No Real need to have gone to War then?

[baz]

Saw this in a newspaper in Spain last week the EL Pais, that Saddam asked Bush for $1 Billion to go into exile one month before any invasion, but he was turned down by Bush, it allso said the Arab leaders agreed that Saddam should go in to exile.

May have been reported before but I have only just seen it.....and......

If you dont like the message remember....dont kill the messenger.

[USParatrooper78]

1 Billion huh? Were the US taxpayers supposed to pay that? Im sure Saddam and his sons had fleeced more than that out of the country. I had friends that were there during the initial push that told me of piles of cash in his palaces. I dont know how true these rumors were but I was also told when I was there in late 03-04 that Saddam had buried alot of cash and gold all around Iraq. Just my two cents.

[MHouse]

Of course we all know you can't believe everything you hear and read. We believe only what we want to believe. But Shibibi even said last year that they found billions tucked away in Switzerland. But the good part is, right or wrong, their country is no longer subject to Saddam's mustard gas testing on humans, rape rooms, and torture. Do you remember the interview with one of their soccer players where he said they were beaten when they got back to the country because they lost? Kind of sad to think one human could do that to another. Exile or not, Saddam still would have found a way to control.......
Just my thoughts.

[kev655]

1 Billion huh? Were the US taxpayers supposed to pay that? Im sure Saddam and his sons had fleeced more than that out of the country. I had friends that were there during the initial push that told me of piles of cash in his palaces. I dont know how true t, etese rumors were but I was also told when I was there in late 03-04 that Saddam had buried alot of cash and gold all around Iraq. Just my two cents.

And how many billion dollars of TAXPAYER'S MONEY have been spent on this 'invasion' thus far? And the billions wasted away on reconstruction to infrastructure that no Iraqis want to assume responsibility for and are now going dilapidated ?

Would've been easier to pay the guy, the infrastructure wouldn't have been blown to smithereens as much as it had and there would still be basic amenities such as water, electricity, housing and food which is more than most Iraqis have since the 'invasion'....

Of course if this 'hearsay' is only half true that would make Bush a warmonger who only wanted possession of the Oil (but then some of us knew that from day one anyway), his 'buddy' Rumsfeld certainly was and didn't make any secret of being a warmonger....

[Ialdoboath]

This is not news... it was a major story when it happened. I thought it was well covered. Saddam had opted for exile in SA days before the invasion, but Bush went ahead anyway on the idea that Saddam would just return from exile when he felt like it. SA had announced that they would take him in.

Never heard anything about the 1 billion dollars though. That's a new twist.

[USParatrooper78]

Even if Saddam went into exile would the Iraqi people really have bought the idea that he was gone for good? It wouldnt be too far a stretch to think that even if he went into exile he could just have easily returned after all was rebuilt and reassurted his power. Thats not to say of course that he wouldnt have been pulled from exile and tried in the Iraqi legal system all to the same ends. I will say though that I will not discuss politics or justification for going to war be it for oil, freedom, or any other catchline. Those decisions are made paygrades and many levels above my head. Im but a lonely cog in a very big wheel.

[frank a bouchet]

I find this kind of hard to believe.Sadam had alread hid million of dollars in foreign accounts.He (and his 2 sons) had already raided the banks of tons of money. I understand that he wanted to take the gold but it was too heavy for him to transport. At the very end Bush offered to let him and his sons leave(believe it was 48 hours) and he was too stupid to take advantage of the opportunity.My thoughts!!!!!

[TerryTate]

Heres your link to the article Baz.....

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23414014-details/Saddam+asked+Bush+for+%241bn+to+go+into+exile/article.do

I do like this part in the article....


However, according to the tapes, one month before he launched the invasion Mr Bush appeared convinced that Saddam was serious about going into exile.


"The Eqyptians are speaking to Saddam Hussein," said Mr Bush.
"It seems he's indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if he's allowed to take $1billion and all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction."


UHHHHHH whoa there partner.... wait a minute Weapons of Mass Destruction????

But according to all of you lefties Saddam didn't have any Weapons of Mass Destruction or a Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.... But here, part of Saddam's deal is "let me keep the WMD stuff".... Gee now why would he want to keep something he doesn't have??? And a billion dollars to boot. Gee, wonder what good ol Saddam wanted to buy with his billion dollars. Wonder who would have let him into their country with a Billion dollars and a WMD program? Golly no harm there eh? Guess we should have just let him take that to one of our enemies, no harm, no foul and paid for by the taxpayers, so we can fight this problem another day when it becomes worse.

:fubar:

:headbang:

:swear:

[tlagiloi]

Of course we all know you can't believe everything you hear and read. We believe only what we want to believe. But Shibibi even said last year that they found billions tucked away in Switzerland. But the good part is, right or wrong, their country is no longer subject to Saddam's mustard gas testing on humans, rape rooms, and torture. Do you remember the interview with one of their soccer players where he said they were beaten when they got back to the country because they lost? Kind of sad to think one human could do that to another. Exile or not, Saddam still would have found a way to control.......
Just my thoughts.

okaaaaay
and the U.S. has the caused the deaths of a lot more innocent civilians
then there's the U.S. torture done by our military....
1 billion would've been a drop in the bucket compared to what we're
paying for now in both lives and debt....
and what Iraqi's continue to pay...
and our people in the service paying with life and limb....

