[Nettime-bold] How big a war?

["ricardo dominguez" <rdom@thing.net>]

How big a war?
Hawk Paul Wolfowitz wants the U.S. to attack Iraq. Colin Powell doesn't --
and nobody knows who has Bush's ear.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Anthony York

Sept. 22, 2001 | As President Bush singled out Afghanistan's Taliban regime
Thursday as a potential military target, there is increasing speculation
that the United States may launch some kind of attack against Iraq as part
of its amorphous new war against global terrorism. With Bush holding a
far-ranging mandate from Congress in the wake of the attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon, a group of hawks within the administration
have renewed their call for the head of Saddam Hussein.

The battle over whether or not to eliminate Hussein has been one that has
divided Republicans since the Gulf War, more than a decade ago. A group of
moderates, led by Secretary of State Colin Powell, are wary of spending
political and diplomatic capital on attacking Iraq at a time when the United
States must build a new coalition, with support from Islamic states crucial
to its success. The hawks, meanwhile, led by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul
Wolfowitz, believe that this moment presents a golden opportunity for the
United States to remove Hussein.


Asked at a press conference earlier this week if the United States was
contemplating taking action against Iraq, Wolfowitz said, "I think the
president made it very clear today that this is about more than just one
organization, it's about more than just one event. I think everyone has got
to look at this problem with completely new eyes in a completely new light."

Wolfowitz clearly believes that Saddam is involvedin the terror attacks. But
even if he wasn't, he would still advocate his removal, arguing that as long
as he remains in power, it will be impossible to win the war against
terrorism. Powell, on the other hand, might well urge caution in dealing
with Iraq even if some evidence was found that it was involved in the recent
terror attacks.

The battle, a classic State Department-Defense Department schism, has
reignited some old political disagreements among members of Bush's Cabinet.
During the Gulf War it was then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell who
argued against sending U.S. troops to Baghdad. Others in Dick Cheney's
defense department, including then-Under Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz,
wanted American troops to remove Hussein from power.

But the battle did not end when American troops came home. Wolfowitz
continued to speak out against the decision to leave Hussein in power,
criticizing the first Bush administration as "slow to recognize the
importance of removing Saddam from power." In 1998, he told the House
National Security Committee "the heart of the problem is that the United
States is unable or unwilling to pursue a serious policy in Iraq, one that
would aim at liberating the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein's tyrannical
grasp and free Iraq's neighbors from Saddam's murderous threats." Now, as
America prepares for a clandestine war without geographical boundaries or
limits, Wolfowitz is apparently pushing once again to get rid of Saddam
Hussein.

>From a purely tactical point of view, analysts say that an attack against
Iraq would be much clearer, and in some ways easier, than venturing,
probably with ground troops, into the nightmarish terrain of Afghanistan.

In Iraq, the "terrain is more inviting," says Loren Thompson, chief
operating officer of the Lexington Institute. "We have the country ringed
with bases and friends, and we already know where the key assets are."

But going into Iraq has real risks, both diplomatic and military, according
to Paul Rodgers, author of "Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st
Century." "A strong American military action would also tend to fracture the
American coalition that is sanctioning Iraq," he says. "The instigators want
a counter-reaction in order to add to their cause; that's why no one claimed
responsibility for the attack. They simply want the U.S. to strike out at
them and inflame opposition to the U.S. around the world."

MORE
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/22/wolfowitz/index.html



_______________________________________________
Nettime-bold mailing list
Nettime-bold@nettime.org
http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold