Not that he needs it but . . .

Misleading Intel: Everyone (not just some US political cabal) thought Iraq had WMD. We’ve found arty shells with nerve-agent (sarin) in them; documents placing orders for precursor chemicals used to make this thing called Zyklon-B (famously used by another tyrant decades ago); and shady-looking mobile labs that may or may not have been suitable for bio-weapons development (or militarized gelato production). You don’t have any of this stuff on hand if you were actually disarmed and serious about staying that way.

Political Pressure on Intel: Anonymous sources tell journalists who win prizes for compromising classified programs that they were pressured to diddle their analysis, but when given a chance to state the same thing to two bi-partisan commissions, no one says anything. Curious.

Saddam as Threat: He’s a kook not a dummy. He had his shot at the mother of all battles and he had his ass handed to him. The US was only going to get stronger while he fell farther behind. How to project power worldwide when you are at best a regional despot . . . hmmm. Keep thinking Saddam doesn’t know about the writings of Boyd, Lind, et al. If you’re anti-US and you need to go asymmetric, who are you going to turn to? Once again the discounted documents show that not only were terrorists in Iraq pre-war, they were on the payroll. Not a threat? Only if you think in one dimension.

Democracy as Rationalization: Democracy was always going to be the default offering, so to pretend it was a post-war rationale is at the very least disingenuous. We were not going to offer to set up a Principality; then again we are fairly friendly to Liechtenstein so it isn’t like we’re closed minded.

About the Author

Michael Tanji

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.