Desert Sapper's Blogistan

OU Football and my world

2007/5/10

Iraq was illegal?

Tags:
@ 11:18 AM (30 months, 26 days ago)

 I was thinking on the idea that the Iraq war is 'illegal', and somebody on the Grunt Forum asked me for the UNCLASS info on the subject.  This is the UNCLASS version of the NSA's Electronic Briefing Book on the subject, which has documentation supporting both sides (and is the largest source for UNCLASS information on the subject):


NSAEBB

This is a Fox News article concerning some of the precursors and degraded chem stock we found in Iraq in 2003.

Article

This is a CNN article from 2004 concerning the CIA report about Iraq WMD. Typical CNN political opinion dominates the article.

Article

The Fox article on the same subject takes on a decidedly different tone, and actually includes links to the findings. Typical Fox political opinion dominates the article.


ArticleKey Findings
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3


The report 'concluded' that there was no legitimate WMD program remaining in Iraq. It also concluded that Saddam had serious interests in resuming the program as soon as possible and that he undermined the Oil For Food Program to procure illicit weapons. The report only utilized 'confirmed' intel (due to the political climate at the time of the report) and it is largely unclassified.

Unfortunately, the stuff that is in the public domain would lead you to believe that Saddam complied with the resolution, that the inspections worked, and the stockpiles were destroyed. I really wish I could say more, but there is much more to it than all of this UNCLASS stuff. My opinion has been colored by things that I know about movements in the country at the time of the invasion, information and professional opinions from former weapons inspectors (one of which I had a lengthy conversation with on the topic), and other items that are currently classified in some form or fashion.

Just know that we were deliberately delayed south of Baghdad and there is a volume of unaccounted for chemical precursors and chemical warheads residing 'somewhere'. I'm no analyst, I'm not trained in any highspeed intel field, but the things I've seen personally lead me to believe there is much left to be accounted for.

Iraq's a big dang box of sand. There was a lot of digging prior to and DURING the initial invasion. There was also a considerable amount of truck convoy movement prior to and DURING the initial invasion. It took a total of 21 days to take Baghdad. Any idea what you can do with a limitless amount desert (practically -- the Arabian desert is second only to the Sahara in square mileage), friendly first world countries (with considerable funding and reason to help you), and extremely friendly neighbors (with less funding, but Arab brotherhood reasons to help you) in THREE WHOLE WEEKS? If I gave my two year old a handful of spent .223 casings at the beach, she'd have them gone for good in under 10 minutes. Imagine a larger scale with considerably more 'shells' and a relatively large army on a much bigger beach. How long would it take the Arizona national guard to make stuff disappear in the Mojave? How long did it in 1945?


Regardless, the idea that we had no cause to go to war with Iraq is a little ridiculous. Saddam defiantly challenged UN authority, knowing full well that the 'powers' of that organization were bluffing. We had a president in office that had the intestinal fortitude to call that bluff and do what the international community should have. Thank God we have a man of conviction in office. Too many spineless 'leaders' are handing things over to our enemies on a daily basis.

When we do finally cut slingload in Iraq and run away with our tail betwixt our cowering legs, we will have nobody but ourselves to blame when the fit finally hits the shan. Small scale attacks on the world's oil supply is all the bad guys have been able to attempt so far. I just can't wait to see what happens when two terror-happy countries ally together with the collection of terrorist groups they are trying so hard to support and set their goal to punishing OPEC.   God save us all when we yearn for those 'happy days' of $3.00 gas.  Hooah.

2007/4/30

Iraq and retreat

Tags:
@ 03:46 PM (31 months, 6 days ago)

Quote:
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1.

"We see some negative signs in the decision because it sends wrong signals to some sides that might think of alternatives to the political process," Ali al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press.

He spoke after the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1. The House passed the same bill a day earlier, and President Bush has promised a veto.

The legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January.

"Coalition forces gave lots of sacrifices and they should continue their mission, which is building Iraqi security forces to take over," al-Dabbagh said. "We see (it) as a loss of four years of sacrifices."



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070426/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us

I agree whole-heartedly with the representative from Iraq. Yes, I will probably have to go back (again and maybe again and again) if we stay, and that would put my life in jeopardy yet again, but I feel that every single brother and sister that I have lost over there (for he today that sheds his blood with me...) will have died in vain if we do not see this endeavor through. I also think failure would ripple worldwide. Success is paramount to our strategic concerns right now, like it or not.

And yes, there is a very real condition for success. It involves the Iraqis standing on their own and maintaining their own security, which they are not currently capable of...and likely won't be in a year or two, probably not for another five. The culture (and the way we handled the Ba'ath party) has made it twice as difficult to get personnel with motivation and training to accomplish the same task that US personnel are trying to accomplish right now (with some difficulty).

Just a summation of what we are up against, for anyone that doesn't yet realize the difficulty of the task. Our enemy doesn't play by any rules. They kidnap whole families and kill them, attack civilian targets to cause chaos, and kill anyone that has anything to do with the US or the 'illegal puppet Iraqi government'. The enemy is diverse in their composition and their goals. You have Iran, who wishes to destabilize the region indefinitely (to keep all eyes off them), and ultimately create a mirror-image Shia totalitarian dictatorship. You have Al-Qu'aeda, who wishes to destabilize Iraq until US forces quit (a strategy of attrition - virtually the same successfully pursued by the NVA/VC in Vietnam and Aideed in Somalia), and ultimately create a 'new Caliphate', which amounts to a Wahabi totalitarian dictatorship. You have insurgent groups, some foreign, some domestic, whose goals vary from destroying Iraq, restoring the Ba'ath party, destroying all Shia, destroying all Sunni, forcing the US out, collapsing the current Iraqi government, continuing any of a variety of major criminal enterprises (drug smuggling, human trafficing, etc.) and supporting the goals of one or more of the previously mentioned bigger organizations.

As an analogy, this would be the equivalent of the state of California erupting into anarchy with the following groups with their various goals employing violence to force somebody's hand: the Black Panther Party, La Raza, Nation of Aztlan, the Crips, the Bloods, Westboro Baptist Church, Nation of Islam, Militia of Montana, Sovereign Citizen Movement, Michigan Militia, Kentucky State Militia, League of the South, American Nazi Party, Aryan Nations, The Hammerskin Nation, Ku Klux Klan, and the Jewish Defense League. All of them have some different form of goals, all of them have different agendas, and all of them could wreak havoc individually. If they were all fighting each other and the cops and the national guard, and the active units that the president committed to the fight, you can only imagine what it would be like.

No, things are not pretty in Iraq. No, they likely won't be for some time. Yes, it's important that we can regain control in Iraq and get the Iraqis back on their own feet. If we don't, one (or more) of the groups vying for power right now will win. It likely will be the bloodiest, most horrible group you can imagine. Ultimately, this could seriously endanger the world oil reserves (attacks on Saudi fields have been stopped so far). If you thought it was bad paying 3 bucks a gallon for gas, wait til you have to pay 50. What happens when people can't even afford to commute to work and there is no reliable mass transit...worldwide. If we thought the stock market crash of 1929 was bad for the world economy...just wait. On the upside, cars will HAVE to shift to alternative fuel, and maybe we'll get serious about reliable mass transit.