Re: Politics & History – that old taboo topic!!
J-
I agree… we should have enforced the resolutions at the first violation. At the time, the UN authorization to attack Iraq was aimed at getting Saddam’s military out of Kuwait. As part of the cease fire agreement (which would leave him in command if he agreed to the conditions), he was to follow the resolutions created as a result of his hostilities towards kuwait and his known use of chemical warfare. Our decisions to not go back in immediately demonstrate a repeated effort on our part to allow Saddam opportunity after opportunity to comply. If Bush Sr is to blame for not pressuring UN to enforce the resolutions immediately after the war, the clinton admin should be viewed as grossly negligent.
Not that Saddam was tied to 9/11, but he might not have been seen as such a threat if 1) clinton had killed bin Laden when he had the chance and 9/11 never happened or 2) Saddam had been brought into compliance at some point during the clinton administration. Keep in mind… almost ALL of the intel used to justify a war in 2003 came from data gathered since the end of Desert Storm. I figured a timeline might help outline my point…
At the same time I point the finger at clinton for not doing something sooner, to his defense he didn’t have 9/11 impacting his decisions for protecting America. I’m betting he might have zipped up long enough to make some different choices concerning Iraq if the towers fell on his watch.
