Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiddlehead
For what?
For Halliburton, of course.
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Yes. At least in part. Cheney, Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld were all leading members of a neo-Con group called Project for the New American Century, which was founded in 1997. Signatories included William Abrams, Jeb Bush, William Bennett, John Bolton, John McCain, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and many other well known conservatives.
The PNAC Statement of Principles, released on 3 June 1997 stated:
As the 20th century draws to a close, the United States stands as the world's pre-eminent power. Having led the West to victory in the Cold War, America faces an opportunity and a challenge: Does the United States have the vision to build upon the achievements of past decades? Does the United States have the resolve to shape a new century favorable to American principles and interests?
The groups responses to these questions were:
- more money spent for defense and enlarging the military significantly
- strengthen ties will our allies and challenge those who oppose us
- promote the cause of economic and political freedom abroad
- extending our power abroad in an international order friendly to our security, prosperity, and principles
The way to meet those objectives was a doctrine that Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, and Cheney, and some other members developed was the ouster of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, clearing the way to a democratic Iraqi government, which in turn would become a permanent American ally smack dab in the heart of the Middle East.
Their first efforts toward this goal were directed at President Bill Clinton, and resulted in the creating and passage of the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998. Clinton signed the act, but was loathe to go after Hussein, and in 1998, there were hotter places of contention on the planet- Bosnia was more on Clinton's mind than Iraq by far, so nothing happened in Iraq.
But when Cheney positioned himself to be Bush's Vice President, things changed. He stacked the Bush cabinet with fellow members of the PNAC and made Rumsfeld the Sec. of Defense. They all envisioned an overwhelming military force permanently positioned in a democratic Iraq as both a way of enforcing peace in the region and changing, over time, the governments of Iran, Syria, Libya, and the other important nations all into American style democracies.
Such a plan would be good for business and good for building a new American empire in the richest place on Earth.
G.W. Bush was never a member of the PNAC. And he had no foreign policy in mind at all when he became President. He let Cheney do all those decisions.
Essentially, when we went into Iraq a couple of years later, the Bush administration under Cheney and Rumsfeld's leadership, with Wolfowitz and other members inside the administration as close presidential advisors, the PNAC's plans and policies were set into action from the very first.
There was no exit policy. American soldiers were intended to occupy Iraq forever, in similar fashion to our permanent presence in Europe after WWII.
By 2006, with the war won and the occupation becoming a catastrophe, facing a Democratic controlled House, Bush began exerting his authority for the first time, and fired Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and all the other cabinet member who were connected to the PNAC, and began listening to his Generals about getting out of Iraq. Bush also began cutting Cheney out of all foreign policy decisions and isolating him, reducing his influence in the re-vamped Administration.
Later that year, the Project for a New American Century quietly folded up and disappeared into the night forever.
Project for the New American Century - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Clique that Sold Us the Iraq War
Paul Wolfowitz - PNAC and the ”New Pearl Harbor” — News of Interest.TV
Project for the New American Century (PNAC): Cheney's Monstrous Scheme
… but all the members are still around. And their influence remains within the GOP.
Here is a report of where they went shortly after the PNAC was disbanded:
THE ARCHITECTS OF WAR: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? | ThinkProgress
Dick Cheney is an interesting guy. After he quit his career as a Representative in the House and joined the Rumsfeld in the Ford administration, every President he worked for afterward, and all his immediate bosses all fell into some disaster or other that damaged them in office and sometimes ruined their careers, but Cheney always emerged unscathed and progressed upward in future positions. He went from staffer to advisor to assistant to boss, always quietky and in the background, allowing others to take the limelight.
He was often the cause of disaster, but was never the victim of them. If Clinton and Reagan were Teflon coated, Cheney is made of solid Teflon. Nothing ever stuck to him, and still doesn't to this day. Even when the PNAC fell completely into shambles, Cheney made sure Halliburton, his baby, made out very well until the very end of our Iraqi departure.
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