BUSH REJECTED PLANS TO GO AFTER ZARQAWI

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-1999
BUSH REJECTED PLANS TO GO AFTER ZARQAWI
15
Tue, 09-21-2004 - 10:38pm
In his effort to claim he is the strongest candidate on national security, President Bush has lately been speaking a lot about how he is doing everything possible to track down terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - the man thought to be responsible for escalating attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq. 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.

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.

dablacksox


Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.---Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
Tue, 09-21-2004 - 11:01pm

<<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 ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2004
Tue, 09-21-2004 - 11:40pm
Wait, are you saying Zarqawi had a training camp in Iraq? But I thought there was "no link between Iraq and terrorism"!
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-1999
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 12:19am


"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.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2004
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 12:26am
Oh, I see, a terrorist group with ties to al quaeda had a training camp in Iraq, but that doesn't mean Iraq had any ties to al quaeda. Got it. I guess until we find a notarized document on one of Saddam's old desks that reads "Here's How I, Saddam Hussein, actually helped Al Quaeda attack the United States on September 11" we're going to keep stretching the imagination to claim that Saddam had no ties to terror. Sorry, I think most of us are a bit more capable of connecting the dots.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2004
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 2:44am
Well.... actually, I can see where dablacksox is coming from on this (though I do believe Iraq is connected with Al Quaeda).

Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 9:52am
LOL...I love it.

Liberals will turn to anything that seems to be anti-Bush, even if it tears their arguments apart.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 11:18am
Just like the 9/11 terrorist had a training camp in US.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 11:26am
come to think of it.. The 9/11 terrorist were saudis funded by Saudi govt which has great relationship with the Bushies.. why not connect the dots and claim Bush responsible for 9/11. He did ask CIA upon acquiring office to lay off the Saudi's (even if it was ignorance) and he did stop and FBI informant who lived with 9/11 terrorist from testifying to the 9/11 commission. Lets connect more dots while we are at it.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-20-2004
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 12:06pm
<>

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".

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2003
Wed, 09-22-2004 - 12:14pm
CLinton's gone.. Stop diverting from the topic.. look at the original post I responded to, Clinton has nothing to do with that. I was pointing out how even though Zarqawi operated in Iraq it doesnot mean Iraq and Alqaeda has links just like US and alqaeda are not linked. Got it???

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