Letters to the Editor
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No Big Surprise...
...to those of use who've been paying attention over the last six years. I read about this Cheney interview some years ago (on MSNBC.com, I think). The question is, why wasn't this video all over the news networks during the run-up to the Iraq invasion? And why did no one in our brave, independent, "liberal" media question Big Dick about it back then?
Speaking of MSNBC, I watched some video highlights of the Chris Matthews show a few moments ago. One of the panelists on the show (I forget her name) tried to defend Cheney by invoking 9/11. The thing is, Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, and Cheney knew that during the run-up to the invasion. Even Bush belatedly admitted as much, even though he was banging the Saddam/911 drum as hard as anyone in 2002-03.
But even if you accept this explanation for Cheney's turnabout at face value, the reasons that Cheney cited for NOT invading Iraq back in 1994 were still very much in play in 2003. There was no support among the allies for a US-led invasion of Iraq; there was no clear-cut successor to the Iraqi regime; and there was little to no cohesion among and between Iraq's various ethnic groups.