Intelligence agencies, yes, U.S. government intelligence agencies, warned their boss, George Bush, that Iraq would embolden Al Qaeda and Iran. Of course, that's proven to be true. Funny, cause that's exactly what Bush is accusing his political opponents of doing now. Bush was so determined to go to war against Iraq, he was willing to sacrifice the safety of the country. And, that's what has happened.
The Associated Press reveals what Bush was warned about in 2003. Amazingly accurate. Figures Bush ignored it:
Among other conclusions, the analysts found:You know, every time Bush mentions Al Qaeda, it's actually an admission that he's failed to defeat the enemy that attacked us on his watch. Every time John McCain or any other Republican mentions Bin Laden or Al Qaeda, they are acknowledging that their President failed to defeat the enemey that attacked us on September 11th.
- Establishing a stable democracy in Iraq would be a long, steep and probably turbulent challenge. They said that contributions could be made by 4 million Iraqi exiles and Iraq's impoverished, underemployed middle class. But they noted that opposition parties would need sustained economic, political and military support.
- Al-Qaida would see the invasion as a chance to accelerate its attacks, and the lines between al-Qaida and other terrorist groups "could become blurred." In a weak spot in the analysis, one paper said that the risk of terror attacks would spike after the invasion and slow over the next three to five years. However, the State Department recently found that attacks last year alone rose sharply.
- Groups in Iraq's deeply divided society would become violent, unless stopped by the occupying force. "Score settling would occur throughout Iraq between those associated with Saddam's regime and those who have suffered most under it," one report stated.
- Iraq's neighbors would jockey for influence and Iranian leaders would try to shape the post-Saddam era to demonstrate Tehran's importance in the region. The less Tehran felt threatened by U.S. actions, the analysts said, "the better the chance that they could cooperate in the postwar period."
- Postwar Iraq would face significant economic challenges, having few resources beyond oil. Analysts predicted that Iraq's large petroleum resources would make economic reconstruction easier, but they didn't anticipate that continued fighting and sabotage would drag down oil production.
- Military action to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would not cause other governments in the region to give up such programs.
Clearly, Al Qaeda owes its on-going existence to the fact that Bush a) didn't finish the job in Afghanistan and b) started a war in Iraq that's emboldened and strengthened Al Qaeda.
A much more detailed analysis and a link to the full report can be found on the website of the Senate Democrats.
