Letters to the Editor
JulieAnna
Published Letters: 30
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I have a few questions...
[Read the article: Right-wing blogs discover massive conspiracy to hide WMDs in Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For Melanie Phillips and David Gaubatz. Ok, maybe more than a few.
If all of these countries -- Iraq, Iran, Syria and North Korea (with help from Russia and China) -- were truly involved in this plot against The West, why would they put all of their eggs in one basket, so to speak, and rely only on the supposed weapons cache of Saddam Hussein? I mean, the U.S. had already bombed every known weapons site in Iraq when Operation Desert Fox was carried out under President Clinton and many in the U.S. were calling for regime change in Iraq for years. Were they unaware of this? Of course not. So why would they base their plot in Iraq? And if they had some sort of plan in place, wouldn't the invasion of Iraq by The West be the perfect opportunity to bring their plot to fruition? Why would they try to just quietly and secretly move the weapons out of the country (something they couldn't know, before doing it, that they would definitely be able to carry out without getting caught) in the middle of an occupation and put their plot on hold?
And all of this also raises many questions of HOW they were able to move all the weapons without being caught. Certainly Ms. Phillips and Mr. Gaubatz don't expect us to believe that those few covered trucks crossing the border into Syria contained ALL THE WEAPONS Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia and China had to use against The West. Why would they even attempt to move them? It's not as though they couldn't get more, or as if they don't already HAVE many more weapons at their disposal. And if they had already decided to not fight back but rather to just allow Saddam to go down in flames, why wouldn't they just let HIM get caught with all the weapons, too? Why risk it?
If these countries truly had some plot in place, why wouldn't they figure the possible attempt to depose Saddam into their plot and have a better plan for what they would do when THAT happened? I know that our country is a shining example of how incompetent people CAN rise to power, but are we to believe that this nefarious plot, involving all of these other countries, was also being run by a bunch of bumbling incompetents? It's not as though our invasion of Iraq would've caught all of them by surprise. But not a single one of them saw the invasion of Iraq as an opportunity. All they could think of to do, when The West came marching in, was to run for the hills.
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If I'm not mistaken...
[Read the article: Right-wing blogs discover massive conspiracy to hide WMDs in Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The whole "proscribed weapons were moved to Syria" theory took root BECAUSE satellite photos exist of covered trucks crossing the border when the invasion began. After these photos were analyzed, it was concluded the trucks were full of refugees.
I also recall reading the reason they were able to reach this conclusion is because of where the trucks originated FROM -- populated areas, as opposed to susptected WMD sites.
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Are these people...
[Read the article: Have Bill Frist and right-wing bloggers plagiarized their new Iraq plan?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Completely unaware that we already "cut and run" on Afghanistan long ago, and that that country has once again become an "unchecked den of terrorism"? Declassified documents revealed back in December that the areas in which al Qaeda were able to operate in Afghanistan had increased four fold. (NYT, December 13, 2006) Why does this cheerleading squad seem to think al Qaeda is just waiting around for us to leave Iraq, so they can set up shop there?
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@SomeNYGuy
[Read the article: Have Bill Frist and right-wing bloggers plagiarized their new Iraq plan?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]According to Charles Krauthammer, this is no longer an issue:
George Tenet has a very mixed legacy. On the one hand, he presided over the two biggest intelligence failures of this era -- Sept. 11 and the WMD debacle in Iraq. On the other hand, his CIA did devise and carry out brilliantly an astonishingly bold plan to overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan.
That's from today's Washington Post. Let me repeat that. Not three years ago. Not two years ago. Not last year. Today.
Is there any way to win an argument when one's opponents are batshit insane?
-- SomeNYGuy
Well, that IS just plain insane, that he seems to be under the impression Afghanistan was a complete success. Yes, the initial plan was actually the best way to carry out the mission -- sending in a larger military force would've only created a third enemy, the Northern Alliance, who wouldn't have taken kindly to an invasion. By sending in a smaller force to work WITH the NA, we were able to see results.
However, the results were short-lived. I realize there is still a small coalition presence in Afghanistan, but control of operations was handed over to NATO years ago even though it was KNOWN at the time that pockets of Taliban and al Qaeda were waiting in the mountains along the Afghan/Pakistani border, regrouping as well as recruiting.
I don't understand the reasoning of those who insist we can't leave Iraq -- are they OK with the fact that we "cut and run" in Afghanistan? Do they even realize their "we lose, they win" scenario already played out?
Again... why would "the terrorists" be waiting around to operate out of a country where a civil war is raging, when they can (and already are) operating out of Afghanistan?
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@Jim White
[Read the article: Have Bill Frist and right-wing bloggers plagiarized their new Iraq plan?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They "win" on one count only
Why hasn't anyone in the MSM or Congress pointed out that Bush's attack on Iraq now accounts for more American deaths than bin Laden's attack on the US?
-- Jim White
Unfortunately, that number was surpassed quite some time ago -- around 500 of those killed in the attacks of 9/11 were foreign nationals.
Not trying to split hairs, it's just one thing that always bothers me. President Bush also always talks of the '3,000 Americans' killed that day. Many other nations suffered losses as well.