It is probable that no event in our lifetime will have as negative an impact on the United States and the world as the Iraq war has and the neo-con architects of this despotic adventurism assuredly bear the responsibility for it.
The celebrious philosopher, poet and cultural critic George Santayana was known to appreciate multiple perfections in humanity, but I am certain he never imagined the multiple imperfections of the neo-con despots described below. He did once prophetically muse,
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
With props to thinkprogress.org for the factual information, let's take a look back at these political demons who were responsible for the Iraq War. As time marches inexorably on, we would be well served to always remember who they are and what they did.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ:
Role In Going To War: Wolfowitz said the U.S. would be greeted as liberators, that Iraqi oil money would pay for the reconstruction, and that Gen. Eric Shinseki’s estimate that several hundred thousand troops would be needed was "wildly off the mark." [Washington Post, 12/8/05; Wolfowitz, 3/27/03]
Key Quote:
The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the U.S. government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason for going to war.
[USA Today, 5/30/03]
DOUGLAS FEITH:
Role In Going To War: As Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Feith spearheaded two secretive groups at the Pentagon — the Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group and the Office of Special Plans — that were instrumental in drawing up documents that explained the supposed ties between Saddam and al Qaeda. The groups were "created in order to find evidence of what Wolfowitz and his boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, believed to be true." Colin Powell referred to Feith’s operation as the Gestapo. In Bob Woodward’s Plan of Attack, former CentCom Commander Gen. Tommy Franks called Feith the "f***ing stupidest guy on the face of the earth." [LAT, 1/27/05; NYT, 4/28/04; New Yorker, 5/12/03; Plan of Attack, p.281]
Key Quote:
I am not asserting to you that I know that the answer is — we did it right. What I am saying is it’s an extremely complex judgment to know whether the course that we chose with its pros and cons was more sensible.
[Washington Post, 7/13/05]
WILLIAM LUTI:
Role In Going To War: Luti worked under Douglas Feith, overseeing the Office of Special Plans, a Pentagon intelligence shop used to produce intelligence supporting the Bush administration’s claims about the threat represented by Saddam Hussein. [LA Weekly, 2/19/04, New Yorker, 5/12/03]
Key Quotes: A Pentagon official on Luti:
It’s very difficult to inform people who already know it all.Basically, he didn’t like other people’s information if it didn’t agree with his opinion,
[Washington Post, 10/22/03]
STEPHEN HADLEY:
Role In Going To War: As then-Deputy National Security Advisor, Hadley disregarded memos from the CIA and a personal phone call from Director George Tenet warning that references to Iraq’s pursuit of uranium be dropped from Bush’s speeches. The false information ended up in Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address. [Washington Post, 7/23/03]
Key Quote:
I should have recalled at the time of the State of the Union speech that there was controversy associated with the uranium issue, and it is now clear to me that I failed in that responsibility in connection with the inclusion of these 16 words in the speech that he gave on the 28th of January.
[Hadley, 7/22/03]
RICHARD PERLE:
Role In Going To War: Richard Perle, the so-called "Prince of Darkness," was the chairman of Defense Policy Board during the run-up to the Iraq war. He suggested Iraq had a hand in 9-11. In 1996, he authored "Clean Break," a paper that was co-signed by Douglas Feith, David Wurmser, and others that argued for regime change in Iraq. Shortly after the war began, Perle resigned from the Board because he came under fire for having relationships with businesses that stood to profit from the war. [Guardian, 9/3/02, 3/28/03; AFP, 8/9/02]
Key Quote:
And a year from now, I’ll be very surprised if there is not some grand square in Baghdad that is named after President Bush. There is no doubt that, with the exception of a very small number of people close to a vicious regime, the people of Iraq have been liberated and they understand that they’ve been liberated. And it is getting easier every day for Iraqis to express that sense of liberation.
[Perle, 9/22/03]
ELLIOT ABRAMS:
Role In Going To War: Abrams was one of the defendants in the Iran-Contra Affair, and he pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress. He was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs during Bush’s first term, where he served as Bush’s chief advisor on the Middle East. His name surfaced as part of the investigation into who leaked the name of a undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. [Washington Post, 5/27/03, 2/3/05]
Key Quote:
We recognize that military action in Iraq, if necessary, will have adverse humanitarian consequences. We have been planning over the last several months, across all relevant agencies, to limit any such consequences and provide relief quickly.
[CNN, 2/25/03]
SCOOTER LIBBY:
Role In Going To War: As Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Libby repeatedly pressured CIA analysts to report that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and links to al Qaeda. He also provided classified government information to New York Times reporter Judith Miller that formed the basis of a series of articles highlighting Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction that were later entirely discredited. Along with Hannah, Libby was a principal author of the discredited draft UN presentation. [Washington Post, 6/5/03; National Journal, 4/6/06; FAIR, 3/19/07; NYT, 10/30/05]
Key Quote:
I’m a great fan of the Vice President. I think he’s one of the smartest, most honorable people I’ve ever met.
[Time, 10/28/05]
JOHN HANNAH:
Role In Going To War: As deputy national security advisor to Vice President Cheney, Hannah served as the conduit between Ahmad Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress and the Bush administration, passing along false information about Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction that the administration relied upon to justify the invasion. Hannah was also a principal author of the draft speech making the administration’s case for war to the UN. Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and CIA director George Tenet rejected most of the content of the speech as exaggerated and unwarranted. [Newsweek, 12/15/06; NYT, 10/30/05]
Key Quote:
Reprising his role in misleading the country to war with Iraq, Hannah has told a U.S. ambassador that, "2007 is the year of Iran and that a U.S. attack is a real possibility.
