It is Unanimous, All recent ex-presidents Agree(d)

[Freedom Lover]

That the decision to to go to war was a bad one....

Carter has said that he believes the current administration "cherry picked" the information that was used to justify the war.

Clinton has said that there were other ways to keep Sadam at bay (he was able to do it).

Bush Sr. wrote in his book (before the war) that invading Iraq would be a mistake leading to massive loss of life etc. Saying:

"While we hoped that popular revolt or coup would topple Saddam, neither the U.S. nor the countries of the region wished to see the breakup of the Iraqi state. We were concerned about the long-term balance of power at the head of the Gulf. Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under those circumstances, furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-cold war world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different--and perhaps barren--outcome."

And now President Ford is quoted by Bob Woodward as saying ""Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction," Ford said. "And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."

"Well, I can understand the theory of wanting to free people," Ford said, referring to Bush's assertion that the United States has a "duty to free people." But the former president said he was skeptical "whether you can detach that from the obligation number one, of what's in our national interest." He added: "And I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."

This was said in a taped interviews begining in July 2004. So conspiracy theorists and liberal media bashers, IT WAS TAPED, so do not shoot the messenger.

And please, out of respect for him and his affliction, do not bring up Reagan's lack of comments about the war.

[katlnhats]

It actually doesn't matter to me who said what. We're there now, and that's where our concern should lie. WMD. No, we didn't find nukes, but we did find mustard gas, and lots of it. Since that's got the cabability to kill hundreds of thousands, isn't that a WMD?
Personally, I think when we were there the first time, that would have been the time to get rid of Saddam, though the UN said no,... so we didn't.

And... we all know, it's all about the oil. We want it, they've got it.

Kat

[Freedom Lover]

Originally Posted by katlnhats

It actually doesn't matter to me who said what. We're there now, and that's where our concern should lie. WMD. No, we didn't find nukes, but we did find mustard gas, and lots of it. Since that's got the cabability to kill hundreds of thousands, isn't that a WMD?
Personally, I think when we were there the first time, that would have been the time to get rid of Saddam, though the UN said no,... so we didn't.

Kat

Mustard Gas has been around since WW1, though powerful stuff, does not fall into the WMD category. Remember, MG posed virtually ZERO threat to you and sitting in our homes here in the US.

And it really concerns me that you do not care who said what.... Those who forget the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them. Remember, we started the war based on the fact that we FELT our security was at ris. This sets a dangerous precedent for years to come.

Now, there will a war in the future, and a war after that, and probably a war after that. If we say torture prisoners now, how can we condemn those that do it in the future. India and Pakistan see each other as a threat today. Should we support a war over there becasue one of them feels threatened?

It is surely a dangerous, slippery slope.