It wasn't just U.S. intelligence that indicated Saddam Hussein was planning an attack on U.S. soil and U.S. interests. If you followed the link I provided, you'd find that Russian intelligence indicated the same findings. Russia, as we already know, was opposed to the war to begin with, yet they admit that their intelligence indicated an attack was imminent.
I've always said that military intelligence is an oxymoron. There is always a gamble with information received from intelligence...a gamble that if we act on it, we might be wrong and if we don't, we might face grave danger.
If you were the president and receiving intelligence reports from the CIA, KGB and other foriegn intelligence agencies that tell you a particular country's leader is planning on killing hundreds of thousands of your civilians...what would you do?
Holy War....You're basically killing each other to see who's got the better imaginary friend. - Richard Jeni
I would do something surley. Especially when I recieved mounting evidence about an increased threat from terrorists with the emphasis on plane hijackings. When I found out that there where foreign students taking flight classes without caring how to land or take off. Here is some more intelligence that should be a smack in the face. Someone help me out..was it 13 or 14 or the hijackers that were Saudi? How many were Iraqi. Oh but Saudis never personally tries to kill pops did they? As a matter of fact they are best of friends and considered family right. We couldnt possibly invade them now could we. DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE LEADERSHIP AS WELL AS THE MAJORITY OF THE TERRORISTS WERE FROM......SUADI ARABIA!!!!
oh and how many were iraqis??? ZERO
of course there was a risk that the intelligance could have been wrong but its not like our country was in any grave danger right?
On a long enough time line everyones survival rate drops to zero.
(oh and thanks for the set up...)
by the way? how did Saddam plan to kill HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of american civilians? that would have been the equivalent of lets see (doing mathamatical equation in my head...carry the 2) at least 33 WTCs. I see he must have been planning to use those wmds right I mean thats the only...oh wait...never mind...my bad
On a long enough time line everyones survival rate drops to zero.
How was he planning it? I don't know, I'm not in the CIA. The information I provided for you was accurate. According to the testimony of government officials and foriegn figures, intelligence indicated that Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat. Could the government officials be lying to justify the war? Absolutely! But I highly doubt it when one of the most outspoken countries against the war admits that their intelligence indicated the same thing. Now you ask how he could possibly have been planning to kill hundreds of thousands, "at least 33 WTC"... I'm sure even you know that the potential threat of a dirty bomb or the release of poisonous gases into a crowded subway system or dropped into a loaded football arena would cause the kinds of catastophic damage that I'm sure every citizen would much rather avoid.
Now your first responding comment pertained to 9/11. I think it's been made very clear by the commission that 9/11 and Iraq were not linked. Does that mean Hussein did not support terrorism? No. He was widely known for donating $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers. Many Al Queda operatives fleeing the U.S. attack in Afghanistan fled to Iraq. When this war started, when the president told the country that they were going to go after terrorists, he also made it specifically clear that countries that harbor terrorists will be considered as the same as those they harbor and hide. As for the Saudi nationals who were among the highjackers, they were more than likely recruited in Saudi Arabia by OBL, before he was KICKED OUT of the country by the royal family. They were also more than likely trained in the camps of Afghanistan before securing student visas to train at flight schools in the United States. Don't believe me? Read the commission report...it's all there in black and white.
There were limited reports from intelligence inside the U.S. indicating that there were middle eastern men learning to fly planes at flight schools. (Now before you jump all over that, note that I said limited...I didn't claim there never were reports) Thanks to some ridiculous policies that prevented agencies from sharing information with one another, a lack of respect for the threat Al Queda posed and our downright cockiness that we were immune to something as severe as the 9/11 attacks, the entire government in that respect let us down.
You also have to keep in mind that these attacks would have taken place regardless of who was in the white house. Intelligence reports and investigations after the attacks indicate that it had been years in the making and planning. Before Dubya entered the white house. To argue that the responsibility of preventing the attacks lied souly on this presidency is asinine. The responsibility lied with every president, administration and government defense officials who have been in power from the day that OBL publicly declared war on the United States.
Anyway this has gotten off topic. If you want to keep spewing about 9/11 and how it's all Bush's fault then I suggest you open a new thread on the topic in the 9/11 forum.
Holy War....You're basically killing each other to see who's got the better imaginary friend. - Richard Jeni
wow i gotta give it to you..that was a very good reply!
seriously.
only thing is osama still had VERY close ties with the royal family.
and terrorism is bad but i believe that iraq was a political and personal vendetta. why arent we going after actual terrorist groups like the IRA, the PLO, Hezbolla (dont hink its spelled right?) and other ACTUAL terrorist oranizations. al Quida is actually revruiting more due to the renewd animosity towards the US as a result of this OIF. To quote Kerry...wrong war, wrong time.
On a long enough time line everyones survival rate drops to zero.
10-06-2004 12:30 AM
There is always a gamble with information received from intelligence...a gamble that if we act on it, we might be wrong and if we don't, we might face grave danger. 
