Douglas Feith should get a clue
Doug Feith has written an Op-ed in today's WSJ where he says that Bush 2.0 made the mistake of shifting the rationale for the war from finding WMD to promoting democracy in early 2004. The problem with Feith's reasoning is that pre 9/11/01, putting a beacon of democracy in the middle east (preferably in Iraq) was the Neocon's ultimate goal. It should be noted that Feith's boss, Sec. of Defense Rummy, was part of that group advocating for overthrowing Saddam to put that beacon of democracy in the Middle East.
What happened was that the Neocons needed a reason to implement their plan and that reason came in the form of 9/11/01. What Feith fails to mention was that Bush 2.0 shifting his rationale for the war to the promotion of democracy was that initial reason for overthrowing Saddam before 9/11/01. Meaning, Bush 2.0 and his administration came full circle after WMD were no where to be found. And the problem with this you might ask?... is that putting democracy in a country that was under the control of a tight fisted dictator the size of Iraq requires 500,000+ troops on the ground for an indefinite period of time.
Lastly, I will say that the no-fly zones and embargoes WERE working in keeping Saddam in check... and we knew this was working because they DIDN'T have WMD nor the capabilities to deliver those weapons. And let's not forget the added benefit of an Iraq that kept Iran in check... which, if you ask me, was the biggest strategic blunder of this whole occupation, an embolden Iran.
What happened was that the Neocons needed a reason to implement their plan and that reason came in the form of 9/11/01. What Feith fails to mention was that Bush 2.0 shifting his rationale for the war to the promotion of democracy was that initial reason for overthrowing Saddam before 9/11/01. Meaning, Bush 2.0 and his administration came full circle after WMD were no where to be found. And the problem with this you might ask?... is that putting democracy in a country that was under the control of a tight fisted dictator the size of Iraq requires 500,000+ troops on the ground for an indefinite period of time.
Lastly, I will say that the no-fly zones and embargoes WERE working in keeping Saddam in check... and we knew this was working because they DIDN'T have WMD nor the capabilities to deliver those weapons. And let's not forget the added benefit of an Iraq that kept Iran in check... which, if you ask me, was the biggest strategic blunder of this whole occupation, an embolden Iran.
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