The PNAC Letter of 9/20/2001 reflects the dominant (neocon) conclusions from Rumsfeld's 2-day Defense Policy Board meeting.
Quotes from the Neocon Letter of 9/20/2001
"Even if
evidence does not link Iraq directly to the attack, ...
remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq."
"... any war against terrorism must
target Hezbollah."
"We should insist that the
Palestinian Authority ... imprison those planning terrorist attacks against Israel."
Context and Summary: The authors appear to have little interest in bin Laden but are afraid of appearing to have an agenda unrelated to the present crisis. So bin Laden is mentioned first, but given only two sentences—65 words, compared with 154 for Iraq and 127 for Hezbollah, Israel’s nemesis.
Aside from the two sentences on Osama, the letter is unified by its focus on enemies of Israel: Iraq, Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and the Palestinian Authority, while it ignores entirely the two states most likely to supply bin Laden with nuclear weapons, North Korea and Pakistan.
See discussion of Defense-Policy-Board meeting.
Page with this popNote and full text of letter.