:no2:

[tlagiloi]

Heres your link to the article Baz.....

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23414014-details/Saddam+asked+Bush+for+%241bn+to+go+into+exile/article.do

I do like this part in the article....



UHHHHHH whoa there partner.... wait a minute Weapons of Mass Destruction????

But according to all of you lefties Saddam didn't have any Weapons of Mass Destruction or a Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.... But here, part of Saddam's deal is "let me keep the WMD stuff".... Gee now why would he want to keep something he doesn't have??? And a billion dollars to boot. Gee, wonder what good ol Saddam wanted to buy with his billion dollars. Wonder who would have let him into their country with a Billion dollars and a WMD program? Golly no harm there eh? Guess we should have just let him take that to one of our enemies, no harm, no foul and paid for by the taxpayers, so we can fight this problem another day when it becomes worse.

:fubar:

:headbang:

:swear:

nope...the no WMD's is confirmed and it's confirmed by Righties as well
they eat crow every time they admit in public....
and then try to misdirect.......

I would give all my dinars away right now
back to Iraq
if we could get our troops out of harms way

[tlagiloi]

it doesn't matter if it's true or not at this point....

Saddam wouldn't have become the tyrant he was without the help
he got from the U.S..........

He's dead. It's done.....

time to move forward....
it's a mess and it needs to get straightened out
the current plan isn't working......period....
to make things worse....
we have no real leadership stepping up that's likely to get elected......

[TerryTate]

nope...the no WMD's is confirmed and it's confirmed by Righties as well
they eat crow every time they admit in public....
and then try to misdirect.......

I would give all my dinars away right now
back to Iraq
if we could get our troops out of harms way

tlagiloi,

Its alright if you want to delude yourself, but please spare me from the "its confirmed" B.S.

Confirmed by who? You? Please feel free to profer the links to the righties that have first hand knowledge of WMD's. Not some right wing apologist trying to get his next invite to a D.C. cocktail party.

Personally this guy who posted a comment on the news article said it best:


It seems the bigger story here is that Saddam expressed to Egypt that he wanted to take "all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction" with him into exile.

If Saddam were concerned about hiding documentation of a WMD program, common sense tells us that WMD either existed or were in development. Allowing Saddam to go into exile would only give him time to hide it, then oversee its distribution to terror networks or rogue states from the safety of an estate in Egypt.

- Steven, Raleigh, USA

If you wish to bury your head in the sand then so be it, as I doubt you would believe it even if Saddam were to walk up to you, tap you on the shoulder and say "hey look at my WMD".

Here ya go...

:lipssealed: :tmi: :sleepy:

[TerryTate]

it doesn't matter if it's true or not at this point....

Saddam wouldn't have become the tyrant he was without the help
he got from the U.S..........

He's dead. It's done.....

time to move forward....
it's a mess and it needs to get straightened out
the current plan isn't working......period....
to make things worse....
we have no real leadership stepping up that's likely to get elected......

Gee, this mantra sounds familiar.... The sky is falling, the sky is falling...

Do you work for MOVEON.ORG???

:giggle:

[baz]

Heres your link to the article Baz.....

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23414014-details/Saddam+asked+Bush+for+%241bn+to+go+into+exile/article.do

I do like this part in the article....



UHHHHHH whoa there partner.... wait a minute Weapons of Mass Destruction????

But according to all of you lefties Saddam didn't have any Weapons of Mass Destruction or a Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.... But here, part of Saddam's deal is "let me keep the WMD stuff".... Gee now why would he want to keep something he doesn't have??? And a billion dollars to boot. Gee, wonder what good ol Saddam wanted to buy with his billion dollars. Wonder who would have let him into their country with a Billion dollars and a WMD program? Golly no harm there eh? Guess we should have just let him take that to one of our enemies, no harm, no foul and paid for by the taxpayers, so we can fight this problem another day when it becomes worse.

:fubar:

:headbang:

:swear: The media sure knows how to work the people, this is the first I have heard of Saddam wanting to take information with him on WMD. And its still hard to believe that Saddam was such a jerk as to tell the world that he had no WMD, then say he will go into exile but wants to keep info on WMD, makes no sense at all, or did he mean all the information that the world was supposed to have about these weapons he was supposed to have??.

Did the press add this bit on after, just to really make it out that Saddam had these weapons after all, we here have had the lying blair tell us that most likely Saddam had no WMD and it was not the best information he went to war on.

I would have thought that if the bit about taking info with him into exile was true and correct, surely bush and blair would have really waved this about, how are they (well blair wont, its like now he's dropped of the planet) going to explain this, apart from it was top secret at the time. confusing to say the least.