Tony Blair reveals that Cheney wanted to go beyond Iraq: "the whole lot, Iraq, Syria, Iran"

[sabra]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/blairs-book-reveals-background-to-war/story-e6frg6nf-1225913014715

<snip>

In a chilling insight into the mood of the Bush White House, Blair says vice-president Dick Cheney "would have worked through the whole lot, Iraq, Syria, Iran, dealing with all their surrogates in the course of it -- Hezbollah, Hamas, etc.

"In other words, he thought the world had to be made anew and that after September 11, it had to be done by force and with urgency.

"He was for hard, hard power. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. We're coming after you so change or be changed."

Blair thought Cheney "had one central insight which was at least worth taking seriously" -- the view that the West's enemies were linked by a common ideology -- but he disagreed with Cheney's view that the battle could be won "by a hard-power strategy alone".

[gratuitous]

1. I guess we should be thankful, wot?

Gee, thanks Tony for letting Cheney run amok in only two countries. The wounded, the maimed, and the survivors of the dead all salute you.

[Kalyke]

2. Big deal, Tony. Wes Clark told me all of that in 2003.

So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan. I said, "Are we still going to war with Iraq?" And he said, "Oh, it’s worse than that." He reached over on his desk. He picked up a piece of paper. And he said, "I just got this down from upstairs"—meaning the Secretary of Defense’s office—"today." And he said, "This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran." I said, "Is it classified?" He said, "Yes, sir." I said, "Well, don’t show it to me." And I saw him a year or so ago, and I said, "You remember that?" He said, "Sir, I didn’t show you that memo! I didn’t show it to you!"

http://www.democracynow.org/2007/3/2/gen_wesley_clark_weighs_presidential_bid

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Cheney is one sick fuck.

My contempt for him knows no end.

[babylonsister]

4. +1, Peggy. I share that contempt. nt

[asjr]

5. I guess I have entered the land of paranoia because

I wonder if Cheney is in some secret medical facility after putting his name at the top of the heart recipient list and will have a transplant. He is evil.

[spanone]

6. of course he did. and he fucking got away with iraq...scotch free..no consequences

none whatsoever

[Scurrilous]

7. K & R

:thumbsup:

[felinetta]

8. Of course Dick would. He is pure filth. He is demonic.