BUSH REJECTED PLANS TO GO AFTER ZARQAWI
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| Tue, 09-21-2004 - 10:38pm |
As NBC News reported, "Long before the war, the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself - but never pulled the trigger." In June 2002, the Pentagon drafted plans to attack a camp Zarqawi was at with cruise missiles and airstrikes. The plan was killed by the White House. Four months later, as Zarqawi planned to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe, the Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, yet "the White House again killed it." In January 2003, the Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the White House killed it.
According to NBC, "Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi's operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam."
Zarqawi is thought to be at least indirectly responsible for hundreds of U.S. casualties. Just yesterday, Zarqawi's terrorist group beheaded an American civilian in Baghdad.
Sources:
1. "President's Remarks to the General Conference of the National Guard Association of the United States," The White House, 9/14/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2254501&l=56809.
2. "Going after Iraq's most wanted man," The Christian Science Monitor, 9/21/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2254501&l=56810.
3. "Avoiding attacking suspected terrorist mastermind," NBC News, 3/02/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2254501&l=56811.
4. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2254501&l=56811.
5. "Zarqawi Group Beheads U.S. Hostage Armstrong," Reuters, 9/20/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2254501&l=56812.

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<<But according to NBC News, it was Bush who in 2002 and 2003 rejected three plans to strike and neutralize Zarqawi because he believed a successful strike would undermine the public case for targeting Saddam Hussein. >>
How could that be since before the invasion Zarqawi was
Renee ~~~
"Wait, are you saying Zarqawi had a training camp in Iraq? But I thought there was "no link between Iraq and terrorism"!
Typical Bush Leaguer-react without getting the facts.
From my link to that well know liberal rag, the Christian Science Monitor.
"In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, top US officials such as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell cited Zarqawi as a full-fledged member of Al Qaeda, who they claimed had been injured in a post-9/11 US airstrike in Afghanistan and later had a leg amputated in a Baghdad hospital. That treatment, they said, bolstered claims of close ties between Al Qaeda and the regime of Saddam Hussein.
But analysts - as well as German and Italian government court documents in cases against Zarqawi associates - say it's clear now that while Zarqawi has had contact with Al Qaeda members in the past, he has sharp tactical differences with the organization and appears to be operating a wholly separate network. Shadi Abdallah, a Zarqawi associate arrested on charges of running a terrorist cell in Germany, has told interrogators that Zarqawi saw himself as a rival of Al Qaeda, not an ally.US officials now say they don't believe he lost a leg, and analysts such as Gunaratna say there is no evidence he had ties to Hussein's regime.
***********While he was operating inside Iraq prior to the invasion, US officials say most of his activities were in the autonomous Kurdish region in the north, where he mingled with members of Ansar al-Islam, a radical Kurdish group who operated in an area beyond Baghdad's control and was largely scattered by US airpower at the start of the war.*******
dablacksox
Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.---Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.
Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board
Liberals will turn to anything that seems to be anti-Bush, even if it tears their arguments apart.
Great! Let's connect the dots then. Since Clinton was offered up Bin Laden by Sudan and turned it down, then Clinton is responsible for 9/11!
QED. Thanks!
Rremember, Clinton unilaterally attacked Iraq on more than one occasion to distract Americans from his "private, personal affair".
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