Advocate wrote:Fox, at this late date, aren't you willing to admit that Bush's real motivation in invading Iraq was to grab oil and avenge the attempt on his father's life? There is a ton of evidence that Bush knew that Iraq was not a threat to us. And when that became evident, he said we invaded to bring democracy, etc., to Iraqis.
No Advocate, I won't admit that. I honestly believe Bush's real motivation was to remove Saddam as a threat to the Middle East and beyond and I think he honestly believed that was a legitimate next step in the War on Terror. I think the mission changed once that was accomplished, and we could honestly debate whether that new mission was a noble or a fool's errand. We could legitimately debate whether, knowing what we know now, whether he would have pushed to invade Iraq. Knowing what I know now, would I have voted to do it? I don't know.
I believe the President felt he had exhausted all other options before the decision was made, and I believe he and the huge lion's share of his administration and every member of Congress who voted for the invasion were convinced that Saddam was a real threat and necessary to remove. The evidence from the 9/11 Commission, Duelfer report, et al pretty well verifies he had some pretty nasty ambitions planned for us and others once the sanctions were removed.
And I think about that pile of 50,000 Iraqi bodies that were a result of 12 years of sanctions imposed by the UN. I don't know how in good conscience we could continue to allow that to occur.
But again, if I had to vote to invade when we did. I don't know how I would vote. I do know that we're there and the noble and right thing to do is to stand behind the President and the troops and do what we can to expedite the speediest and most efficient end to this war. Any other course is to give huge aid and comfort to those who wish to kill us, them, and anybody else who opposes them.
