October Surprise: The link between Iraq and terrorism
From JFH
As the 1980 campaign was winding to a close, with the one-year anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis about to coincide with Election Day and the incumbent president stunned by his challenger's recent debate performance, the Carter Administration announced on the Sunday before the election a possible breakthrough in negotiations with the hostage-takers. Alas, it turnout to be a dead end, and only served to remind voters of the inability of Jimmy Carter to deal with the hostage crisis.
Maybe today's piece in the NYT will serve as a similar catalyst in this campaign's final week. It seems that 380 tons of powerful explosives that were known to be under lock and key in Iraq before the war have now gone missing. They've undoubtedly been used in the insurgency and could well be used in a future terrorist attack on the U.S.
So basically, the previous weapons inspection regime had this cache of weapons under lock and key. The Administration knew about its existence before the war. We failed to secure the site after the war, and now its contents have been looted and distributed to insurgents and possibly terrorists. Finally, the Administration has known about this for some time, but has covered it up rather than report it, due to the campaign.
The story encapsulates all the problems and missteps of the Administration's Iraq war. With eight days to go, it will surely become more and more difficult for voters to conclude that they are safer under George W. Bush.
As the 1980 campaign was winding to a close, with the one-year anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis about to coincide with Election Day and the incumbent president stunned by his challenger's recent debate performance, the Carter Administration announced on the Sunday before the election a possible breakthrough in negotiations with the hostage-takers. Alas, it turnout to be a dead end, and only served to remind voters of the inability of Jimmy Carter to deal with the hostage crisis.
Maybe today's piece in the NYT will serve as a similar catalyst in this campaign's final week. It seems that 380 tons of powerful explosives that were known to be under lock and key in Iraq before the war have now gone missing. They've undoubtedly been used in the insurgency and could well be used in a future terrorist attack on the U.S.
So basically, the previous weapons inspection regime had this cache of weapons under lock and key. The Administration knew about its existence before the war. We failed to secure the site after the war, and now its contents have been looted and distributed to insurgents and possibly terrorists. Finally, the Administration has known about this for some time, but has covered it up rather than report it, due to the campaign.
The story encapsulates all the problems and missteps of the Administration's Iraq war. With eight days to go, it will surely become more and more difficult for voters to conclude that they are safer under George W. Bush.
posted by JFH @ 1:34 AM
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