<div>Dick et. al.</div>
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<div>It's amazing how little on Vison2020 the concept of "preemptive war" used to justify the Iraq invasion is not discussed. This is a dangerous precedent that has now been set that can be used for nations to invade each other based solely on the possibility that they might be attacked: just manufacture some credible appearing intelligence of a threat...Iraq had not attacked the USA, nor was there any credible evidence that Iraq was going to. If we invaded to stop human rights abuses, why not now invade in the Sudan/Darfur? But anyway, the argument we invaded Iraq because of human rights abuses was not the primary argument used by the Bush administration before the invasion: it was Iraq WMD presenting an immanent threat to the USA.
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<div>Dick, maybe you'd respect the opinions of an actual Iraq weapons inspector? And also consider what Bush's former Secretary of State Colin Powell more recently has to say about his presentation before the UN about Iraq WMD?
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<div>War is not an endeavor to jump into on questionable intelligence. When one of the primary weapons inspectors who worked in Iraq is raising warning flags before the US Iraq invasion that the claims of Iraq WMDs made by the USA are very questionable, why was there an aggressive push for an invasion with the repeated warning from Bush and Condi Rice of a pending "mushroom cloud" over America? A "mushroom cloud" from nonexistent Iraq nuclear weapons?
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<div>Former Marine intelligence operative and Iraq weapons inspector Scott Ritter is a credible source who was raising doubts about Iraq WMD before the US invasion:</div>
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<div><a href="http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2006-April/028827.html">http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2006-April/028827.html</a></div>
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<div>And read Colin Powell's comments about his "disappointment" regarding US intelligence failures that led him to present false information before the UN on Iraq WMD:</div>
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<div><a href="http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2006-April/028812.html">http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2006-April/028812.html</a></div>
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<div>Ted Moffett<br> </div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 5/11/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">rvrcowboy</b> <<a href="mailto:rvrcowboy@clearwire.net">rvrcowboy@clearwire.net</a>> wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Sunil,<br><br>I have read the cite you gave about the U.N. Inspectors. I have also read<br>many others, some agreeing with you and some not. The point being that
<br>having inspectors in Iraq is not the same as those inspectors being allowed<br>to inspect. It is easy to pick just one cite and base your whole opinion<br>set on it without taking into account that nearly all news sources today are
<br>not fair and balanced on any topic. Picking one that supports your own<br>personal views without researching others that do not just isn't honest. To<br>be honest with you, I do not, at this time, believe the inspectors were
<br>being allowed to do their job, even though they were allowed to be in<br>country.<br><br>As for why we went to Iraq in the first place. You know, as well as I, we<br>could argue that forever. I do believe there was intelligence, right or
<br>wrong, indicating Saddam had WMD. Even Saddam appeared to give the<br>impression he did, perhaps just to keep his enemies at bay, who knows? I do<br>believe Iraq, under Saddam, was a state sponsor of terrorism. I also
<br>believe that because of our involvement in Iraq, we most likely have not<br>experienced another 9/11 situation here in our own country.<br><br>I believe we are still there because the Iraqi military is not yet ready to
<br>defend the new government and its people. Again, this is a topic we could<br>argue for a long time but that is what I believe to be the main reason. Why<br>do you think we are?<br><br>I do not know if we were 100% justified in the Iraqi invasion or not.
<br>Perhaps no one will ever know. I do not, however, believe there were secret<br>agendas and hidden motives behind it. For example, all the libs were<br>screaming it was just for oil, well, where the hell is the oil? We could
<br>certainly use some of it.<br><br>Bottom line is that I do not feel guilty because we invaded Iraq. I believe<br>Saddam could have prevented it if he had chosen too do so. I also do not<br>discount all the human suffering and torture under his regime. When we add
<br>up the Iraqi death tolls, we should ask ourselves who is inflicting them and<br>how many people were dying annually under Saddam's regime.<br><br>Sometimes good men are compelled to do the right thing. Also, good men,
<br>like all men, sometimes make mistakes. Still, all in all, I believe we are<br>on the right track despite all the hatred from the left trying to spread<br>quilt on Americans for trying to do the right thing.<br><br>That is my opinion. You are welcome to yours but I will never understand
<br>why people hate their own President more than the henious dictators of<br>countries who kill their own people without remorse.<br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Dick S.<br>----- Original Message -----<br>From: "Sunil Ramalingam" <
<a href="mailto:sunilramalingam@hotmail.com">sunilramalingam@hotmail.com</a>><br>To: <<a href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</a>><br>Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2006 2:38 PM<br>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] When good men do nothing...
<br><br><br>> Why did we go there, Dick? Why are we still there? And what about Bush's<br>> statements about the inspectors?<br>><br>> Sunil<br>><br>><br>> >From: "rvrcowboy" <<a href="mailto:rvrcowboy@clearwire.net">
rvrcowboy@clearwire.net</a>><br>> >To: "Vision2020" <<a href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</a>><br>> >Subject: [Vision2020] When good men do nothing...<br>> >Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 13:48:44 -0700
<br>> ><br>> >Neatly tucked at the end of every Saundra Lund tirade is this quote by<br>> >Edmund Burke:<br>> >"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to<br>do<br>
> >nothing."<br>> >- Edmund Burke<br>> ><br>> >I think the Kurds, along with many others, in Iraq would agree<br>> >wholeheartedly with this statement. If we pull out now and go back to
<br>> >doing "nothing" evil will once again openly triumph in Iraq. Don't you<br>> >think so Saundra?<br>> ><br>> >Dick S.<br>><br>><br>> >_____________________________________________________
<br>> > List services made available by First Step Internet,<br>> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br>> > <a href="http://www.fsr.net">http://www.fsr.net</a><br>> > mailto:
<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>> >ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<br>><br>><br>> _____________________________________________________<br>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
<br>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br>> <a href="http://www.fsr.net">http://www.fsr.net</a><br>> mailto:<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com
</a><br>> ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<br>><br><br>_____________________________________________________<br>List services made available by First Step Internet,<br>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
<br> <a href="http://www.fsr.net">http://www.fsr.net</a><br> mailto:<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ<br></blockquote>
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