U.S. Wars in the Middle East Were Not Supposed to Bring Democracy, Condoleezza Rice Says

[DonViejo]

BY TOM O'CONNOR ON 5/12/17 AT 7:17 PM

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that U.S.-led interventions in the Middle East and Central Asia were not about spreading democracy, but about addressing regional security issues.

Rice, who served in former President George W. Bush's administration as national security advisor from 2001 through 2005 and as secretary of state from 2005 to 2009, made the revelation during an interview at the Brooking Institute. Rice played a key role in the Bush cabinet during the post-9/11 years that saw the U.S. launch two large-scale invasions against Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. In addition to the regional threat of the Al-Qaeda-allied Taliban government in Afghanistan and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, later disproved, the White House defended its military action by touting a U.S.-led campaign to spread democracy to the region. In remarks referencing her latest book, however, Rice said otherwise.

"We didn't go to Iraq to bring democracy to Iraq, we went to Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein, who we thought was reconstituting his weapons of mass destruction and who we knew had been a threat in the region. It was a security problem," Rice said. "We didn't overthrow the Taliban to bring democracy to Afghanistan, we overthrew them because they were harboring Al-Qaeda in a safe haven after 9/11."

She compared the U.S.'s motives to that of World War Two when the nation intervened to defend European and Asian allies from the spread of Axis powers Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. She also said she regretted the notion that the U.S.'s first major military engagements of the 21st century were mixed up with the "freedom agenda" and emphasized that U.S.'s missions in Afghanistan, codenamed Operation Enduring Freedom, and in Iraq, codenamed Operation Iraqi Freedom, were strictly concerned with taking out U.S. foes. She claimed she would never have asked Bush to bring democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan by military force, which she said was a "dramatic" example of democracy promotion.

more + video:
http://www.newsweek.com/us-war-middle-east-bring-democracy-rice-608640

[Purrfessor]

1. Condi, Condi, Condi...

That ain't what your boss said:

WASHINGTON -- President Bush laid out a broad vision Thursday of an American mission to spread democracy throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world, saying, "Freedom can be the future of every nation."

Engendering democracy across the Middle East "must be a focus of American policy for decades to come," the president said in a speech to the National Endowment for Democracy, a federally funded foundation that promotes reform abroad.

He offered no new program for promoting democracy nor any specifics for how the United States will encourage what he called the "global democratic revolution."

However, the speech was his most detailed and far-reaching explanation of a theme he first sounded in the run-up to the war in Iraq. "The freedom we prize is not for us alone," he said, "it is the right and the capacity of all mankind."

Why do these people always forget we have this thing called the Internet? Good grief they are so dam stupid.



[link:https://www.google.com/amp/www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.bush07nov07-story,amp.html|

[old guy]

2. Just another damn repub

out to rewrite history. I really, really hate these people.

[Victor_c3]

3. I always knew that

The wars were really about killing Arabs, lots of them.

We invaded Afghanistan after September 11th, found it to be too easy, and learned that the Afghanis aren't ethnically Arab. So we went to Iraq next to right those errors.

I know my above statement seems like an oversimplification, but if you look at it all, it is generally right. People, at the time, overwhelmingly approved of the bush presidency and you would hear things like "we should turn the whole Middle East into a glass parking lot!" Or "we should let our soldiers take off their mittens and fight this war like s real war!"

[tanyev]

4. Bullshit, Condi. It was always about the oil.

How'd that work out?

[Wounded Bear]

5. So, Ms Rice, were you lying then or lying now?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[CrispyQ]

6. One of my faves:

The little skulls almost look like roses at first glance.

[Ilsa]

7. Lying again.

She was on Morning Joe pushing her new book about democracy, which actually looked interesting. Then she opined on trump and russia and said we were all doing putin a favor by staying on this distracting story. She said Putin didn't care who won in 2016 as long as it wasnt HRC, and that he wasn't favoring trump. At that point I changed the channel and purged any desire to read what she had to say about democracy.

[rock]

8. And they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams!

Mission Accomplished!

[KG]

9. she might be inadvertently telling the truth. the GOP hs no intrest in democracy. here or anywhere

else.

[delisen]

10. Condoleezza Rice is working to lift the sanctions against Russia

Condoleezza Rice is an partner in oil consulting firm with ties to Exxon. She backed Tillerson for Secretary of State. She was a Russia expert in private life and was an oil exec.

(I wonder how far the money laundering goes and whether various "consulting" firms are direct or indirect participants. Kissinger is also involved with an International consulting firm, and he showed up the day of the Trump meeting with the Russians.

This is where the real money is-not in Obama's fee for speaking about health at firm which lost hundreds of employees on 9/11 and covered their families health costs.

If Warren and Sanders want to criticize Obama's speaking fee but do not put it in the context of the outrageous cashing-in on government services by the Republican Party-it spreads a false message about money in politics.


Apparently there is pushback against Trump policy to turn away from Human Rights in favor of deals with and for dictators.


http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/rex-tillerson-supporters-russia-exxon-ties-232524

Tillerson boosters have Russia, Exxon business ties
By ISAAC ARNSDORF 12/12/16 03:36 PM EST

Former government officials are lining up to vouch for ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Donald Trump’s secretary of state, and they all have something in common — a financial stake in the outcome.

James Baker, the George H.W. Bush secretary of state who, MSNBC reported, advised Donald Trump to pick Tillerson, is a partner at a law firm that has represented Exxon as well as Rosneft, the Russian state-owned oil company that partners with Exxon.


The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Rosneft’s chairman, a close Vladimir Putin ally named Igor Sechin, in 2014 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The firm, Baker Botts (named for Baker’s great-grandfather), also represents Gazprom, the Russian state gas company.

Baker’s direct relationship with the companies isn’t clear, but his practice specializes in cross-border transactions, and as a partner in the firm, he probably profits from the range of its clients. He didn’t answer requests for comment.


Tillerson, who was formally nominated by Trump on Tuesday morning, also came recommended by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. They also work for Exxon through their international consulting firm, Rice Hadley Gates.

[BootinUp]

11. Has she admitted it was a total f*ckup yet?

[tblue37]

12. Operation Iraqi Freedom was sold explicitly on the (false) basis not just of WMDs,

but also on the (false) noble goal of bringing democracy to the oppressed Iraqi people.

[apnu]

13. Kinda Sleezy Rice is at it again.

Go back to your hole Condi! Nobody wants to hear from you.

[WinkyDink]

14. So now this War Criminal is only HALF lying. TRUTH: IT WAS TO CONQUER AND LOOT. Are we still to be

gulled and cozened?

[Volaris]

15. Regional security huh?

If thats the case, they fucked that up so bad that even the competency of the Obama Administration couldn't fix it.

Condi is lucky Barack Obama is a real Christian or she would still be in prison.

[Dawson Leery]

16. Looting their oil.

That is what Condesleeza meant to say.