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Joe Scarborough on War & Peace
Former Republican Representative (FL-1)
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Many mistakes in Iraq may end well because of the Surge
How did Iraq become an unpopular war that cost 4,000 US lives & $1 trillion, while fostering the meteoric political rise of [Obama]?- The 1st reason is simple: the war's main rationale, Saddam's WMDs, proved to be false.
- A 2nd mistake the Bush
administration made was its outright rejection of the Powell Doctrine's use of overwhelming force.
- A 3rd mistake was to assume that once Saddam Hussein was ousted, Iraq would celebrate its liberation, unify its nation, use oil revenue to rebuild its
country, and become a force for modernization and democratization in the Middle East.
- A 4th mistake was the neoconservative belief that free elections would lead to unity and political progress, and that, in turn, would lead to security gains.
- A
5th mistake was to believe that democracy would be enthusiastically embraced by the Arab world.
Despite the multitude of tragic mistakes, the Iraq War may ultimately become a net positive. How? The surge. Bush doubled down on his Iraq bet and won.
Source: The Last Best Hope, by Joe Scarborough, p. 48-53
, Oct 5, 2010
Iraq war's main rationale proved to be false
How did Iraq become an unpopular war that cost 4,000 U.S. lives, a trillion dollars, and the control of the U.S. House and Senate by Republicans while fostering the meteoric political rise of a one-term liberal senator from Illinois?
The first reason is simple. The war's main rationale proved to be false. It did not matter that most leaders in American and across the world believed Saddam had WMD.
The fact that those weapons were never found crippled the Bush White House politically.
America went to war based on false pretenses. The responsibility for that fact fell ultimately on Mr. Bush.
The political cost of that error had an incalculable impact on the conservative movement and the Republican Party.
Source: The Last Best Hope, by Joe Scarborough, p. 48-9
, Oct 5, 2010
2002: Supported wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
While in Congress, I:- Supported the government shutdown
- Criticized Newt Gingrich for not being conservative enough on spending and taxes
- Had 100 percent ratings with the NRA and pro-life groups
- Voted to impeach Bill Clinton twice
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Worked tirelessly for George W. Bush during the 2000 Florida recount
- Supported the war in Afghanistan
- Supported the war in Iraq
- Campaigned for George W. Bush's reelection in 2004.
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Source: The Last Best Hope, by Joe Scarborough, p. 4-5
, Oct 5, 2010
Voted YES on disallowing the invasion of Kosovo.
Vote on an amendment to the "Kosovo and Southwest Asia Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act" which would prohibit the use of funds for any invasion of Yugoslavia with U.S. ground forces except in time of war.
Reference: Amendment introduced by Istook, R-OK;
Bill HR 1664
; vote number 1999-119
on May 6, 1999
Page last updated: Apr 30, 2021