Iraq: The War To Start All Wars

[No Exit]

Iraq: The War To Start All Wars

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, deputy editor George Melloan advanced startling rationale for the Iraq war. In Melloan’s view, the invasion was about creating a home base from which the United States can launch future wars against Iran and Syria:

The invasion of Iraq was not only about weapons of mass destruction…It was also about establishing a U.S. war-fighting beachhead in the heart of the Middle East, the principal breeding ground of terrorists. The invasion took out one terrorism sponsor, Saddam Hussein, and gave the U.S. a presence for intimidating two others, Iran and Syria.

According to Melloan, we need to finish the job in Iraq quickly – not so we can send the troops home – but so we can get ready to fight Iran:

Nowhere is the antipathy toward America and the West more clearly manifested than in Iran…Getting Iraq under control is urgent because of what may be the next threat in the Middle East.

(snip)

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/07/war-to-start-all-wars/

The old Russia/Soviet vs. U.S. conflict, and the old Israel vs. Arabs conflict, all rolled into one! Nice!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Old meme of Saddam supporting terrorism

Saddam, being a secular dictator, was an anathema to bin Laden. I think the reason we invaded was not because of that, but because Iraq was a weakened country where the neocons thought it would be easy to establish bases-plus GW was able to take out Saddam who tried to kill his daddy.

In one way, it is good that we are stuck in Iraq. Otherwise, we'd be at war with Iran, Syria, and who knows who else in the Middle East. The Islamic world would view it as an attack on the faith, and we'd have a horrible world conflict.

[mnmoderatedem]

2. Anyone who thinks we are NOT trying to establish permanent base in Iraq

needs to wake up and smell the oil.

[No Exit]

4. I wonder if the Saudis' feelings are hurt?

"What's wrong with your base(s) here?"

[No Exit]

3. Exactly--like sharks, our leaders smelled the blood.

After some 10 years of starving Iraq down, it was time to move in for the kill.

As for Iran, there's no guarantee we would win, nor is there a guarantee that our government could keep us civilians safe during such a war.

But hey, who cares if America gets counter-attacked by Iran? The smart people will already have left for safer countries--taking their money with them, of course.

[RazzleDazzle]

5. K&R