Iraq war predictions by Bush officials... Deja vu

[Joan of quark]

Funny how we have to keep "not" learning the same lessons over and over.

'I believe demolishing Hussein's military power and liberating Iraq would be a cakewalk.'
Ken Adelman, former US ambassador to UN, 13 February, 2002

'This will be no war - there will be a fairly brief and ruthless military intervention. The President will give an order. [The attack] will be rapid, accurate and dazzling... It will be greeted by the majority of the Iraqi people as an emancipation.'
Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair writer, in a debate, 28 January, 2003

'It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.'
Donald Rumsfeld, US Defence Secretary, 8 February

'If I were a betting man, and I'm not, we will be in Baghdad in the next three or four days.'
British military spokesman, Group Captain Al Lockwood, 21 March

'I really do believe we will be greeted as liberators ...
US Vice-President Dick Cheney, 16 March

[Rick Richardson]

And they thought shock and awe would change their minds about alot to have the People of Iraq too turn on their country with the thought of freedom and their religion.

Maybe I missed something about the Shiites and the Sunnis totally at each others' throats but don't recall; that happening to bring a better at this point in time.

It may have had something about what Saddam said as the war began which he said he would die for his people. 

I sure hope that he meant it for all or if he did not It turned out for all concerned.

Just how is Iraq doing these days?

The Iraqis saw our rath for many years in sanctions and other areas I am sure after their usefulness of fighting Iran.

I remember the video of the killing fields with so many dead children that many that had not been allowed to reach their teenage years. 

[rivcuban]

Aren't we supposed to learn from "past history?"

[Lobo]

Saddam was the secular, fascist ("Baathist"), Sunni dictator of a majority Shi'ite (though Arab, not Persian) country, that also had a large Kurdish majority.

Persian Shi'ite Iran is much less divided than Iraq was -- its people might hate their government, but it doesn't follow that they love us or Israel -- and its Kurdish minority is much smaller. Sunnis are all but nonexistent, like Italian Protestants.  It's also a great deal more powerful militarily than Iraq.

[Lobo]

<<Aren't we supposed to learn from "past history?">>

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
_George Santayana

[Joan of quark]

Iran is also several times bigger than Iraq with twice the population and a much more forbidding mountainous terrain. There are well over 150,000 revolutionary guards, not counting the regular army, who even if we did capture Tehran, would be an insurgency that would make Iraq's insurgency, that killed and maimed so many of our troops, look tame in comparison.

[Rick Richardson]

The only past history Trump thinks about is how much more he is worth today than yesterday.

[Rick Richardson]

I cannot remember what production title was on the video on You Tube but I was so amazed at the beauty of Iran from the center of their cities to their fabulous countryside.

Israel must be very jealous for the beauty and the way the Iranians have perservered with all of the Trials and Trbulations that have been thrown at them seemingly without a care.

[Susiejoe]

Iran and Iraq have been healing their divides.  I haven't heard  much about Iraq other than the people being hostile to us, did not want planes flying out of Iraq to bomb Iran.   I've heard that there are 200 US military in our base there, completely surrounded, sitting like ducks in a lake, unable to get out.  I  don't know if it has yet been bombed.   We apparently first tried to organize the Iraqi Kurds to fight for us but Iraq shuttered that real quick.   And Iran has bombed our embassy there.  Picture below: