Bush's Memoirs Reveal He Considered Attacks On Iran And Syria

[Political Junky]

George Bush's memoirs reveal how he considered attacks on Iran and Syria | World news | The Guardian

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Ewen MacAskill and Chris McGreal in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 November 2010 20.54 GMT
Article history

George Bush – 'Whatever the verdict on my presidency, I'm comfortable with the fact that I won't be around to hear it'.
George Bush ordered the Pentagon to plan an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and considered a covert attack on Syria, the former president reveals in his memoirs.

Bush, in the 497-page Decision Points, a copy of which was obtained by the Guardian in advance of its publication in the US tomorrow, writes of Iran: "I directed the Pentagon to study what would be necessary for a strike." He adds: "This would be to stop the bomb clock, at least temporarily."

Such an attack would almost certainly have produced a conflagration in the Middle East that could have seen Iran retaliating by blocking oil supplies and unleashing militias and sympathisers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

Bush also discussed with his national security team either an air strike or a covert special forces raid on an alleged Syrian nuclear facility at the request of Israel.

 

[USArmyRetired]

It would have been the smart thing to do and I hope it still happens one day due to the fact that it would raise Oil and Gas prices. Being in the business it is only logical that this would be the best move and destroy Irans nuclear facilities. Oil and Gas distributers producers and exploration firms both major and domestic here in Louisiana would reap the benefits and spur the economy. We can't allow a arms race in the middle east. Bush should have done it.

 

[gautama]

Absolutely NO DOUBT about the fact that Iran, AND Syria should've been nuked when Bush was contemplating it.

THERE IS EVEN MORE SENSE TO DO THAT NOW !!!

As far as any retaliation ?????

BULLSHIT !!! As soon as these Islamofascist Swine realize WE MEAN BUSINESS....AND WILL ONLY ESCALATE TO THEIR (1) Millitary Installations, and then (2) to their Infrastructure.....THAT WILL BE THE END OF THEIR TERRORISM & CRAP !!!!

If that won't stop them......AND IT SURELY WILL......THEN JUST THE THREAT OF OBLITERATING THEIR FUCKING "HOLY SITES" will do the trick !!!

 

[The Rabbi]

He would be derelict in his duty if he had not considered all options.
And i didn't see him blaming anyone else for the situation he faced.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Presidents order studies all the time on optional military tasks.
I would imagine Obama's Whitehouse has ordered studies on Iran as well, and probably on occupying portions of Pakistan.

 

[midcan5]

Anyone who thinks humans have advanced far above our ape ancestors and relatives only has to read the above replies. Bush killed a million Iraqi men, women, and children, out of revenge and fear, and many modern apes cheered and followed. We are not far from monkeys in spite of all our pretenses, and if monkeys could talk they may take offense at such a comparison.


"I repeat: the entire war and occupation are immoral. If you criticize the Bush administration on the grounds that it "bungled" the war, this leaves one, and only one, inevitable implication: if they had prosecuted the war and occupation "competently," then you would have no complaints whatsoever. That is: you think the invasion and occupation of Iraq were justified and moral. If that's what you actually think, you belong in the Bush camp. You're arguing over managerial style, and about issues that are entirely trivial." Once Upon a Time...: Trapped in the Wrong Paradigm: Three Handy Rules

"A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred."

The Missing Moral Center: Murdering the Innocent

"If you have ever wondered how a serial murderer -- a murderer who is sane and fully aware of the acts he has committed -- can remain steadfastly convinced of his own moral superiority and show not even the slightest glimmer of remorse, you should not wonder any longer.

Once Upon a Time...: We Are Not Freaks
The Sacred Moment: Essays Based on the Work of Alice Miller

"Iraq did not attack us. Iraq did not threaten us. Our leaders knew it. Our invasion and occupation of Iraq were blatant, indefensible acts of aggression. Therefore, when the very first Iraqi was killed as the result of our actions, we had committed an act that was gravely immoral, and entirely unforgivable. Yet even now, most Americans desperately cling to the notion that our actions might still be redeemed." Once Upon a Time...: The Missing Moral Center: Murdering the Innocent


"We first kill people with our minds, before we kill them with weapons. Whatever the conflict, the enemy is always the destroyer. We're on God's side; they're barbaric. We're good, they're evil. War gives us a feeling of moral clarity that we lack at other times." Sam Keen

Philip Zimbardo shows how people become monsters ... or heroes | Video on TED.com

 

[Dr.Traveler]

Presidents order studies all the time on optional military tasks.
I would imagine Obama's Whitehouse has ordered studies on Iran as well, and probably on occupying portions of Pakistan.

He would be derelict in his duty if he had not considered all options.
And i didn't see him blaming anyone else for the situation he faced.

Its rare I agree with these two, but yes, it would have been irresponsible NOT to look at a strike scenario on Iran. If I were president, I'd have ordered the study. I imagine that the Pentagon annually updates files on some pretty outrageous scenarios, all the way from a full scale war with China, a resurgent Russia, an invasion of Pakistan, etc.

