Rice-Cheney Bash Rockefeller Comments
FILE - In this May 7, 2012 file photo, actress Brooke Shields arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala benefit, celebrating Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada in New York. Shields will be a presenter at The Drama Desk Awards on Sunday, June 3, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file) / Charles Sykes
A day after a Democratic senator suggested that the U.S. should not have invaded Iraq in 2003 – even if it meant leaving Saddam Hussein in power – top Bush administration officials fired back.
"There is, in retrospect, an attempt to somehow paint Saddam Hussein as just sitting there calmly in the region. Yes, he was a bad guy; people didn't like him, but he wasn't much of a threat," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on CBS's Face The Nation, adding, "It's simply ahistorical.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., not only pointedly questioned the necessity of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, but went a step further in his criticism, telling CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein in power.
Both Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney questioned Rockefeller's stance that Hussein was boxed in by enemies.
"The notion that, somehow, someone who had caused more than a million deaths in the Iran-Iraq war, someone who had invaded Kuwait, and we believe, was probably on his way to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, somebody who threatened his neighbors every day, who shot at our aircraft, who had broken out of an embargo and was using his oil wealth to build up an arsenal of weapons, that this is not a threat, in the world's most volatile region — I just think it's very, frankly, odd analysis," Rice said.
While admitting that Iraqi insurgents have prolonged the war in ways the United States did not anticipate, Cheney agreed with Rice.
"The fact is, the world is better off today with Saddam Hussein out of power. Think where we'd be if he was still there," Cheney said on NBC's Meet The Press.
Rockefeller's comments followed the release of recently declassified documents on prewar intelligence by the Senate Intelligence Committee Friday.
The reports provided by Democrats disclosed for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war, Saddam's government "did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates."
Rockefeller, who is the committee's top Democrat, said the Bush administration's push for war, "exploited the deep sense of insecurity among Americans in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, leading a large majority of Americans to believe — contrary to the intelligence assessments at the time — that Iraq had a role in the 9/11 attacks."
Other prominent Democrats said they supported Rockefeller's criticism of the president, but were not quite as strident in their remarks.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, who also appeared on Face The Nation, told Bob Schieffer his stance was "somewhere in the middle" of Rockefeller and Rice's opinions.
"It was a good thing to get rid of him. He was a brutal dictator," the New York Democrat said of Hussein. "But the problem is that once Saddam was gone, this administration had no plan as to what to do next.
"And right now, we're in a quagmire in Iraq because it seems to be devolving into a civil war. We're policing the civil war," Schumer said.
"I mean, look, we're all delighted that Saddam Hussein is gone," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said on CNN. "But in the larger context of our foreign policy and interests in the region, the fact is that they have made a mess of the policy in Iraq."
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. "There is, in retrospect, an attempt to somehow paint Saddam Hussein as just sitting there calmly in the region. Yes, he was a bad guy; people didn't like him, but he wasn't much of a threat," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on CBS's Face The Nation, adding, "It's simply ahistorical.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., not only pointedly questioned the necessity of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, but went a step further in his criticism, telling CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein in power.
"It's called the war on terror," Rockefeller said. "He wasn't going to attack us. He would've been isolated there. He would have been in control of that country, but we wouldn't have depleted our resources preventing us from prosecuting a war on terror which is what this is all about."
report.
Both Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney questioned Rockefeller's stance that Hussein was boxed in by enemies.
"The notion that, somehow, someone who had caused more than a million deaths in the Iran-Iraq war, someone who had invaded Kuwait, and we believe, was probably on his way to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, somebody who threatened his neighbors every day, who shot at our aircraft, who had broken out of an embargo and was using his oil wealth to build up an arsenal of weapons, that this is not a threat, in the world's most volatile region — I just think it's very, frankly, odd analysis," Rice said.
While admitting that Iraqi insurgents have prolonged the war in ways the United States did not anticipate, Cheney agreed with Rice.
"The fact is, the world is better off today with Saddam Hussein out of power. Think where we'd be if he was still there," Cheney said on NBC's Meet The Press.
Rockefeller's comments followed the release of recently declassified documents on prewar intelligence by the Senate Intelligence Committee Friday.
The reports provided by Democrats disclosed for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war, Saddam's government "did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates."
Rockefeller, who is the committee's top Democrat, said the Bush administration's push for war, "exploited the deep sense of insecurity among Americans in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, leading a large majority of Americans to believe — contrary to the intelligence assessments at the time — that Iraq had a role in the 9/11 attacks."
Other prominent Democrats said they supported Rockefeller's criticism of the president, but were not quite as strident in their remarks.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, who also appeared on Face The Nation, told Bob Schieffer his stance was "somewhere in the middle" of Rockefeller and Rice's opinions.
"It was a good thing to get rid of him. He was a brutal dictator," the New York Democrat said of Hussein. "But the problem is that once Saddam was gone, this administration had no plan as to what to do next.
"And right now, we're in a quagmire in Iraq because it seems to be devolving into a civil war. We're policing the civil war," Schumer said.
"I mean, look, we're all delighted that Saddam Hussein is gone," Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said on CNN. "But in the larger context of our foreign policy and interests in the region, the fact is that they have made a mess of the policy in Iraq."
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A: Incarceration.
Bush "security" policies have turned your favorite neighbor into Bubba, your cellmate. Enjoy your security.
Props to CBS for the quote you picked, that of V.P. Cheney:
"The fact is, the world is better off today with Saddam Hussein out of power. Think where we'd be if he was still there."
Questions for Cheney:
1. On your watch genocide was happening in Africa, and Osama bin Laden was getting away. Was your sending the US military to Iraq really to make the world a better place?
If so, then why did you pick Iraq when there were far more important regions of Earth that we could have made "better".
2. I have thought of where WE would be if Saddam were still in power.
Would thousands of US service men and women and many more thousands of civilians of Iraq, be alive today?
Would Saddam still be under the close watch of the UN and our various intelligence collecting offices?
Would HUNDREDS of BILLIONS of our tax dollars still available for use in our schools, police, Medicare, social security, roads, and research that could truly "better" our lives?
Shame on *** Cheney for his lack of imagination, his cursory performance as a leader and his willful ignorance when adapting policies that effect the lives of every American.
"The notion that, somehow, someone who had caused more than a million deaths in the Iran-Iraq war, someone who had invaded Kuwait, ....... who had broken out of an embargo and was using his oil wealth to build up an arsenal of weapons, that this is not a threat, .... I just think it's very, frankly, odd analysis,"
RICE! Hear me out RICE!....millions die in war, especially one where the USA supplies TONS of weapons to BOTH sides. RICE! You don't really think that Saddam thought he could get away with attacking a neighboring country without having to go through another "Desert Storm"? I think you have let politics affect your intelligence. The more foolish analogies I hear from you the less I respect you. QUIT! Get out of there! Don't let your young progressive mind be tainted anymore by the cursory people you are forced to surround yourself with everyday. PLEASE!
The funding of terrorism from Iraq is probably insignificant compared to the money coming from Saoudi Arabia or Dubai.
Why ? Because of the Lewinski mess ...
This among other reasons gave more power to terrorists and they won the 2000 elections (well, sort of). With a democratic president in charge, instead of Bush, 911 would not have happened ... just like when Kennedy stopped Operation Northwoods.
'Despite what they claim, it has already been proved that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11'
But Saddam was supporting international terrorism. He was paying $25,000 to families of people who did suicide bombings in Israel. Abu Abbas,a known terrorist who planned the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijacking,was found living in Baghdad after the invasion.
Iraq is part of the Middle East. The Middle East,as a region,has been waging a terror war against the United States since 1979. Which gives the United States the right to wage war on the Middle East.
military's power around the world. That catastrophe
was 9/11! Since Bush and the Bush Baddies stole the
election in 2000, our civil liberties as well as the
world's safety has never been worse. 9/11 needs to
be investigated by an independent commission so the
"real truth" about who murdered 3,000+ people can be
found out. They want nothing but power, and will stop at nothing to achieve it. Murder,lying,treason,
whatever it takes they will do. They need to be stopped and punished for the crimes against the people of America and the rest of the world.