Bush, et al ignored Terrorism. Remember airstrikes on Iraq in Feb. 2001?

[Sparkle]

http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/02/16/iraq.reax/index.html

WESTERN DIPLOMATS SURPRISED BY AIRSTRIKES ON IRAQ

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Western diplomats at the United Nations were caught by surprise by Friday's airstrikes in Iraq by American and British warplanes.

"I certainly was not expecting this, in particular," a senior western diplomat told CNN. Another said he was "stunned" by the bombing.

All of them expected the new U.S. administration to try to work on a solution to the Iraqi question within the United Nations and not act on their own.

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Bush and his people were fixated on Iraq from the beginning. Terrorism was not a priority. Richard Clarke is correct!

[arcane1]

1. for a while there, we were bombing southern Iraq on a weekly basis

and here on DU we were all wondering just how many alleged "radar installations" there could be in such a small area... it was all dressed up in official language, though, as Iraq attacking US planes enforcing the NFZ

we knew better...

[Supormom]

2. Thanks for the reminder.

[opiate69]

3. Also.. a fact that's always seemed strange...

Before the illegal invasion, there were always reports of American fighter jets engaging Iraqi fighters in the "no-fly zones".. but... when we invaded, there was never any mention of the Iraqis using any aircraft whatsoever... just seems wierd to me..

[jimshoes]

4. Very interesting

Now that you mention it I do not recall ever hearing of a single Iraqi aircraft encounter during the whole invasion. Are there any stats on this?

[htuttle]

5. There hadn't been an Iraqi Air Force since GW1

They sent most of their good planes to Iran for safekeeping before Gulf War 1, but Iran said, 'Thank you very much for the jet planes' and kept them.

They buried a few, and may have had just one or two during the whole '90's. Most of the 'attacks' on fly-overs near the 'No Fly Zones' were nothing but radar lock ons -- not actual attacks.

If you ask me, it would have been a lot more cost effective for Iraqis to simply point police radar guns up at the jets to provoke them, rather than actually build a SAM site to get destroyed. Maybe that's what they were doing, who knows.

They had no functioning airplanes during this latest invasion, however.

[jimshoes]

6. Thanks HT

n/t