His greatest bluff

[Skybird]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...070104217.html

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB279/index.htm


Saddam said, short before he was hanged, that he bluffed the world into believing he had WMDs because of fear of the fanatic mullahs in Iran. This says the interogation protocols by the FBI.

[Buddahaid]

Seems to be very plausible as none were ever found and they did have that little war thing.

Buddahaid

[Platapus]

As he and the world learned, bluffing like that can have "unintended consequences"

Reminds me of the quote from "Hunt for Red October"

The worry is the Americans.
If we meet the right sort, this will work.
We get some buckaroo...

When bluffing it is very important to understand who you are bluffing and how they are likely to react.

Saddam choose unwisely

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Platapus

When bluffing it is very important to understand who you are bluffing and how they are likely to react.

When bluffing it is also very important to bluff well.
I doubt an invasion would have taken place if the UK/US thought Iraq
really had the capability of a WMD attack against the invading forces, let
alone another country.
The war was always going to be unpopular enough with out the "Mass
Destruction" by WMD use on western troops.

[Buddahaid]

But that was just the reason given to the US public. Justifying the invasion, and channeling the anger from the World Trade Center debacle into action.

Buddahaid

[SteamWake]

Wether the weapons existed or not all of capitol hill were convinced that they did and they all voted for the action.

To quote John Kerry "I voted for the war before I voted aginst it"

Hindsight is 20 20.

The discovery of mass graves is also overlooked let alone the fact that they were liberated from a tyranical murderous dictator.

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by Platapus

As he and the world learned, bluffing like that can have "unintended consequences"

Reminds me of the quote from "Hunt for Red October"



When bluffing it is very important to understand who you are bluffing and how they are likely to react.

Saddam choose unwisely

Please, the unintended consequences were not unintended at all.
America would have invaded Iraq no matter what. Even if Saddam had cried to the world that he didn't have WMD, the american administration would have invaded on the grounds that Saddam helped terrorists or some other fancy excuse. The war on Iraq was waged on a nonexistant casus belli.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Wether the weapons existed or not all of capitol hill were convinced that they did and they all voted for the action.

To quote John Kerry "I voted for the war before I voted aginst it"

Hindsight is 20 20.

The discovery of mass graves is also overlooked let alone the fact that they were liberated from a tyranical murderous dictator.

Your own media called the day when they decided for the war, a day of shame. They allowed to be carried away by emotions and collective hysteria raised by Bush, and voted over a war decision that was wipped through and was not even properly discussed in the house.

It's a great example of a parliament failing it's obligations.

Reasons given for a war in advance, are reasons, and these reasons in this case were intentional lies. Reasons given after a war - are foul excuses.

and finally I wonder why Iraqi mass graves are so close to your heart - if much greater mass graves in other countries, and scattered around Africa, and genocides taking place right now, since years, do not make you call for war, too.

BTW, in Kongo a hot war has broken out again, almost ignorred and not taken note of by media and the public. The ammount of aimed violence against the civilian population is said to be horrific from day one on.

Going there and wage war, anyone? They have precious ores and minerals.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Your own media called the day when they decided for the war, a day of shame. They allowed to be carried away by emotions and collective hysteria raised by Bush, and voted over a war decision that was wipped through and was not even properly discussed in the house.

heh you really expect the media to do otherwise?

"Hysteria raised by Bush"? He did all that by himself? Thats kind of hard to believe.

Now dont get me started on bills or other things not being properly discussed in the house.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

heh you really expect the media to do otherwise?

"Hysteria raised by Bush"? He did all that by himself? Thats kind of hard to believe.

But it was. Planned and brought to paper in the early nineties by Wolfowitz already, wintersleeping through the Clinton years, brought to the top of the agenda by the Bush adminstration when they took over - an Iraq war wanted and decided on long before 9/11, even long before bush came. He just served as the long-awaited henchman, fool that he is.

It was all laid out back then, but if you haven't believed it back then, you will not believe it today, so I leave it to that instead of getting it out of the dusty box once again.

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by Skybird

But it was. Planned and brought to paper in the early nineties by Wolfowitz already, wintersleeping through the Clinton years, brought to the top of the agenda by the Bush adminstration when they took over - an Iraq war wanted and decided on long before 9/11, even long before bush came. He just served as the long-awaited henchman, fool that he is.

It was all laid out back then, but if you haven't believed it back then, you will not believe it today, so I leave it to that instead of getting it out of the dusty box once again.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/
A very interesting documentary detailing just the origins of the Iraq war.
And it has nothing to with 9/11 or WMD.
The will to attack Iraq dates back as SkyBird said to the early ninties.

[Freiwillige]

Patrick Henry 1775 ~"Give me freedom or give me death!"

George Bush 2003 ~"Give up your freedoms or were all gonna die!"