Bremer to Larry Johnson in 2003: Doesn't matter, we're going to war anyway

[understandinglife]

Two very important posts from Larry Johnson. The first was written in January, 2003 and shared with L. Paul Bremer:

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON IRAQI TERRORISM

By Larry C. Johnson

27 January 2003

The following was written in January 2003 and was shared with Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, who told me it didn't matter what Saddam did or didn't do, we were going to war.

The course of action the United States pursues against Iraq in the coming months holds profound implications for the war on terrorism. As the Bush Administration marshals U.S. military forces in the Persian Gulf region and prepares to invade Iraq, it has devoted little attention to Iraq’s role in the war on terrorism other than to make unsubstantiated claims that Saddam Hussein has backed Al Qaeda. With the end of the first Gulf War and the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 687, Iraq was obligated to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction and end all support for terrorism. Inexplicably the international community focused its attention on finding and destroying Iraq’s chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons but ignored Baghdad’s continuing support for terrorism.

An invasion of Iraq will topple Hussein and eliminate Baghdad’s ability to develop or use weapons of mass destruction for the foreseeable future, but it will do little to destroy the infrastructure of radical Islamic terrorism responsible for the 9-11 attacks. In fact there is a serious risk that a U.S. led war against Iraq may crystallize the diffused anger in the Arab and Muslim world — a heretofore unattained goal of bin Laden and his followers — and persuade more Muslim youths to take up the terrorist banner against America and her citizens.

CLARIFYING IRAQ’S TERRORIST RECORD:

Much, much more at the Link:
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/01/setting_the_rec.html

And, now, Larry Johnson offers some comments as Bremer does his book tour ...

The Arrogance and Hubris of Jerry Bremer

by Larry C. Johnson

15 January 2006

As Jerry Bremer hits the media circuit to tout his new book, which chronicles his tenure as the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, he insists that he and the Administration never anticipated that an insurgency would emerge in Iraq. I am sure Jerry believes what he is saying, but he is wrong. I tried to warn him and I tried to hook him up with genuine experts on Iraq before he went to Baghdad in the spring of 2003. Jerry refused to listen and declined the help. Although Jerry is a brilliant, capable man, he was unwilling to listen to others or accept facts that contradicted the Administration’s conventional wisdom. Jerry’s arrogance in Iraq was symptomatic of the entire Bush Administration’s approach to policy and accounts in large measure for the mess we now face.

My comments about Jerry Bremer are made as someone who considered himself a friend of Jerry’s. I have known L. Paul Bremer aka “Jerry” in various capacities for more than 25 years. We first met when I was an instructor in the Washington Semester program in 1980 and he was an up and comer at the State Department. Later he served as the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism at State Department (1987 thru 1989). I started working in that office shortly after he left. While I do not claim to be a close personal friend, I have had a professional relationship with him dating back to 1994 and was called by him on several occasions for a briefing on the latest developments in the counter terrorism community. I was in regular contact with him until he took the job in Iraq.

Warned About the Insurgency

In January of 2003 I was appalled by the misinformation being peddled by the Administration of George W. Bush regarding Iraq’s support for terrorism. Contrary to the claims by President George W., Iraq did not have operational ties with the Islamic extremists who attacked us and confined its support to groups that were attacking Israel and Iran. In fact, Iraq had never been implicated in any mass casualty terrorist attack.

Much, much more at the link:

http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/01/the_arrogance_a.html

As we assemble all the justification for impeaching Bush, Cheney and their neoconster minions and then prosecuting them for their crimes, these very clear statements by Larry Johnson are essential to making the charges stick.

War of aggression is a crime. Planning war of aggression is a crime. Lying to Congress and the citizens of the United States of America in order to plan and wage a war of aggression is without doubt the most grievous crimes ever committed by any American, let alone by the President and Vice President.


Peace.

[stellanoir]

1. someday the truth will be exposed

thanks for posting.

[DemReadingDU]

2. K&R