Really? http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/30/sprj.irq.alqaeda.weapons/ Al Quaeda videos found in Iraq weapons stash Also, I didn't say nor did I mean to say that they had anything formally to do with Saddam's regime. After 9/11 nations of the world were warned that nations tolerating the presence of terrorists would pay for that decision.
Are you truly trying to claim that the presence of AQ videos is analogous to the presence of AQ?!? If so then you are REALLY stretching to try to link Iraq to AQ. The plain facts are that there was no connection (at least those facts seem to be plain to those interested in evidence) to Iraq and that the action in Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with 9/11, except that 9/11 gave GWB cover and the political currency to invade. Come on, giddy.
What do you think the Al Qaeda videos indicate? Does it not indicate some kind of connection? You said there was none... This is not a slam dunk, but it is the first link turned up when I did the internet search. The source is CNN not The Drudge Report in case you didn't notice....
They had an AL Qaeda video? Wow. A further search will uncover more links...for example Al Qaeda and Iraq each share two letters despite both having relatively short names...also not a smal dunk, but very, very telling...
I'm sorry but you're being ridiculous. I believe it was an Al Quaeda propoganda video not a favorite recipe collection or the Al Quaeda version of Kama Sutra....
I would not be surprised if there were AQ propaganda videos in Iraq since there weren't any AQ operatives there. They may be trying to recruit, but they didn't have any cells there (before the invasion) because Saddam kept them out with the "iron fist" that he ruled with. You are the one being ridiculous. Having a propaganda video somewhere in Iraq in no way implicates Iraq in anything to do with 9/11.
If that's the criteria, then England, Spain and Germany had something to do with 9/11 and we should have invaded those countries as well.
What Iraqis want: http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2004/0422/p01s04-usmi.html . . . Reputable polls show that a majority of Iraqis want the US out. They also show that a majority of Iraqis want a strongman, not necessarily democracy, in the short term. In one survey, 75 percent of Iraqis said they would never join a political party, and even oppose the existence of parties. . . .
Reputable polls show that a majority of Iraqis want the US out. They also show that a majority of Iraqis want a strongman, not necessarily democracy, in the short term. In one survey, 75 percent of Iraqis said they would never join a political party, Woofer, for Jesus Christ's sake, those people are Muslims!! Surely you aren't proposing that they be allowed to have the type of government they want?
... I never said it did. Rogue Arab states have a lot to do with terrorism. Do you deny that? Remember it is a War on Terror not Revenge for 9/11?
Wow! You just trumped andymoon's and MacBeth's absurdity... I bet you were hardly trying. BTW, you are completely ignoring the context of the find: in the midst of a weapons cache. Those poor dead Fedayen. Imagine the late fees back in Afghanistan. Who's gonna pay it? How about the UN?
Come on, this is weak. Now the right is reduced to making generalized statements about "rogue Arab states" and how much they have to do with terrorism. Now that it has been proven and conceded that there are no credible links between Iraq and AQ, the entire Middle East becomes a target if they fit into the ever morphing definition of "rogue state." If we were fighting the war on terror, we would have 75,000 troops in Afghanistan and we would have spent that $20 billion rebuilding THAT country and tracking down OBL. Truly weak.
Again, using your logic, there are militias in THIS country that would fit the description. Not only that, but ANYONE who has an AQ propaganda videotape is probably armed. Finding that tape in a weapons cache ANYWHERE in the Middle East is like finding bacon in a butcher's shop. You guys are really stretching and it REALLY shows.
What militias in this country fit any description that I provided? Do you think the Michigan Militia is rooting for Al Quaeda? Do they have loaner AQ propoganda videos which they use to recruit to their own organization? You're right: where there is a weapons cache in the Middle East, there may be a video tape, and there most certainly is trouble and hostility. These element have meaning; they are not devoid of meaning. Take your logic, massage it with a bit of common sense, and then draw a conclusion. Rogue Arab states have a lot to do with fomenting anti-American sentiment. Ignore that if you wish, but I wouldn't recommend it. A broad truth is not just a generalization.
What you call a "broad truth" turns out to have been nothing more than a pretext for invading Iraq. There is no truth to any of the attempts to make a connection from 9/11 to Iraq, so you guys are just piling on any justification you can, no matter how lame. You can call your stretch "common sense" if you like, but the only ones it makes sense to are people trying to justify this war in their own minds. Rogue Arab states may have a lot to do with creating anti-US feelings, but so has the invasion of Iraq, especially the way we used half-truths, massaged "intelligence," and outright false information to create support for this war in the US. I would never suggest that we kowtow to the UN, but in this case, we should have gotten worldwide support for our action. As far as militias go, I was talking about propaganda hate films in general, like the ones created by skinheads, the KKK, and groups of the like.
http://www.medact.org/tbx/pages/sub.cfm?id=775 10,000 is the low end of the approximation. http://www.iraqbodycount.net Here there are more conservative and list 8900 as the low end as killed by coalition military.
What do you know, 20 % of the money we spend on Iraq goes to kickbacks. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0423/dailyUpdate.html Operation kickback? Report alleges 20 percent of Iraq reconstruction costs lost to corruption. by Tom Regan | csmonitor.com Iraq's private companies routinely pay bribes to get reconstruction contracts – often to Iraqi officials but sometimes to employees of US contractors. That's one of the allegations that has been made by a special investigation undertaken by public radio's Marketplace and the Center for Investigative Reporting, and funded by The Economist magazine. The result, according to experts monitoring the situation, is almost 20 percent of the billions of American taxpayers dollars being spent to rebuild Iraq is being lost to corruption. Meanwhile, the report also documents the failure of the US government to effectively oversee expenditures in a reconstruction effort that the reports says costs 10 times more per capita than the Marshall Plan (the US-led effort to rebuilt Germany after WWII). . . .
OK, we spent one billion dollars to train the Iraqis, and all of them except the Kurds refused to serve in combat, just like the GW Bush. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4767236/ . . . The really worrisome part isn't the shooting war. It's the long, hard strategic struggle for Iraq's hearts and minds. The whole idea of a peaceful transfer of power depends on winning the public's support and cooperation. To see how that job is going, just look at the breathtaking disintegration of Iraq's reconstituted security forces. Before the uprising, America had spent roughly $1 billion to recruit, equip and train some 100,000 Iraqi police, soldiers and civil-defense personnel. But when the fighting started, many of them evaporated—and others wasted no time joining the revolt. Coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt did his best to put a positive face on the situation last week, saying Iraqi police were back on duty in "many towns." Nevertheless, he had to admit, "there were a number of troops [and] police that didn't stand up when their country called." . . .