[Washington Post, 2/11/07]
DAVID WURMSER:
Role In Going To War: At the time of the war, Wurmser was a special assistant to John Bolton in the State Department. Wurmser has long advocated the belief that both Syria and Iraq represented threats to the stability of the Middle East. In early 2001, Wurmser had issued a call for air strikes against Iraq and Syria. Along with Perle, he is considered a main author of "Clean Break." [Asia Times, 4/17/03; Guardian, 9/3/02]
Key Quote:
Syria, Iran, Iraq, the PLO and Sudan are playing a skillful game, but have consistently worked to undermine US interests and influence in the region for years, and certainly will continue to do so now, even if they momentarily, out of fear, seem more forthcoming.
[Washington Post, 9/24/01]
ANDREW NATSIOS:
Role In Going To War: Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, Andrew Natsios, then the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, went on Nightline and claimed that the U.S. contribution to the rebuilding of Iraq would be just $1.7 billion. When it became quickly apparent that Natsios’ prediction would fall woefully short of reality, the government came under fire for scrubbing his comments from the USAID Web site. [Washington Post, 12/18/03; ABC News, 4/23/03]
Key Quote:
The American part of this will be $1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on funding for this.
[Nightline, 4/23/03]
DAN BARTLETT:
Role In Going To War: Dan Bartlett was the White House Communications Director at the time of the war and was a mouthpiece in hyping the Iraq threat. Bartlett was also a regular participant in the weekly meetings of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG). The main purpose of the group was the systematic coordination of the "marketing" of going to war with Iraq as well as selling the war here at home. [Washington Post, 8/10/03]
Key Quote:
Most people would argue we are part of the solution in Iraq, not part of the problem.
[CNN, 10/23/06]
MITCH DANIELS:
Role In Going To War: Mitch Daniels was the director of the Office of Management and Budget from January 2001 through June of 2003. In this capacity, he was responsible for releasing the initial budget estimates for the Iraq War which he pegged at $50 to $60 billion. The estimated cost of the war, including the full economic ramifications, is approaching $1 trillion. [MSNBC, 3/17/06]
Key Quote: Mitch Daniels had said the war would be,
An affordable endeavor and that an estimate by the chief White House economic adviser that the war would cost between $100 billion and $200 billion was very, very high.
[Christian Science Monitor, 1/10/06]
GEORGE TENET:
Role In Going To War: As CIA Director, Tenet was responsible for gathering information on Iraq and the potential threat posted by Saddam Hussein. According to author Bob Woodward, Tenet told President Bush before the war that there was a "slam dunk case" that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction. Tenet remained publicly silent while the Bush administration made pre-war statements on Iraq’s supposed nuclear program and ties to al Qaeda that were contrary to the CIA’s judgments. Tenet issued a statement in July 2003, drafted by Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, taking responsibility for Bush’s false statements in his State of the Union address. [CNN, 4/19/04; NYT, 7/22/05]
Key Quote:
It’s a slam dunk case.
[CNN, 4/19/04]
COLIN POWELL:
Role In Going To War: Despite stating in Feb. 2001 that Saddam had not developed "any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction," Powell made the case in front of the United Nations for a United States-led invasion of Iraq, stating that, "There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons and the capability to rapidly produce more, many more. And he has the ability to dispense these lethal poisons and diseases in ways that can cause massive death and destruction." [Powell, 2/5/03; Powell, 2/24/01]
You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people. You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You’ll own it all. Privately, Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage called this the Pottery Barn rule: You break it, you own it.
[Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack]
DONALD RUMSFELD:
Role In Going To War: Prior to the war, Rumsfeld repeatedly suggested the war in Iraq would be short and swift. He said, "The Gulf War in the 1990s lasted five days on the ground. I can’t tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, or five weeks, or five months, but it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that." He also said, "It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." [Rumsfeld, 11/14/02; USA Today, 4/1/03]
Key Quote:
You go to war with the Army you have. They’re not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
[CNN, 12/9/04]
CONDOLEEZZA RICE:
Role In Going To War: As National Security Adviser, Rice disregarded at least two CIA memos and a personal phone call from Director George Tenet stating that the evidence behind Iraq’s supposed uranium acquisition was weak. She urged the necessity of war because "we don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." [Washington Post, 7/27/03; CNN, 9/8/02]
Key Quote:
We did not know at the time — maybe someone knew down in the bowels of the agency — but no one in our circles knew that there were doubts and suspicions that this might be a forgery. Of course it was information that was mistaken.
[Meet the Press, 6/8/03]
DICK CHENEY:
Role In Going To War: Among a host of false pre-war statements, Cheney claimed that Iraq may have had a role in 9/11, stating that it was "pretty well confirmed" that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intelligence officials. Cheney also claimed that Saddam was "in fact reconstituting his nuclear program" and that the U.S. would be "greeted as liberators." [Meet the Press, 12/9/01, 3/16/03]
Key Quote:
I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.
[Larry King Live, 6/20/05]
GEORGE W. BUSH:
Role In Going To War: Emphasizing Saddam Hussein’s supposed stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, supposed ties to al Qaeda, and supposed nuclear weapons program, Bush built public support for — and subsequently ordered — an invasion of Iraq. [State of the Union, 1/28/03]
Key Quote:
Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof — the smoking gun — that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.
[Bush, 10/7/02]