Wolfowitz Shifts Rationales on Iraq War

[kskiska]

With Weapons Unfound, Talk of Threat Gives Way to Rhetoric on Hussein, Democracy

As the Bush administration's leading hawk on Iraq, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz has been a tireless proponent of the argument that Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction was a compelling enough reason for the United States to resort to war.

These days, his emphasis is different. In testimony to congressional committees and interviews with reporters, Wolfowitz prefers to stress the evil, dictatorial nature of former president Saddam Hussein's defunct government and the opportunity to turn Iraq into a beacon of hope for the rest of the Middle East. He depicts Iraq as the focus of a life-and-death struggle between the forces of democracy and the forces of intolerance.

Wolfowitz is by no means alone. Since the fall of Baghdad five months ago, senior administration officials from President Bush downward have been reinventing the rationale for war. In his television address Sunday night, Bush barely mentioned Hussein's chemical and biological weapons programs. Instead, he described Iraq as "the central front" in the war on terror, the site of a desperate last stand by the "enemies of freedom," who include former Hussein loyalists and foreign terrorists.

Even opponents of the war acknowledge that now that the United States is in Iraq, it cannot afford to fail, in effect conceding that the invasion has created its own justification. There is broad agreement across the political spectrum that a premature withdrawal of U.S. troops would destabilize the entire region and undermine U.S. credibility.

(snip)

In a telephone interview Saturday, Wolfowitz denied that the administration is providing different justifications for the war with Iraq. He said he and other administration officials had been "clear from the beginning" that there were three arguments for invading Iraq: halting the development of weapons of mass destruction, liberating the country from "a terrible tyranny," and creating a democratic model that would serve as an inspiration for the rest of the Middle East.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62681-2003Sep11.html

[leesa]

1. The US no longer has any credibility

[bagnana]

2. this drives me crazy

how can they get away with shifting their claimed basis for A WAR, FOR CHRISSAKES, without getting called what they are: STINKING LIARS who will say anything to achieve their geopolitical ends.

[saigon68]

20. THIS DIRT BALL IS A WAR CRIMINAL

Someday if I live long enough, he may yet make it to the dock in some intl criminal court.

[FlashHarry]

3. "Three arguments?"

1: halting the development of weapons of mass destruction.
(I seem to remember talk of mushroom clouds and gallons of nerve agents. That sounds like more than just 'development' to me.)

2: liberating the country from "a terrible tyranny"
(Mmm. Sorry. Never heard that one.)

3: creating a democratic model that would serve as an inspiration for the rest of the Middle East.
(Mmm. Sorry. Never heard that one, either.)

[diplomats]

4. Even these new rationales are empty

the people don't feel "liberated," and democracy there is a pipe dream.

[atreides1]

11. I Guess

If you stretched the second reason just a little, we would be justified in attacking Israel.

Just kidding. :D

[Paschall]

12. Numbers 2 and 3 were spelled out by the administration

Shrub used them, too.

About 2: We have no information that Hussein was actively committing what could be called atrocities against his own population since Bush Sr. stood down from supporting the Kurds and the Shia uprisings after Gulf War I.

About 3: The "democratic domino" theory is... well, bullpucky.

[E_Zapata]

17. Nos. 2 and 3 were rolled out 24 hours before the invasion

Or the night of the invasion. I forget.

It was all of a sudden: Operation Iraq Freedom.

Came out of no where.

[Zero Gravitas]

5. "Rhetoric on Hussein, Democracy"

How anyone in the "Republic party" can go on about Democracy is beyond me as they obviously don't beleive in it.

They didn't like Clinton so they looked for ways to impeach him and undo two national elections.

They didn't like Gore, so they stole the 2000 Presidential Election.

They don't like Gray Davis, so they bought a recall election.

They want to keep a majority in the House so they force a re-redistricting in Texas so minimize the Democratic vote.

They don't beleive in Democracy.

[Must_B_Free]

6. yeah, but its a well of poison they drank from

like the archtypes, hubris and greed undid hem.

This is like the scene from Raiders of The Lost Ark where the opened the Ark.

At first, they were enraptured with the magic power, but then it turned into evil spirits and their faces melted.

Stay tuned

[Nottingham]

7. EVIL DOERS! WE must get the EVIL DOERS

Wolfie must have thought that one up :bounce:

[cliss]

8. Look closely, and you can see

perspiration building on his upper lip. A little sweaty, are we there Wolfy?

It's a disaster and they know it. There are probably more costs which they have not admitted to yet. They have been stalling about divulging the real costs of this war, and I suspect they are still holding out on us.

They know they are sitting on a sinking ship. They've built an entire structure built of sand, based on Rumsfeld's fertile imagination, and the wave just washed up on the shore.

[BadGimp]

9. I wana puke...

"Wolfowitz prefers to stress the evil, dictatorial nature of former president Saddam Hussein's defunct government and the opportunity to turn Iraq into a beacon of hope for the rest of the Middle East. He depicts Iraq as the focus of a life-and-death struggle between the forces of democracy and the forces of intolerance."

I don't even know where to start on that line.

[tweekinnow]

10. and the real reason is?

ARMED ROBBERY...Can we have these carpetbaggers arrested?

[sandnsea]

13. AND the war isn't over

I saw this the other night. I forget what Kennedy asked him, but he sat right there and said 'The war isn't over'. I thought Kennedy's eyes were going to pop right over his glasses. He referenced the banner and the show on the aircraft carrier, Wolfowitz came back with the new and improved 'Major Combat operations are over'. Did not go over. I have never seen liars the likes of these. Meyers was asked questions about an Iraqi force in 2005, how much money and how many of our troops would still be there at that time. It took him at least ten minutes to say 'I don't know'. (And if he did, he wasn't telling)

[Sweetpea]

14. Democratic Model my Ass!!!

[shockingelk]

15. The VANITY FAIR Interview Strikes Back!

"The third one by itself, as I think I said earlier, is a reason to help the Iraqis but it's not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on the scale we did it."
- Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz
May 9, 2003

http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20030509-depsecdef0223.html

[E_Zapata]

16. Wolf is describing Bush to a T.

I wonder if anyone has plans to come in and save US in our battle for democracy over intolerance?

[0007]

18. The overthrow of Saddam Hussein

is now the reason the U. S. can pullt it's troops and close Air Force bases in Saudi Arabia?

That was stated in the last paragraph in the Washington Post article. I don't believe that is true is it?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62681-2003Sep11.html

[Festivito]

19. I gather Turkey model is now chopped liver. nt.

[gulliver]

21. 'reinventing' the rationale for war

I love that the word "reinventing" was used. There the Bushies go, reinventing themselves again.

[rman]

22. Wolfowitz has been shifting from day one:

He also said the WMDs as a reason to go to war was decided because of "bureaucratic reasons", since it was the only thing the 'allies' could agree on. That's quite different then the WMDs being a "compelling reason".

Wolfy and others have also said the WMDs aren't really that important anyway.

When will enough people start noticing the inconsistencies in the statements of these men?

[Maeve]

23. Our chief weapon is fear, fear and surprise! Our TWO weapons are...

This misAdministration sounds more like a Python sketch every day.