From:
Panetta ties war in Iraq to 9/11 attack
(Washington Post) -- by Craig Whitlock --
BAGHDAD - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta yesterday appeared to justify the US invasion of Iraq as part of the war against Al Qaeda, an argument made by the Bush administration but rejected by President Obama and many Democrats.
Panetta made the remarks during his inaugural visit to Iraq as Pentagon chief. Speaking to about 100 soldiers at Camp Victory, the largest US military installation in Baghdad, he said his primary goal as defense secretary was to defeat Al Qaeda worldwide.
“The reason you guys are here is because on 9/11 the United States got attacked,’’ Panetta told the troops. “And 3,000 Americans - 3,000 not just Americans, 3,000 human beings, innocent human beings - got killed because of Al Qaeda. And we’ve been fighting as a result of that.’’
His statement echoed previous comments made by President George W. Bush and members of his administration, who tried to tie Saddam Hussein’s government to Al Qaeda.
But it put Panetta at odds with Obama, the 9/11 Commission, and other independent specialists, who have said there is no evidence Al Qaeda had a presence in Iraq before the US-led invasion in 2003...
Panetta, who served as CIA director for 2 1/2 years before taking over as defense secretary, said at his Senate confirmation hearing last month that about 1,000 Al Qaeda fighters remain in Iraq.
Panetta’s remarks about Al Qaeda and the Iraq war were the second time on his war-zone tour that he has raised eyebrows for apparently unscripted comments.
On Saturday, after meeting in Kabul with President Hamid Karzai, the Pentagon chief told reporters - twice - that 70,000 US troops would remain in Afghanistan through the end of 2014.
That statement also put him at odds with Obama, who has said that he will reduce the number of US forces in Afghanistan to 68,000 by September 2012, and will gradually withdraw an unspecified number of additional troops by 2014.
Wilson, Panetta’s spokesman, later said the defense secretary had misspoken and that there was “no daylight’’ between his stance and Obama’s...MORE...LINK
FOR LIBERTARIAN NATIONALISM: ANTI-CORPORATIST, ANTI-COMMUNIST, ANTI-GLOBALIST...PRO-SOVEREIGNTY, PRO-POPULIST, PRO-FREE ENTERPRISE
My Other Blog & Comments
News and Information Feed
-
-
News Briefs – 09/27/202311 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
NATO triples spy flights near Crimea – analysis28 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
-
Only baddie that’ll walk the line50 minutes ago
-
Conservapedia:User complaints54 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Как защитить растения от тли2 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
CITIZEN OPEN THREAD — WEDNESDAY3 hours ago
-
-
-
Open Thread4 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Devolution of Zelensky6 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Why Mitch McConnell Is One Sick F**k7 hours ago
-
-
Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/26/20237 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rethinking Survival Fishing10 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Nato is weakening America11 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cool new mustache13 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Data Here Does Not LIE!15 hours ago
-
Biden Is In Big Trouble15 hours ago
-
-
Medvedev Says Russia is Ready for War with NATO15 hours ago
-
The Matter with Concrete, Part 215 hours ago
-
-
-
Tuesday, September 26, 202317 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Rethinking Survival Fishing19 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The How And Why Of Things22 hours ago
-
Inside Russia’s “digital transformation”22 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Broken1 day ago
-
-
-
-
ANP_Blacklisted1 day ago
-
-
New Words For An Old Ceremony1 day ago
-
-
-
It All Makes Sense Now1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Hardcore5 days ago
-
The Truth About Brand5 days ago
-
Ron Paul Has a New Book!!!1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Media Say ... Gloom And Doom In China3 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
U.S. Openly Militarizes Space5 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
Will The Fed End Trump?1 month ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Conversations With Cabbies3 months ago
-
-
-
-
Hegemon USA’s War on Truth-Telling4 months ago
-
Headline: Terrible Christianese5 months ago
-
10 People Murdered in New York City Last Week5 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tusli Gabbard And Rose McGowan11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Man, Bear, Pig Event Coming1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What a Wonderful Stocking Stuffer!1 year ago
-
test1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
#273 – Marc Randolph2 years ago
-
My Farewell Announcement2 years ago
-
My Farewell Announcement2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Farewell, for now2 years ago
-
-
Audio Book Lost Colony of Hatteras2 years ago
-
-
Cancel Yourself2 years ago
-
-
Hello world!2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Non-Jewish Origins of Krav Maga3 years ago
-
-
-
Why the Marines are dumping their tanks3 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Voxiversity Live Stream5 years ago
-
-
Big Brother’s War on Cash5 years ago
-
-
-
-
By: Osamas Pajamas9 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Panetta another neolib/neocon tool inserted by Obama handlers? Militant rhetoric echoes Bush/Cheney on 9/11, Iraq war, perpetual war
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment