Obama’s Thank-You Note to W on Iraq

In case you were too caught up in the spectacle of the moguls of the Incredible Shrinking Three automakers rolling into town in hybrids … or the atheist display next to the Nativity at the Capitol in Washington state … or even the never-ending Natalee Holloway case (thanks, Greta) … a congressionally mandated commission this week delivered a seriously sober report, accompanied with a loud wakeup call to the Prezelect.

I’ll let the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism give it to you straight:

_________________________________________________________

Without greater urgency and decisive action by the world community, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013.

________________________________________________________________

According to the Washington Post, The Commission is so concerned about the likelihood of an attack that its report “urged the incoming Obama administration to take ‘decisive action’ to reduce the likelihood of a devastating attack” …

_________________________________________________________

“No mission could be timelier …. In our judgment, America’s margin of safety is shrinking, not growing.”

________________________________________________________________

So allow me at this point, as is my wont, to pose an outrageous question: would America’s shrinking margin of safety — and Sleek Barry’s urgent challenge — be larger or smaller if George Bush and the US of A had not intervened to remove one Saddam Hussein five and a half years ago?

If you think you know the answer to that question, allow me also to direct you to an earlier, much more widely covered report — the 2004 findings of the Special Advisor to the Director of Central Intelligence on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction, better known as the Duelpher Report.

The conventional wisdom about that missive were relayed at the time by the Post:

________________________________________________________________________

The 1991 Persian Gulf War and subsequent U.N. inspections destroyed Iraq’s illicit weapons capability and, for the most part, Saddam Hussein did not try to rebuild it, according to an extensive report by the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq that contradicts nearly every prewar assertion made by top administration officials about Iraq.

________________________________________________________________________

But what did the actual report have to say about Saddam’s intentions? Take a gander for yourself:

________________________________________________________________________
Saddam wanted to recreate Iraq’s WMD capability—which was essentially destroyed in 1991—after sanctions were removed and Iraq’s economy stabilized, but probably with a different mix of capabilities to that which previously existed. Saddam aspired to develop a nuclear capability—in an incremental fashion, irrespective of international pressure and the resulting economic risks—but he intended to focus on ballistic missile and tactical chemical warfare (CW) capabilities.

________________________________________________________________________

Hmmm. To paraphrase the old saw, that’s a warhorse of a different color.

And how was Saddam going to bankroll this effort? According the report: “The Regime quickly came to see that (the Oil for Food Program) could be corrupted to acquire foreign exchange both to further undermine sanctions and to provide the means to enhance dual-use infrastructure and potential WMD-related development.”

In other words, the UN was going to pave the way for your friendly neighborhood murderous dictator and terror sponsor.

Let’s flash back to 2003. The Oil for Food program was thoroughly corrupted, and to say that the appetite for sanctions among our “allies” in OE (Old Europe) had waned would be the understatement of the young century.

How do you think Saddam would have been spending the last five years … and the next five?

Continuing the pressure to remove sanctions … and all restraint on his ability to obtain nukes and chemical weapons? You betcha.

Succeeding in doing so? Beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Continuing to probe and pressure and push to reinstate his WMD apparatus? To ask the question answers it.

Whether Saddam would have restored his capability by now is beside the question. Because by 2013, a time when the Commission is saying it is likely that we will face a WMD threat, Saddam and/or Uday and/or Qusay would have had an entire decade to wear down the West, slip the sanctions and pursue his/their strategic intent of rearming.

And as Barack Obama faced down that deadline, he would have had, besides Iran, North Korea and Pakistan, one more major, massive, irresponsible, irrepressible cause for sleepless nights.

The face of Sleek Barry’s nuclear nightmares would have been the Butcher of Baghdad … who now lies stilled and silenced in his grave, with U.S. casualties declining (as noted on HotAir) and a relatively friendly and non-aggressive government installed in his place … thanks to George W. Bush’s courage and resolve.

Do you want candy or chocolates to go with that thank-you note, Mr. President-Elect?

Tags: Barack Obama, foreign policy, George W. Bush, Iraq War, weapons of mass destruction, WMDs