A quibble: it was the stated policy of the United States government, as expressed by both houses of Congress and the President, that Saddam's fascist regime in Iraq needed to be replaced by a democratic one. It was so since the late 1990s, when President Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338). It was the operating policy of the United Staes ever since.
I would also note that the Congress re-iterated all of this when it issued the war declaration, also known as the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq. The President himself mentioned, in more than one speech before the liberation operation began, that establishing democracy there was a goal. He did so most famously at his Cincinnati address in October 7 2002, shortly before the Congress issued its war declaration against Saddam. He said, just before Congress passed that war declaration, that, "Iraq is a land rich in culture, resources, and talent. Freed from the weight of oppression, Iraq's people will be able to share in the progress and prosperity of our time. If military action is necessary, the United States and our allies will help the Iraqi people rebuild their economy, and create the institutions of liberty in a unified Iraq at peace with its neighbors."
The White House also publicly met many times with pro-democracy and pro-human rights advocates (including women's rights advocates) from Iraq before the decision to take out Saddam's fascist regime became official, and made a point of making sure the press knew they were doing that.
The historic record is clear: the American People were given over a dozen reasons for toppling Saddam's monstrous fascist regime, and not just one. Historical revisionists have tried to obscure the record and say we only invaded due to "Weapons of Mass Destruction," but this has always has been a lie. It is fair to say that the administration never said "let's go establish a democracy in the Middle East to help reform that entire part of the world," but an awful lot of learned public commenters (including a number of writers in the blogosphere such as myself, Glenn Reynolds, Steven Den Beste, and a number of other well known "neocon" commentators like Charles Krauthammer) all noted the fact that the Arab-Muslim world was mired in horrific oppression and that the only smart way to fight terrorism in the long run was to find ways to reform those regimes, either through diplomacy, economic pressures, or outright war, and that Saddam's Iraq was a big fat juicy target in that regard.
It's strange for some of us who were there and part of those debates to hear that those arguments were never part of the equation and were never put before the American people. Yes they were. They were not the ONLY reasons given, but they were always there.
For a lot of us, the liberation of Iraq from Saddam was the biggest and most dangerous gamble in the Global War On Terror, rather akin to the engagement of Japanese forces in the Phillipines in the early 1940s. We have believed all along, and continue to believe, that fascist and theocratic thug-regimes such as those found in the old Iraq, the old Afghanistan, and today's Syria, Libya, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, are the ultimate source for international terrorism. Because thugs who hold power, regardless of their stated ideology, always believe first and foremost in maintaining their own power, and doing whatever it takes to keep that power. Including, frequently, harboring, arming, and training international terrorists.
This was always a part of the package we were sold before we went into Iraq. And it still is, because as the administration has made clear many times since Saddam was toppled, if we were to abandon Iraq and its infant democracy now, those who would murder this young democracy in its crib would undoubtedly rise up to become the enemies of the free world again.
Let's not forget history: liberating Iraq from fascist oppression and attempting to install a true democracy there was always the stated goal of the United States and most of its allies.
Let's not forget history: liberating Iraq from fascist oppression and attempting to install a true democracy there was always the stated goal of the United States and most of its allies.
Thank you Dean. While we disagree over whether this is how we SHOULD BE conducting a "war on terrorism", at least you admit to what I was telling Dr. Rummel (and which he disagreed with).
Dean and others like him need to be commended for their tireless efforts to set the record straight. It's astounding how short everyone's memories have become. Historical revisionism about WWI, which there seems to be a lot of today (why we dropped the atomic bomb, etc) is atleast understandable. Those events occurred 60+ years ago, and those missing proper historical background are apt to come to the wrong conclusion. But revisionism about events we all experienced one presidency ago...! There's no excuse for it.
I would also note that the Congress re-iterated all of this when it issued the war declaration, also known as the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq. The President himself mentioned, in more than one speech before the liberation operation began, that establishing democracy there was a goal. He did so most famously at his Cincinnati address in October 7 2002, shortly before the Congress issued its war declaration against Saddam. He said, just before Congress passed that war declaration, that, "Iraq is a land rich in culture, resources, and talent. Freed from the weight of oppression, Iraq's people will be able to share in the progress and prosperity of our time. If military action is necessary, the United States and our allies will help the Iraqi people rebuild their economy, and create the institutions of liberty in a unified Iraq at peace with its neighbors."
The White House also publicly met many times with pro-democracy and pro-human rights advocates (including women's rights advocates) from Iraq before the decision to take out Saddam's fascist regime became official, and made a point of making sure the press knew they were doing that.
The historic record is clear: the American People were given over a dozen reasons for toppling Saddam's monstrous fascist regime, and not just one. Historical revisionists have tried to obscure the record and say we only invaded due to "Weapons of Mass Destruction," but this has always has been a lie. It is fair to say that the administration never said "let's go establish a democracy in the Middle East to help reform that entire part of the world," but an awful lot of learned public commenters (including a number of writers in the blogosphere such as myself, Glenn Reynolds, Steven Den Beste, and a number of other well known "neocon" commentators like Charles Krauthammer) all noted the fact that the Arab-Muslim world was mired in horrific oppression and that the only smart way to fight terrorism in the long run was to find ways to reform those regimes, either through diplomacy, economic pressures, or outright war, and that Saddam's Iraq was a big fat juicy target in that regard.
It's strange for some of us who were there and part of those debates to hear that those arguments were never part of the equation and were never put before the American people. Yes they were. They were not the ONLY reasons given, but they were always there.
For a lot of us, the liberation of Iraq from Saddam was the biggest and most dangerous gamble in the Global War On Terror, rather akin to the engagement of Japanese forces in the Phillipines in the early 1940s. We have believed all along, and continue to believe, that fascist and theocratic thug-regimes such as those found in the old Iraq, the old Afghanistan, and today's Syria, Libya, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, are the ultimate source for international terrorism. Because thugs who hold power, regardless of their stated ideology, always believe first and foremost in maintaining their own power, and doing whatever it takes to keep that power. Including, frequently, harboring, arming, and training international terrorists.
This was always a part of the package we were sold before we went into Iraq. And it still is, because as the administration has made clear many times since Saddam was toppled, if we were to abandon Iraq and its infant democracy now, those who would murder this young democracy in its crib would undoubtedly rise up to become the enemies of the free world again.
Let's not forget history: liberating Iraq from fascist oppression and attempting to install a true democracy there was always the stated goal of the United States and most of its allies.
Thank you Dean. While we disagree over whether this is how we SHOULD BE conducting a "war on terrorism", at least you admit to what I was telling Dr. Rummel (and which he disagreed with).