Reasons for Iraq War

When elected, Bush was opposed to "nation building," but Dick Cheney brought in eight fellow neocons who advocated "regime change" and re-building Iraq. This was before 9/11 and had nothing to do with Bush's war on terrorism.

Cheney's group all belonged to PNAC or IASPS. IASPS advocated regime change to increase Israeli security, while PNAC focused on our Middle East allies but named only Israel. Using 9/11, Cheney and the neocons convinced Bush to go against the long-standing conservative principles he proclaimed during his election campaign.

The 9 Iraq-War Planners Surrounding Bush
and their PNAC / IASPS backgrounds

Chart has Clickable popNotes.

A Short History of the Neocons' Push for War. Click Years for Details.

1996. Report: why removing Saddam is crucial to Israel.
Written by Feith, Wurmser and Fairbanks.
Delivered in person by Perle to the Israeli Prime Minister.

1997. PNAC's founding "principles" signed by necons:
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Libby, Abrams.

1998. PNAC letter to Clinton: removal of Saddam ... military efforts
signed by: Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Bolton, Abrams
Bombing Iraq Isn't Enough (NY Times) / A way to Oust Saddam ("the Wolfowitz plan ... US military might") —PNAC

1999. The Neocons' book on US/Israeli strategic interest in Iraq
"Iraq also has large, proven oil reserves, water, ..." —Wurmser
PNAC Memo: "Above all, only ground forces can remove Saddam."

2000. Talk of war with Iraq was discontinued during the election.

2001. War planning by neocons' PNAC.
Liberate Iraq—PNAC "At minimum, 50,000 troops." "Thousands of Iraqi soldiers would likely change sides and fight." "Chalabi may be ideal man to lead the opposition. He is rich and upper class."

September 11, 2001

2001. War selling by neocons' PNAC
Sept. 11. Rumsfeld: "Go massive. Sweep it all up. Related and Not."
Sept. 15. At Camp David, Wolfowitz made the case for action against Iraq.
Sept. 19. Rumsfeld, Perle call two-day meeting. Outcome summarized in The PNAC Letter, signed by Perle. "Even if evidence does not link Iraq ... remove Saddam Hussein." Focuses on Iraq, Hezbollah, the Palesinian Authority, little on Bin Laden.

All that remained was to convince Bush, and they had him surrounded.

The man who did most to convince Bush and America, a long-time favorite of necons, was not even an American. Chalabi sold us the Iraq WMD hoax. The WMD Report to the President concluded that all of Iraq's WMD were destroyed by 1991. Returning to Iraq, Chalabi, a Shiite, passed to the Iranians the most damaging top secret information—that we had broken their code.

Summary of Reasons for Iraq War: The two fundamental reasons are (1) Oil, and (2) Israel. But the mechanical reasons are (1) the neocon lobby, (2) Cheney as VP, and (3) Bush's desire to prove himself and best his father. The neocons discuss mainly on the needs of Israel (the WMD they were truely concerned about were Scuds aimed at Israel), but Cheney and Rumsfeld may be more focussed on oil.

http://zfacts.com/p/775.html | 01/18/12 07:16 GMT
Modified: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:37:24 GMT

Iraq Oil

Fukuyama, a top neocon, has defected. Read his statement on how the unrealistic neocon agenda turned Iraq into a "base for jihadist terrorists, with plenty of American targets to shoot at."

The Neocons' Mistakes

America Alone: Two conservatives make the same case as zFacts.
Read key excerpts.

Amazon

The Assassins' Gate
New. Rank=25!
Sympathetic to the Iraqi people, it covers both their experience and the ideological debate within the administration. Reveals the monumental impact of neocons on today's foreign policy. "This is a war of ideas, and sometimes even well-intended ideas can be dangerous, and worse, devastating to human life and society."
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America Alone:
By mainstream Republicans with long experience in government. Fair-minded and fascinating. The book is a damning indictment of neocons and the Iraq War -- because it is incredibly well researched and cautious. Read the authors' key points in their own words.

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