Graham and Winston Churchill nail Bush's "War Fever"

[lkinsale]

I was re-reading Graham's floor statement on the war resolution, which he made on October 10th, 2002. He had some serious advice from a master for Bush.

"I close with the words spoken in one of the darkest periods of history of the Western World, in 1941, by Winston Churchill: "Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events."

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For over a year, Graham has tried to tell Bush and the rest of us that Iraq is a distraction, a mistake. Now NBC is reporting that the war in Iraq drained resources (satellite, human intelligence, special forces trained in Arabic, spy drones were all diverted from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Iraq effort.) There are renewed threats from al-Qaeda. Iraq has backfired, just as Graham predicted.

It's time for a grown-up in the White House. Time for someone who has a clue and gives a damn about the real security of the American people, instead of macho posturing.

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[GBD4]

1. Exactly

He also says in that statement that the CIA declassified info saying that Iraq has no present interest in using biological or chemical weapons against the U.S. and that attacking Iraq may incite terrorist groups to launch new attacks. If the CIA was reporting this, the war should have not been supported! Period. One cannot assume a war will be easy and clean, so I am unsure why people are surprised with the way the war is going. Now today we hear al-Qaeda is gearing up for more attacks on us. But hey, we're liberating the people of Iraq, and that's all that matters!!!

[JackSwift]

2. Wonderful argument on why Iraq was a mistake

It was a tiger we could ride until we made a point of bashing its balls.

[lkinsale]

3. We forgot we're still riding the first tiger

Graham's whole speech is very prescient.

On July 16, speaking to Electronic Telegraph of the United Kingdom, US troop commander General Frank "Buster" Hagenbeck, based at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, reported increased attacks over recent weeks on US and Afghan forces by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other anti-US groups that have joined hands. He also revealed some other very interesting information: the Taliban and its allies have regrouped in Pakistan and are recruiting fighters from religious schools in Quetta in a campaign funded by drug trafficking. Hagenbeck also said that these enemies of US and Afghan forces have been joined by Al-Qaeda commanders who are establishing new cells and sponsoring the attempted capture of American troops. One other piece of news of import from Hagenbeck is that the Taliban have seized whole swathes of the country.

Hagenbeck's statements were virtually ignored in Washington

Asia Times

In a January 12, 2003 letter to close supporters, Graham wrote, "Our country enters 2003 in serious need of a more strategic understanding of the world and America's role in it. No one can argue that what constitutes American security changed on September 11, 2001. And while the President launched the War on Terrorism with clearly articulated goals, there has emerged an unnerving and expanding gulf between rhetoric and results. My perspective, shaped through my service as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is that this administration's dominant focus on Iraq diverts important attention and resources from our domestic security and the actions required to win the War on Terrorism."

January 10, 2003

I want someone to lead us who has a clue. These are deadly serious matters. While Bush fiddles in Iraq, al-Queda burns. I think this country is run by fools. I'm frankly beginning to wonder if we'll make it to the 2004 elections.