Since we know Saddam posessed no WMDs, the "chemical" that murdered these Kurds must have been a collective, overactive imagination.

__________________
You can't always be first .... but you CAN be NEXT

The mass murder of Kurds was alone more than enough reason to destroy the regime of Saddam Hussein, much less the additional crimes against humanity that came after.



Chemical Ali will soon be executed in Baghdad for his role in the mass murder of Kurds and Shiites. Argue the right and wrong of invading Iraq all night and all day. But the simple fact is that this guy would be running around free today if not for the destruction of Saddam's regime.

oh it was muster gas that cheney was referring too right before the 04 election...

gotcha..

the mustard gas we sold to him and gave approval to use..

__________________
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it." -- Abraham Lincoln, 4 April 1861

Remember, remember, the 11th of september The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I see of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.....

Halabja was gassed with sarin, mustard gas, tabun and VX. They also believe hydrogen cyanide may have been used.

All are classified as chemical weapons and fall under the heading "Weapons of Mass Destruction."

__________________
You can't always be first .... but you CAN be NEXT

Incorrect. Saddam already posessed mustard gas. It has been reported but not substantiated that the CIA showed his chemists how to refine it.

Saddam did not require approval to do anything, and there is no evidence to support such conjecture.

__________________
You can't always be first .... but you CAN be NEXT

hehehe..


stick with that story, gunny. wear it on a shirt to the polls.

LOL

I highly doubt you were saying that in 2003, when you were cheerleading a war that we were told was based on the mortal threat of saddam giving WMD to al qaeda. I guess you had to come up with a new reason to justify your 3 trillion dollar war.

Worship Bush much?

And do you worship the lying 'god' much? The war in Iraq hasn't cost 3 trillion dollars.

__________________
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.
Will Rogers

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel or envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

JFK

No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain

I'm certain you are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more informed than nobel laureates and harvard economists.



please, read, learn... would be good for you.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/2...ion_dollar_war

__________________
"Trust none of what you hear And less of what you see" Springsteen
When the Founding Fathers protected our right to free speech, I think that meant we were supposed to use it.
69 days left http://www.backwardsbush.com/

I know about this article he posted this BS on another thread, they take all of the indirect negative costs of the war but don't account for the positive gains in the economy from the war in Iraq. He is a self proclaimed anti-war, so I'm sure he was trying to portray the war in the best possible light. Also he stated in a earlier article that the cost was 1 trillion dollars....hmm...let me see here where did that extra 2 trillion dollars come from.

But I will agree with you that smart economists can shape an outlook of a war very well without taking into account the positive gains.

__________________
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.
Will Rogers

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel or envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

JFK

No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain

Then you would be completely wrong, as you most often are. When I read the history, I thought that Saddam should have been taken out in 1991 during the first Gulf War. Not doing so led to the no-fly zone stalemate, ineffective sanctions, the oil for palaces program, and the second Gulf War. In 2003, I thought that possible WMD was one of many reasons for ridding the world of Saddam. Mass murder of Kurds and Shiites was always an important reason he needed to be brought to justice and his regime destroyed. And the Administration erred in not emphasizing it. Payment to the families of Palestinian homicide bombers was another good reason. Invading Kuwait another. Shooting at US and UK aircraft another. Ignoring many UNSC resolutions another. But to some people the fact that Saddam was a mass murderer was not a reason to intervene and dispose of him. It was instead a reason to stand by and watch, or pass yet another utterly pointless UN resolution.

It is astonishing that even an extreme Leftist like you can belittle every accomplishment regarding Iraq, even if it involves getting a mass murderer like Chemical Ali behind bars. Post the categories of spending and their specific amounts that add up to $3 trillion. Show us where the amounts spent on war transportation, weapons, supplies, housing, medical care, etc., add up to $3 trillion. Since that amount is about 350 percent more than commonly referred to in the media, you need to post links to the specific dollar amounts for categories of war expense that add up to your claimed $3 trillion.

If being a Harvard professor necessarily entailed that one delivered correct and practical economic theory, then we would all greatly benefit. About Stiglitz: he has spent his academic career justifying government intervention in free markets. He is opposed to the free market economies promoted by conservative administrations. For example, he argued in favor of the nationalization of Bolivian oil and gas, as the Russians did to Yukos. For economic theory justifying government intervention in free market capitalist economies, it is hardly surprising that Stiglitz was given an award in Europe, where state ownership and interference with economic assets is not unusual. His views have been the subject of many refutations. Back to the topic at hand: what are the claimed war category expenses and their dollar amounts that when added together equal $3 trillion? That amount is at least $500 billion greater than all other defense spending combined during the five year period of the war, and 350 percent more than reported in the media.

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/86xx/doc8..._Testimony.pdf

Seems as though the CBO disagrees with this blantant lie.

__________________
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.
Will Rogers

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel or envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

JFK

No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain

For those of you that can't read...
Including both funding provided through 2007 and projected funding under the
two illustrative scenarios, total spending for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
and other activities related to the war on terrorism would amount to between
$1.2 trillion and $1.7 trillion for fiscal years 2001 through 2017 (see Table 1).1 A
final section of this testimony briefly compares parts of CBO’s estimate to a frequently
cited estimate prepared by two academic researchers, Linda Bilmes and
Joseph Stiglitz.2
Funding Through Fiscal Year 2007
From September 2001 through the end of fiscal year 2007, the Congress appropriated
$602 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other activities
associated with the war on terrorism. In addition, although not explicitly
appropriated for that purpose, an estimated $2 billion has been spent by VA for
war-related benefits. Including VA’s spending, funding for the war has amounted
to $604 billion. Those sums do not include any funding for fiscal year 2008; activities
currently are being funded by a continuing resolution (which is in effect
through November 16, 2007).
1. To the extent that those sums are not offset by reductions in other spending or increases in
revenue—and therefore are financed by higher budget deficits—additional budget costs would
occur through higher debt-service costs.
2. Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz, The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three
Years After the Beginning of the Conflict, Working Paper No. 12054 (Cambridge, Mass.:
National Bureau of Economic Research, February 2006).


That was an estimate for both wars, Iraq and the Afgan war.

__________________
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for.
Will Rogers

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel or envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.

Winston Churchill

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

JFK

No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain