Sen. Graham disputes Franks- Iraq DID compromise Afghan war (NYT LTTE)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

This is great, I hope nobody missed it today.

Bush at War: Eye on the Ball?
By BOB GRAHAM

To the Editor:

Re "War of Words," by Tommy Franks (Op-Ed, Oct. 19):

John Kerry is correct that resources were diverted from Afghanistan to Iraq before we accomplished our mission there. How can I be so sure? General Franks told me.....

On Feb. 19, 2002, I visited Central Command headquarters for a briefing on our mission in Afghanistan. After an upbeat assessment with maps, photographs and video, however, General Franks asked for an additional private word in his office. "Senator,'' he said, "we are not engaged in a war in Afghanistan. ...Military and intelligence personnel are being redeployed to prepare for an action in Iraq. ... The Predators are being relocated. What we are doing is a manhunt."

General Franks was telling me this 13 months before the beginning of combat operations in Iraq, and only four months after the beginning of combat in Afghanistan.

President Bush, when asked in his first debate with Senator Kerry whether he had made removing Saddam Hussein a higher priority than capturing Osama bin Laden, said, "We've got the capability of doing both."

If we had truly been able to do both, military and intelligence resources would not have been diverted from Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden wouldn't be continuing to exhort his followers to greater acts of terror; he, like Saddam Hussein, would be in American hands.

Bob Graham
Washington, Oct. 22, 2004
The writer, a Florida Democrat, is a former chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/opinion/24letter-graham.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=

[usregimechange]

1. Big, kick, nt

[Lilli]

2. BAM!

:)

[The Magistrate]

3. Franks Is A Political Hack, Sir

He does what his Party allegiance directs, and nothing else. A genuine General would have insisted the thing be done right in Afghanistan, and even in Iraq, were that ordered. Franks has let the real cat out of the bag in this matter elsewhere: he stated he feared casualties proving heavy among U.S. troops if they were committed to this task. With thousands of civilians dead, and the nation united to avenge their souls, that is a poor and paltry excuse for allowing the author of those attacks to escape, and the real reason casualties bulked so high in his mind is that they might affect the readiness of units for quick shifting to the already contemplated Iraqi venture.

"Can't nobody here play this game?"

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. kick

[TacticalPeek]

5. The facts in this matter are not disputed.

Nor is the fact that our country suffers from a lazy media.

:kick:

[TacticalPeek]

6. Kick.

:kick:

[bigtree]

7. Franks ran the Tora Bora operation from Florida!

How the hell would he know what was going on the ground?

01/08/2002

General Tommy Franks, commander of the US campaign, said from his headquarters in Florida that the search through the tunnels and rubble of Tora Bora would be ending in the next day or so with no clue to Bin Laden's whereabouts.

http://www.alternatenews.com/archives/00000127.shtml

[flpoljunkie]

8. Thanks, Senator Graham. And thank you, NYfM, for posting this LTTE.

We will miss Senator Graham's leadership here in Florida and are working hard to insure that Betty Castor is elected as his replacement in the Senate.

[secular_warrior]

9. The problem with Graham is that he

has an image as being "nutty": he keeps a journal which records every single thing he does - even things as small as going to the bathroom; he tends to always sound conspiratorial; he tends to sound disoriented - like he's not quite "there" and is always searching for the words.

Don't get me wrong, I think Graham is great. I just don't think anyone takes him seriously, which is unfortunate for someone of his stature (ex governor, senator).

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. Thanks for your vote of confidence in Graham

the fact he writes everything down would lend credence to this story, not detract from it.
If Bush only wrote a single thing down, we might not have explosive materials in every Iraqi terrorist's hand right now.

[sherilocks]

18. Bob Graham is very well

respected here in Florida. I have never heard the word "nutty" or not quite "there" used to describe him. I sometimes hear that he is too conservative by Democrats. But he gets the votes everytime he runs.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. I'd take Graham's "nutty"

over Bush's any day.

[murielm99]

23. I read his book.

I have the utmost respect for this man.

[hippiechick]

11. kick

:kick:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. kick

[NewYorkerfromMass]

13. kick

[NewYorkerfromMass]

14. DU's GD:2004 a bit busy

This made it to page 7 in 2 hours. :)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

15. .

[NewYorkerfromMass]

16. ..

[NewYorkerfromMass]

17. ...

[PurityOfEssence]

19. Graham has an impeccable reputation; Franks needs to be confronted

with his statements of the time and asked to deny or explain them.

This is incredibly damning; the theme to follow is that Junior used our fear to settle old personal scores, and by doing so, made us more vulnerable. Lest we forget, this redeployment was NOT authorized by Congress and was paid for by diverting funds appropriated for Afghanistan. The presidency is not an imperial blank check, it is a restricted job in concert with the rest of the government.

These little caesars seem to think they're sole proprietors who can do as they please, when in reality, they're more like board members of a public company.

[gulfcoastliberal]

20. Graham is smart & reality based. I am so disappointed he's retiring

He's a great senator. I wonder why he's retiring, maybe someone shady mentioned something about Wellstone to him since he knows the truth about 9/11.

[murielm99]

24. Maybe Kerry can use him in his new administration.

eom

[gulfcoastliberal]

25. CIA Director would be critical

Get Goss out!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

22. .

[NewYorkerfromMass]

26. kick