WikiLeaks

[turk]

After the first Gulf War, Desert Storm, wasn't Al Gore saying the first Bush had deliberately put American soldiers in harms way by not addressing Saadam's WMD programs? Wasn't Clinton constantly on alert in the nineties that Saadam was developing WMD's and using them on his own people in the Kurdish provinces in the north and the marsh Arabs in the south? Didn't Saadam hinder UN IAEA inspections and violate resolutions throughout Clinton's and into W's terms? Didn't he violate the no-fly zone? Didn't his army fire anti-aircraft missiles on U.S. planes? The answers to all those questions are YES. In fact I think Gore and Clinton and others were also making admonishments about Saadam's WMD's into the noughts. Just a sampling:

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002.

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002.

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002.

The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002.

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I b elieve that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002.

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Jay Rockerfeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002.

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"
Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002.

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002.

"[W]ithout question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his contin ued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real ..."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003.

[midatlanticys]

All of the above quotes are substantially correct reproductions of statements made by various Democratic leaders. However, some of the quotes are truncated, and context is provided for none of them - some of them were offered in the course of statements that clearly indicated the speaker was decidedly against unilateral military intervention in Iraq by the US. Moreover several of the quotes offered antedate the four nights of airstrikes unleased . . . . . . continued below the *box* full of quotes here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/wmdquotes.asp

[vdubyah73]

ok ruckman or anybody how about some facts. not opinions spoon fed by the likes of Krauthammer and others.

most of the full quotes make it clear that the people being quoted wish for diplomacy to work, but we all learned in kindergarten that diplomacy doesn't work with bullies. they're still gonna take your twinkie's.

[turk]

. Moreover several of the quotes offered antedate the four nights of airstrikes unleased . . . . . . continued below the *box* full of quotes here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/wmdquotes.asp

Which war are you referring to? The first Gulf War? My point is the idea of weapons of mass destruction is not new. So, it wasn't a novelty cooked up by W. to justify the invasion. Instead, it was a well-known point of contention. And the Congress did vote for the war. It wasn't W alone as it seems to be portrayed. Add to that W gave Saddam 48 hours to disarm. But today we still have the "Bush Lied" canard. Good post BTW- I just want to call attention to the fact WMDs was always a problem. Bush didn't fabricate it.

[ruckman101]

Yeah, I remember. Sanctions and monitoring were working so the shrub sabotaged it so he could stoke the fear and get us into the war.

As for Kuwait, Saddam told us he was going to invade, and because we didn't say boo, he took that as a green light.

Facts? I should respond to the opinions of a conservative columnist and a mess of conservative propaganda dispensing websites with facts?

There are still a slew of cables unreleased. Don't jump the gun.

By the time the shrub put us there, Saddam was essentially a toothless tiger.


neal

[ruckman101]

Funny how the camp calling the loudest to assassinate Assange for treason now glom onto an old WikiLeak file to defend the shrub's rep.


neal

[ruckman101]

It wouldn't surprise me if the yellowcake cited came from us. WMDs in Saddam's hands weren't an issue when he was our ally against Iran.

In fact I'd wager that with few exceptions, every one of the world's worst dictators have been our pals until they bucked the plans of our corporations. Oooo, then they was bad.

Yep, nothing like a truly democratic government that works to improve the lot of their people rather than improving the lot of our corporations to quickly bring a new dictator to power with our help. That's us, spreading democracy.

Yeah, we're the land of free speech alright. Just ask Assange.


neal

[vdubyah73]

You're really out there.

[ruckman101]

Just the other end of the spectrum. If I go far enough, I'll be in your camp.

Not that far fetched, actually. Far fetched when you're in denial over our countries imperialistic foreign policies.


neal

[dingo]

"Never mind the self-serving politicians who waffle on about the need for diplomatic confidentiality when they themselves order the bugging of diplomats and hacking of diplomatic communications"


" It is all about power and who has access to information. Nothing more. When those who want society to operate on the basis of the parent-child relationship because it is obviously easier to manage, shut the door and say "not in front of the children", they are usually looking after their interests, not ours. "


-Guardian

[vdubyah73]

I think you have it wrong. we won in war or purchased former colonies of
European nations.
Spanish American war, Cuba, The Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Hawaii was initially a coup organized by large fruit co's with backing by our military in the late 1800's. Ultimately though they wanted to be a part of the US.
Alaska was purchased from Russia.
Guano Islands will make you go batshit trying to figure out what the hell happened there!
American Samoa, long story short, Samoa was a deal between the UK and the the US after a conflict of interest between the two. We had both colonized the area. the treaty after the conflict gave us America Samoa. Interesting to note that new zealnd wound up with the larger half of the Samoan Islands and granted them freedom late 50's early 60's? American Samoa does not want independence. The population is nearly 90% native Samoans.



Most of the countries where hate and discontent are growing at a feverish pace were former European colonies not US. stop making it up and stop listening to opinionators on the inter web. study it for your self, draw your own conclusions. Left wing op ed pieces are spoon feeding their OPINION to you. Get the facts, make up your own mind. We are not the evil country we are made out to be. Have we done some wrong things as a nation? Sure. Have we done some great things as a nation You bet yer ass. We as a nation have a reputation. It's a pretty good one, with most of the world. we always seem to do the right thing in the end.

[ruckman101]

Goodness vdubyah, you've certainly made many assumptions about me, if indeed that last post was directed to me.

So I should be able to recognize the difference between fact and opinion. I feel I do.

For instance, "The WikiLeaks Vindication of George W. Bush" is Larry Elder's opinion.

And don't forget economic imperialism.

Although I'm not real sure what your point is on the first half of your post.


neal

[vdubyah73]

my assumptions are based on your posts as that is the only window I have to observe you through. The first half of my post is a bit of history about so called American Imperialism. There are next to none that we invade, conquer and retain. a couple of resounding success stories of conquering countries and setting them on their own paths would be....... ? do you know the answer?

[ruckman101]

I don't think you fully grasp the concept of Imperialism.


neal

[vdubyah73]

sure I do, I don't think you really know history.