Ordering the strike and keeping a plan around in case you have to order the strike are two different things entirely.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

Anyone who thinks humans have advanced far above our ape ancestors and relatives only has to read the above replies. Bush killed a million Iraqi men, women, and children, out of revenge and fear, and many modern apes cheered and followed. We are not far from monkeys in spite of all our pretenses, and if monkeys could talk they may take offense at such a comparison.

I didn't support the invasion of Iraq. I saw it as a potenitally catastrophic distraction from the real enemies behind 9/11. But as President, part of the job is to be prepared for the scenarios that could happen. Be ready for a strike on Syria or Iran is just good sense. Ordering the strike without a pretty solid reason is a different matter entirely.

 

[elvis]

I am sure Obama will also "consider" attacking Iran.

 

[gautama]

I am sure Obama will also "consider" attacking Iran.

The ONLY difference is that EVERYONE knows that Obamadinejad will do ZIP, Nada, ZERO about Iran and Syria.

And, my OBVIOUS SOLUTION (at the top of the thread) will NEVER be implemented by not only a USELESS President of the United States of America .....but by a STONE COLD MARXIST hell bent on DESTROYING America economically.

 

[Jeremy]

So he was doing his job as the fucking CiC. What's the big deal here?

 

[USArmyRetired]

Anyone who thinks humans have advanced far above our ape ancestors and relatives only has to read the above replies. Bush killed a million Iraqi men, women, and children, out of revenge and fear, and many modern apes cheered and followed. We are not far from monkeys in spite of all our pretenses, and if monkeys could talk they may take offense at such a comparison.


"I repeat: the entire war and occupation are immoral. If you criticize the Bush administration on the grounds that it "bungled" the war, this leaves one, and only one, inevitable implication: if they had prosecuted the war and occupation "competently," then you would have no complaints whatsoever. That is: you think the invasion and occupation of Iraq were justified and moral. If that's what you actually think, you belong in the Bush camp. You're arguing over managerial style, and about issues that are entirely trivial." Once Upon a Time...: Trapped in the Wrong Paradigm: Three Handy Rules

"A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred."

The Missing Moral Center: Murdering the Innocent

"If you have ever wondered how a serial murderer -- a murderer who is sane and fully aware of the acts he has committed -- can remain steadfastly convinced of his own moral superiority and show not even the slightest glimmer of remorse, you should not wonder any longer.

Once Upon a Time...: We Are Not Freaks
The Sacred Moment: Essays Based on the Work of Alice Miller

"Iraq did not attack us. Iraq did not threaten us. Our leaders knew it. Our invasion and occupation of Iraq were blatant, indefensible acts of aggression. Therefore, when the very first Iraqi was killed as the result of our actions, we had committed an act that was gravely immoral, and entirely unforgivable. Yet even now, most Americans desperately cling to the notion that our actions might still be redeemed." Once Upon a Time...: The Missing Moral Center: Murdering the Innocent


"We first kill people with our minds, before we kill them with weapons. Whatever the conflict, the enemy is always the destroyer. We're on God's side; they're barbaric. We're good, they're evil. War gives us a feeling of moral clarity that we lack at other times." Sam Keen

Philip Zimbardo shows how people become monsters ... or heroes | Video on TED.com

Bush did the right thing. Saddam had violated UN Inspections and Sanctions. It was around 17 violations and he kept defying the U.N.. There was no compromise and Iraq has been liberated at the expense of civilian casualties known as collateral damage. The people now are free and Iraq is a democracy thanks to the United States and over 30 coalition countries. If it was all over again I would support him as well as a aerial attack on Iran's command structures as well as its nuclear facilities. Saddam was a tyrant who murdered his own people and the last man left in his Ba'ath Party, Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz ,is fixing to hang as he has been sentenced to do so by a court of law. Thanks to Bush and Cheney we saw a axis of evil country freed from the hands of tyranny. Look we had to liberate Europe due to pacifist ideologists like Neville Chamberlain and we had to bomb civilians to get the job done. War is hell but in the end it is worth it if freedom and democracy is achieved. America can't afford to be a pacifist nation. Our motto is peace thru strength as Reagan use to say. I agree.

 

[The T]

So he was doing his job as the fucking CiC. What's the big deal here?

The big deal is that the USMB Statists have a Big High HARD ON for Bush.

 

[The T]

I am sure Obama will also "consider" attacking Iran.

Yep. POTUS has to consider many scenarios. It's normal as CiNC.

 

[midcan5]

Bush did the right thing. Saddam had violated UN Inspections and Sanctions. It was around 17 violations and he kept defying the U.N....

Bush did something so un-American it is hard to believe it even happened. We became the aggressor and we did so for reasons that were made up. Your apology for evil doesn't hold the history reality test.

Iraq Deaths | Just Foreign Policy

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[SFC Ollie]

I Promise you that even without the President ordering it, there are thousands of war scenarios on file at the pentagon. From Nuking Iran to air strikes against drug lords in Mexico.

And these are all taken out and dusted off from time to time. We fought the Russians in the Fulda gap (on paper) at least 30 times that I can remember.