Theos-Talk Archives (September 2005 Message tt00154)

Cass Silva wrote:
> I thought the "shock and awe" campaign was about quick recovery and
> minimum loss of life,(american). I was surprised to read that there
> was a 5 month preparation as this suggests that the US was planning
> this attack prior to or during the WMD fiasco. Please correct me if
> I am wrong.
The United States was preparing for the probability that Saddam Hussein 
would not abide by Proposition 1441 (the 17th "last chance" he was 
given). He did not (he was supposed to keep records of destroyed WMD; we 
still don't know what happened to most of the catalogued WMD). The 
timing, however, was important. The United States had more or less set 
things up that, if they did not invade by the beginning of April, they 
would have to bring the troops home. If Saddam Hussein had complied with 
1441, there would have been no problem. But not only did he not comply 
with it, but France and Germany saw this as a great opportunity for a 
power grab in Europe by asking for further extensions, knowing that the 
United States had put itself in a position where any further extensions 
would result in the United States having to withdraw the troops, giving 
Saddam Hussein the opportunity to break the treaties he signed yet 
another time, with impunity. So the United States had the choice of 
retreating at a time when a retreat would embolden its enemies, or going 
forward without U.N. approval. Since U.N. approval isn't worth shit, 
they went ahead.

Bart