According to Neil Mackay of the Scottish Sunday Herald (UK) Bush planned \"Regime change\" before becoming president,

"A SECRET blueprint for US global domination reveals that President Bush and his cabinet were planning a premeditated attack on Iraq to secure 'regime change' even before he took power in January 2001.
"The blueprint, uncovered by the Sunday Herald, for the creation of a 'global Pax Americana' was drawn up for Dick Cheney (now vice- president), Donald Rumsfeld defence secretary), Paul Wolfowitz (Rumsfeld's deputy), George W Bush's younger brother Jeb and Lewis Libby (Cheney's chief of staff). The document, entitled Rebuilding America's Defences: Strategies, Forces And Resources For A New Century, was written in September 2000 by the neo-conservative think-tank Project for the New American Century (PNAC).
"The plan shows Bush's cabinet intended to take military control of the Gulf region whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power. It says: 'The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.'
"The PNAC document supports a 'blueprint for maintaining global US pre-eminence, precluding the rise of a great power rival, and shaping the international security order in line with American principles and interests'."

[ September 19, 2002: Message edited by: fantomas ]

During today's Congressional hearings on Iraq, Cynthia McKinney brought this up, though she cited its appearance in the Observer.

Neither Perle (that phantasmal horror, who was answering from a giant screen via Internet hookup) nor Woolsey nor General Meyers DENIED this. They just tossed out non-sequiturs or babbled in response. Woolsey actually said, "I don't know." Huh? You don't know whether you helped to draft a plan to attack Iraq before 2001? What do these people do in Washington or wherever it is they meet to draft their wacko plans?

McKinney did point out that one of the general's responses didn't at all touch upon what she had asked, but it didn't matter. Once again, she was made to look like a total looney, even though she had a valid point....

Wait a sec...most people who don't like Bush ridicule him for not being smart...and now you're saying he planned this "regime change" before becoming president?

Cynthia McKinney adding her two cents does nothing to strengthen the "credibility" of this story.

It's quite possible to be "not smart" -- or to be fairly smart and rather evil, as a number of the people named in that story as drawing up the plan are -- and still intend to keep the War Machine going by getting some more oil reserves for your sponsors and friends.

Let these brave Congresspeople know if you support them -- and it's time for anti-unilateralist Republicans to join them:

Kucinich, 18 other House Dems plan to oppose Iraq war (Wash. Times)

Raze, Fantomas (I think), et al, are arguing in another thread that the whole war on Iraq is just a political concoction cooked up by Kark Rove to divert stoo-pid Americans from how broke, helpless, destitute, etc. they really are. Just FYI.

So, what W1865, it's an either or proposition? They can't be using the Iraqi situation for both imperialistic AND politcally expedient reason?

As usual, you're so busy taking one of your beloved potshots at someone/something that you've neglected to actually make clear what the point you're trying to make is. Or if you even have one other than "Weee!!!! I get to use the Internet to mock liberals!!! Weeeeeee!".

In the other thread I wrote: "It seems the lefties are simultaneously (I love that word) arguing that the war on Iraq is a desperate political move to control Congress AND a coldly-calculated imperialist plot to control the world. Who knew?" I suppose I'm just put off by the twin notions that 1)Bush has deviously schemed for years to invade Iraq and 2)that war with Iraq is just some b-team issue pulled from the bench in order to distract the opposing team from what's really important, i.e. a prescription drug benefit. But whatever. As I've said before, the lefties are so desperate to attack Bush all of their conspiracies and accusations just become a lot of white noise after awhile.

The "rightie" babble on this has achieved "white noise" status as well...

Here's a link to an article in today's sf chronicle about what all this will cost:

SF Chronicle

Does anyone really think that GW Bush did not plan a war on Iraq the moment he decided to run for President? I thought two of the major reasons to run for President was to 1) avenge Daddy for losing to a Democrat and 2) fix what Daddy did not do right in 1991.

[ September 20, 2002: Message edited by: CPT_Doom ]