americans.

In 1996, Before he was a four star general, Tommy Franks was assigned to the task of creating a ground operations plan to liberate Iraq. It consisted of timed deployment phases, additional tours, post Ba’ath party rebuilding plans for Iraq’s infrastructure, check point locations, and aerial support plans. The plan was named 1003V OPLAN and it was the brain child of a bi-partisan Congress. Of which they knew that the plan was illegal, but not for long.

After two years of planning, the Congress passed the Iraqi Liberation Act which made it legal. From that moment on, democracy in Iraq in replacement of the Ba’ath Regime was the official foreign policy, and because of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, it had become one of the Supreme Laws of the Land.

As you can see, none of the claims many anti-military Americans make aren’t true. They also do not fit in terms of the way history has unfolded throughout time. Bush was not the one who made America believe that Saddam had WMD’s. America and her allies believed in that long before Bush was ever in office or took the stance in favor of liberating Iraq from the Ba’ath Party. Lets not forget the fact that he had to be persuaded by a letter from Intel Committee Congressional members and it’s chairmen to take that stance beforehand. Plus the fact that the letter contained content stating information that Bush is being blamed for as lies at the present moment.

Overall, I have been a life long Democrat and I am not willing to leave the party anytime soon regardless of how much I disagree with it’s participants. I don’t support the death penalty, I seldomly am in favor of tax cuts, and I think the border policies are to blame for America’s immigrant issues. However, I respect the views of people who disagree with me. No matter what party they are from. Still, when people lie, and try to brainwash me then I will not swallow down what they spoon feed me.

The notions of anti-military Americans are no exception, these creeds are nothing short of agitprop and I see people trying to force it down my throat often. Sometimes on colleges, T.V. shows, the radio, and some blogs. When this happens, I don’t care about party lines. I will refrain from buying into their garbage. Bottomline, this liberal is not a democrat zombie. I like the party, and respect it’s people. However, I think independantly from it’s idiosyncrasies and it’s main platform.

Kind of like a dog, who isn’t on a leash but doesn’t walk away and never return. I have never sold out any of my liberal roots. I just try to reach out past the party’s ignorance boundaries and search for info that is not being spoon fed to me.

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Mark,

Thanks. I am pretty sure the mural was at the northern Ansar camp as the references I have seen from it all point to it. 3rd ID’s website had it up for a while also.

It is amazing that everyone who was there in the US Military is saying this, but few here in the West seem to be listening. GEN Eisenhower feared this with the NAZI Death Camps and forced the German populace to walk through them along with forcing the media to document the camps.

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Chris,
I am not sure how I missed all this (maybe it’s because I was student teaching for 5 months) but that was a heck of a post and you and Scott really are a hell of a tag team on this and this info certainly matches with what I’ve been told by people on and off the record including Tommy Franks #2 Lt. General Michael DeLong who saw the intel on the al Qaeda/Saddam connection in Northern Iraq and said a lot that wasn’t mentioned elsewhere (http://regimeofterror.com/archives/2006/09/3star_general_reveals_addition/). Buzz Patterson has told me the same as has others who can’t yet go on record. Great post, I’ll be saving this one for my permanent files.

Chris,
Are you sure that Saddam mural was in an Ansar camp? I know they had safehouses in different parts of Iraq and that NBC witnessed them chanting support for Saddam one day but didn’t know that mural was found there.

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http://www.husseinandterror.com/

http://www.ctc.usma.edu/default.asp (this site is HUGE)

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5CNation%5Carchive%5C200410%5CNAT20041011a.html

There are just three sources out of many (some in the article above). Saddam’s state-run media spoke of hitting America in the injured arm (New York) and he put his military on full alert a week prior to 9-11. A mural in the Ansar al Islam (now calling itself Al Queada) camp in northern Iraq had a mural of Saddam smoking a cigar while the WTC burned with the saying “job well done” under it. The Ansar al Islam camp was fully sanctioned by Saddam.

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curt.
i just reread the arguement and while it is not explicitly stated a 9/11 Iraq connection is exactly what is being argued. see “Saddam had intimate knowledge of 9-11-01.”

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Who ever said there was a 9/11 connection? Not one person has. But there are reams and reams of evidence showing Saddam did in fact encourage and help AQ. Your belief that Saddam never cooperated with terrorists because he is secular is quite misinformed.

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you make a very good arguement. I know many people who agree. I, myself, believe Saddam Hussein was a horrible person, and evil dictator. However, i respectfully disagree with you claim. There is no 9/11 Iraq connection. Osama bin Laden attempted to make ties with Hussein in the 1990′s, but Hussein never responded to his efforts. Hussein ran a secular country and had no interest inreligous extremes.

And I do not wish for an immediate withdrawl form Iraq. I simply wish for a clearer picture of what the administration hopes to accompplish.

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Skye,

Thanks. I have the one above but did not add it as an oversight (I have dozens and forgot). Thank you for providing it. It is sobering every time I see this Holocaustic event. Even more appalling since the full name of the Ba’ath party is the National Socialist Ba’ath party of Iraq.

I am sure the leftists, whose talking points always end up as terrorist propaganda (or is it vice versa?) will simply say, ‘well Rumsfeld armed Saddam.. See this handshake picture!” While forgetting that the USA does not make T-55s, T-62s, T-72s, MIGs/SU aircraft, Mirage Fighters, SCUDs, D-30 towed artillery, 2S1/2S3 SP Arty, R400 Chemical Bombs, Durandel bombs, Milan ATGMs, AT-2/3/4/6/14 ATGMs (not the US bazooka AT-4, the AT-4 “Fagot” ATGM on the BMP-1.. Oh, we do not make BMPs either), ZSU-57/24 AAA, RPGs, and many other system Iraq used.

They will also forget that all the high tech US provided stuff, minus very old M113s (which 3rd ID cut to ribbons in 2003), did not work when used against us. The left never wonders why.

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Why is it that liberals claim ‘peace is priceless’ but make every effort to calculate the cost of liberation of Iraq and the WOT.

I see ‘Jeff’ has left his mark here at FA as well.

While we are trading links, the ones I’m submitting in this post certainly puts a face on the cost of this conflict. A face I’m not sure many liberals recognize.

http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/pdf/iraq_mass_graves.pdf

http://www.hudson.org/files/publications/murdocksaddamarticle.pdf

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Thanks for this post; more people should remember this. By the way, you might be interested in the Wounded Warriors Project. Its a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness for U.S. troops severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. It really puts a face on the cost of this conflict. Here’s a link:

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/aarwebshow

Jeff

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