Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
We're so used to seeing reports and such come out that prove the Bushitas faith-based foreign policy is full of it, it would be easy to overlook the fact that this study started in April 2002.
Which is proof that plans for the invasion were laid at least early enough that all the participants could be selected and gathered together by that time.
Which makes it kind of hard to support the idea that anyone was taking the idea of NOT invading very seriously. Ever.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 -- A yearlong State Department study predicted many of the problems that have plagued the American-led occupation of Iraq, according to internal State Department documents and interviews with administration and Congressional officials.
Beginning in April 2002, the State Department project assembled more than 200 Iraqi lawyers, engineers, business people and other experts into 17 working groups to study topics ranging from creating a new justice system to reorganizing the military to revamping the economy.
Their findings included a much more dire assessment of Iraq's dilapidated electrical and water systems than many Pentagon officials assumed. They warned of a society so brutalized by Saddam Hussein's rule that many Iraqis might react coolly to Americans' notion of quickly rebuilding civil society.
Several officials said that many of the findings in the $5 million study were ignored by Pentagon officials until recently, although the Pentagon said they took the findings into account. The work is now being relied on heavily as occupation forces struggle to impose stability in Iraq.
Posted by P6 at October 18, 2003 10:28 PM | Trackback URL: http://www.prometheus6.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2029While I agree that Bush & Co. wanted to invade Iraq long before any votes were taken, even long before 9/11, I don't think this proves what you think it does. The States Department (and the Defense Department, and CIA) is in the business of planning things. Death or overthrow of Saddam would require us having a plan in place - so they were planning. The fact that the overthrow happened via our military is probably just an interesting coincidence. How many meetings do you think they've had to figure out what to do when Castro dies?
It would be more to the point if Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others had bothered to listen to these plans. I don't know if they were too arrogant to do so, too blinded by ideology, or just incompetent.