Allies 'duped into waging war' (UK ambassador to the UN)

[Nambe]

Press Association Ltd

One of al Qaida's aims in its September 11 attacks on the US three years ago was to draw the west into military conflict on Arab soil, according to Prime Minister Tony Blair's former envoy to Iraq.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock's comments appeared to give some credence to the argument of critics of the Iraq War that the US and UK played into al Qaida's hands by launching last year's invasion. ..

Sir Jeremy, who was at the centre of events in the run-up to last year's war as UK ambassador to the United Nations, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think it was one of the objectives of Osama bin Laden and the al Qaida leadership originally to draw America into conflict on Arab soil as close to Saudi Arabia as possible." ..

"Iraq is not yet a failed state," said Sir Jeremy. "We are in a transition period, which has got considerable difficulties. But if Iraq ends up as a failed state and we leave it in that state, then we are worse off than when we started."
Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

[Red Fox]

1. Sounds accurate to me

As sad as it may sound.

[rooboy]

2. What a pile of f-ing bullshit.

They planned this years ago and made every possible effort to go to war.

Greenstock can try telling the 'stupid' defence at the Hague.

[w4rma]

5. Both. They were duped, and they had planned it. Imho.

Not mutually exclusive.

[dansolo]

10. Originally planned. OBL just gave them the excuse.

Osama knew the score. His best shot at luring the US was Iraq. It was a master stroke. He not only got the US to push for an invasion, but he also got the US to act as a proxy and take out Saddam in the process. It was a win/win scenario for him.

[teryang]

3. He has PNAC and al qaeda confused

Maybe this is a factual basis for confusion since the terrorists always seem to play right into their hands at the most politically opportune moments.

The major shareholders of the energy industry and defense contractors got exactly what they wanted. This "we've been duped" by al qaeda stuff is laughable.

See for example this analysis:

http://www.newsgateway.ca/Russian_Chechen_terror.htm

Russian - Chechen Terror: Cui Bono? Who Benefits?

The Geopolitics of Caspian Oil

<snip> German Minister of Technology (which included supervision of German intelligence - the BND), Andreas von Bülow:

"This tactic is called a “false flag operation” or a “false flag recruitment”, used by both the CIA and Mossad for purposes of propaganda. “Ninety-five percent of the work of the intelligence agencies around the world is deception and disinformation,” von Bülow said, which is widely propagated in the mainstream media creating an accepted version of events."

Chossudovsky: "Covert support by the US military and intelligence apparatus has been channelled to various Islamic terrorist organisations through a complex network of intermediaries and intelligence proxies. Moreover, numerous official statements, intelligence reports confirm recent links (in the post Cold War era) between US military-intelligence units and Al Qaida operatives, as occurred in Bosnia (mid 1990s), Kosovo (1998-99) and Macedonia (2001)."

There is evidence that connects the Philippine attack, the attack in Bali and the Madrid train bombings to western intelligence personnel.

As well, the Turkish attacks were very convenient for British PM Blair and visiting US President Bush. So much so, the timing raises credible suspicion. The media coverage of the massive war protests were suddenly "out manoeuvred" by the coverage of the Turkish bombings. Video footage of thousands protesting the war instantly disappeared from the airwaves. The protests were suddenly irrelevant, as now the War on Terror was one step closer to Britain. <snip>

[Kellanved]

8. The Bülow worship is something that I can't understand.

Despite the man being completely insane, the whole trust in him as a source is based on his former official positions. Yet those positions are prsented completely scrambled and far away from reality.

Many claim that he was German Minister of Defense - he wasn't. He served one term as deputy minister minister of defense, an office far less influential than in the US.

Also his position as minister of Science and Technology had nothing to do with Intelligence service supervision. Truth is that during his time as opposition MP he had had a place on the intelligence committee.

[teryang]

12. Bulow worship?

I don't really care who said it, the characterization of intelligence operations is accurate. The critique given really doesn't undermine his credentials anyway.

Who claimed he was minister of defense? You say he was deputy minister. You also say he had a place on the intelligence committee. Does this disqualify him or qualify him?

[LivingInTheBubble]

4. Familiar meme...

They made us do it!

[jpgray]

6. Bin Laden did want this

He wanted US troops out of Saudi Arabia, to hijack and radicalize the Islamic world, and to bring a tangible US target into the Arab world. He has almost everything he wanted.

[bvar22]

7. More than that:

Osama has:
1)split up the Western alliances

2)turned Western "Democratic governments" against the popular will of the majority of their citizens

3)provoked the US into spending obscene amounts of money on armaments, neglecting social programs for the citizens. (This is what killed the Soviet Union

4) Inspired enough reactionary paranoia to allow the fascist elements to begin deconstructing the Constitution.

5) United the World against the US.

bush* gave Osama EVERYTHING he wanted, and much, much more.

[dansolo]

11. You forgot the most important

The US withdrew troops out of Saudi Arabia. That's what started the whole ball rolling, back in the first Gulf War.

[thomas_a]

9. This Is A Pile Of Pig Vomit

The British joined Bush's invasion of Iraq for the same reason the Italians joined Hitler's invasion of France in the 1940s. Well, OK, the Italians tried to invade France but even with the French army destroyed and the government in collapse the couldn't get very far. But anyway, the point is that Britain is a nation that is resentful of the fact that its glory days are behind it and has latched onto Bush like a ramora to a shark so that it can still pretend it is a great power. For Greenstock to pretend otherwise is laughable. Blair knew exactly what he was getting into.

[alfredo]

13. the neo cons telegraphed their punch when they published

Rebuilding America's Defenses.

I knew a kid who would lose his head when mad. We used to have boxing matches in his barn. He was a good boxer, but had a weakness that would allow me to win. I knew if I got him mad he'd start swing like a windmill, dropping his guard. He would charge forward, gloves flailing. His face was totally unguarded. All he thought was of offense, no thought was of defense.