Seven more US Marines died in Iraq within the last 24
hours. For what? The neo-con wet dream of a Three
Stooges Reich. The botched, bungled, mis-named "war on
terror" is not the strength of the Bush abomination,
it is the SHAME of the Bush abomination...
William Mann, Associated Press: Sen. Bob Graham (news, bio, voting record), D-Fla., contends that just months into combat in Afghanistan, Gen. Tommy Franks also told him that fighting terrorism in Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere should take priority over invading Iraq. Graham said on NBC's
"Meet the Press" that his meeting with Franks was at
the general's headquarters, Central Command in Tampa,
Fla. "He laid out a very precise strategy for
fighting the war on terror," Graham said. "First, we
should win the war in Afghanistan. Second, move to
Somalia, which as he described was almost anarchy but
with a substantial number of al-Qaida cells; then to
Yemen. And that we should be very careful about Iraq,
because our intelligence was so weak that we didn't
know what we were getting into," Graham said.
Repudiate the 9/11 Cover-Up and the Iraq War Lies,
Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
Senator: Commander Told of Military Drain
Sun Sep 5, 7:13 PM ET Add Politics - U. S. Congress
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By WILLIAM C. MANN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A former Senate Intelligence Committee
chairman asserted Sunday that the general who ran the
war in Afghanistan (news - web sites) said more than a
year before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (news - web
sites) that his resources were being shifted in
preparation for taking on Saddam Hussein (news - web
sites).
Sen. Bob Graham (news, bio, voting record), D-Fla.,
contends that just months into combat in Afghanistan,
Gen. Tommy Franks also told him that fighting
terrorism in Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere should take
priority over invading Iraq.
Graham said Franks told him he thought the United
States knew less about the situation in Iraq than did
some European governments, and the Bush administration
should ask them for advice.
The senator, who is retiring at year's end, said his
conversation with the now-retired general came in
February 2002, when Graham was chairman of the Senate
Intelligence Committee.
That was the month that Secretary of State Colin
Powell (news - web sites) told a House committee that
President Bush (news - web sites) was considering "the
most serious set of options one might imagine" to
bring "regime change" in Iraq, including the
possibility of doing it alone. At least one European
leader, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, said a
few days later that Bush had assured him "he harbors
no attack plans."
The invasion began March 19, 2003, over the vigorous
protests of Germany and most other major U.S. allies
except Britain, which joined the invading force.
Graham opposed the war.
Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that his meeting
with Franks was at the general's headquarters, Central
Command in Tampa, Fla.
"He laid out a very precise strategy for fighting the
war on terror," Graham said.
"First, we should win the war in Afghanistan. Second,
move to Somalia, which as he described was almost
anarchy but with a substantial number of al-Qaida
cells; then to Yemen. And that we should be very
careful about Iraq, because our intelligence was so
weak that we didn't know what we were getting into,"
Graham said.
Last week, Franks gave fellow Texan Bush a rousing
endorsement in a speech at the Republican National
Convention. Franks said he had seen in Bush's eyes
"the courage to stand up to terrorists and the
consistency necessary to beat them."
In "American Soldier," Franks' memoirs published last
month, he mentioned none of the points Graham reported
in his book. The retired general could not be reached
Sunday. There was no immediate response to a message
left at Tampa's Central Command headquarters.
Graham wrote of his meeting with Franks in a book,
"Intelligence Matters," which goes on sale Tuesday.
In an excerpt read on the program, the senator said
Franks told him "his men and resources were being
moved to Iraq, where he felt that our intelligence was
shoddy. This admission was coming almost 14 months
before the beginning of combat operations in Iraq and
only five months after the commencement of combat in
Afghanistan."
Graham's book also discusses apparent financial ties
of Saudi officials with two of the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Graham said the matter was discussed in a 28-page
section of the committee's report on the attacks that
was kept secret at the request of the White House.
The Associated Press reported in August 2003 that the
classified part of the report examined interactions
between Saudi businessmen and the royal family that
may have intentionally or unwittingly aided al-Qaida
or the suicide hijackers.