[sorry about the lame formatting, this is transcribed from internet chat]
the fact that the pentagon wanted to take out zarqawi and the NSC
shot it down because it would make the larger iraq war harder to
sell still boggles my mind.
step by step:
US patrols kurdish iraq, the northern no fly zone, keeping
saddam’s military out of the area
terrorist group moves into the power vacuum and sets up a training
camp
bush admin claims “al qaeda operates within iraq’s borders,
therefore we must bomb iraq”
the pentagon proposes, on three separate occasions between 9/11
and the start of the iraq war that they use the no fly zone patrols
to take out the small fortified positions the al-ansam guys were
holding on hills around their training camp, allowing the kurd
irregulars (the peshmerga) to overrun the camp and take out zarqawi
and crew, whom they do not like (a charge up the hill without those
positions being eliminated from the air would be stupid for them,
obviously)
the NSC rejects the request, on the grounds that (according to
pentagon sources), such an action would eliminate a reason for the
full iraqi invasion.
and make it harder to sell
US ground forces never invade from the north, thanks to turkish
truculence, so when they finally get to the camp late in the war
al-ansam is long gone
the kicker:
zarqawi is currently being blamed for the deaths of approximately
700 american civilians and military personnel, and several massive
terror campaigns in iraq, including the recent 200+ fatality attacks
on shia religious festivals
so, in short: we let a terrorist go free so we could get the
guy who tried to kill bush’s daddy
and now he’s still killing our people.
guess how many major news organizations have picked up this story
from NBC news since it first broke two days ago
“none?”
this should be front page news on CNN