oldunion said:
I was thinking the other day how everyone is waiting for the iraw war to end and for everyone to come home etc etc. I also recall bush saying that "you're either with us or you're against us," referring to other countries.
Well it is unreasonable to assume that 9/11 (which i believe was an intelligence success) was orchestrated just to allow bush to declare war on iraq; his mission must have been on a much larger scale.
I don't think bush is going to pack up and come home and give iraq back to its people, if it is given back it will be to people who are 100% loyal to bush/his regime under any circumstance.
Thus, i believe that bush's plan is to subdue the world.
speaking in generalities, a few terrorists attacked the usa, bush attacks the nation of afghanistan, bush attacks the nation of iraq, patriot acts are set in place to ensure the submission of the us people is made legal as possible.
London attacks take place, although no fowl play has been propogated as yet, they have brought the people back into the mindset of "the world is dangerous and we must listen to the people who know."
These are my thoughts, the usa plans to conquer the world over a long period of time.
I agree that the invasion of Iraq is an early stage of something that will be a recurring theme, even if I disagree with most of your details (not quite the first stage, since wars have been started for oil, before - Japan vs. the US, for example).
Oil is as essential as food and water for an industrial nation. With the industrial expansion in China, India, and other Asian nations, the competition for oil is increasing. Whether right or wrong, countries can be expected to do what they have to do in order to secure a reliable supply of oil (in other words, it's not just profits for Halliburton that motivate a war for oil).
Bush assembled the 'Dream Team' of national security right off the bat - Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, and Powell. A more aggressive US could be expected before 9/11 ever occurred.
The no-fly zone the US imposed on Iraq gave Northern Kurds and Southern Shiites over 10 years to strengthen their political structure and made them more ready to step into a void left by Hussein (even if not quite as ready as we would have liked?)
9/11 wasn't necessary for an Iraq invasion and it's almost silly to think Bush would fly jet airliners into the World Trade Center. I think the Bush administration would have invaded Iraq regardless of whether 9/11 occurred. In fact, it wasn't hard to prove that there wasn't a link between Hussein and 9/11. The fact that 9/11 occurred just presented an opportunity where political sentiment for an invasion was as high as it ever would be. Without 9/11, the UN sanctions and the threat of WMD would have been enough justification to invade. In fact, 9/11 probably pushed the Iraq invasion up sooner than was really prudent.
The WMD intel was a search to find justification for an invasion - not a search to decide whether an invasion was required or not. The CIA assessment was the only one to support invasion and it was pathetically wrong. There were enough other sources providing opposing assessments that the administration had to intentionally pick the one that supported what they already wanted to do. The level of incompetence required to believe the CIA assessment was the only correct report is just too much for a 'Dream Team'. Granted, the way the invasion has progressed doesn't show much prowess either.
I think your idea of the US trying to subdue the world is overstated, as well. I don't think that's even a capability of the US. But, the Bush administration could believe that one crucial move at the right time could change the future course of history. One democratic Middle East oil supplier, friendly to Western culture, could tip the scales in the favor of both the US and Europe. It would give the West an advantage over Asian countries in the competition for oil.
I don't think this is the first stage of 'US wars for oil'. It's the beginning of several wars for oil that will be initiated by various countries that have to have a reliable oil supply for their economy to survive. The US was just the first to jump into the pond.
