Reply #34: I honestly think they didn't care whether there were any WMD's. Just [View All]

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

a rationale for them to flog the war to the public. It worked, to our everlasting shame.

Reasons they did it?

1. To kick the ass of an Arab country post 9/11, demonstrating the military might of the U.S. and our willingness to use it, cowing the world. Not just Arab countries, but China, N. Korea, and Europe too.

2. To establish bases and a strategic outpost, permanent, in the heart of the Middle East to strike out easily at Iran, Syria etc. The bases would be strategically valuable to actually do these things, but even the THREAT of being able to carry out these military actions would be strategically valuable. I remember how long and ponderous the buildup phase to Gulf War I was, months and months of shipping and flying equipment in.

3. To control the massive oil reserves of Iraq, both for financial gain and as an issue of geopolitical strategy.

4. For domestic political gain. Think back to what was going on, what was in the news at the time the drumbeat to war began, the propaganda campaign, which started up many months before the actual invasion, the "selling" of the war. There was no good news for this president. Crap economy, Enron, corporate scandals galore. Shrubya was on the express train to one term palookaville. Now we have instant "war president", not only demanding the right to automatic support from the people, but to intimidate the media into submission. Worked like a charm during midterm elections, and most of the last 2 years, but the bloom is off the "war president" rose.

5. I think enriching corporate cronies like Halliburton was an incidental "side benefit" of the war and not a primary motivation, but that's my opinion.

I think the strategic goals of the war (obtain bases in the heart of the Middle East, intimidate the world, cementing the American empire's power and influence) were primarily those of the PNACer true believers like Wolfowitz. I've always felt that shrubya is probably NOT one of those true believers but was sold by Rove that going along with this agenda was to his political advantage by becoming a "war president" and so he went along. If they had felt it was NOT to their advantage politically I doubt they would've done it. I could be wrong.

Now, as much of the country that cheered the war now sees it for the quagmire that it is, Bush is back to maybe about where he was politically when the decision was made to do it. Maybe a little ahead, maybe worse. Hopefully enough of the country can cast the veil off its eyes in time.