Former head of US special forces admits: Islamic State would not exist if Bush didn’t invade Iraq

[babylonsister]

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/former-head-of-us-special-forces-admits-islamic-state-would-not-exist-if-bush-didnt-invade-iraq/


Former head of US special forces admits: Islamic State would not exist if Bush didn’t invade Iraq
Travis Gettys
30 Nov 2015 at 09:59 ET




The former commander of U.S. special forces in Afghanistan and Iraq admitted that strategic blunders by the Bush administration had led to the rise of Islamic State militants.

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn told the German newspaper Der Spiegel that Americans allowed their anger of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to lead them into disastrous military policies that failed to address the root causes of terrorism — and actually helped create new and more brutal terrorists.

The misunderstanding was so great that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who now heads ISIS, was freed in 2004 from a military prison after a U.S. military commission cleared him as harmless.

“We were too dumb,” Flynn said. “We didn’t understand who we had there at that moment. When 9/11 occurred, all the emotions took over, and our response was, ‘Where did those bastards come from? Let’s go kill them. Let’s go get them.’ Instead of asking why they attacked us, we asked where they came from. Then we strategically marched in the wrong direction.”

The U.S. invaded Iraq after administration officials — including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Colin Powell — presented false intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction and alleged links to al-Qaeda.

snip//

“It was huge error,” he continued. “As brutal as Saddam Hussein was, it was a mistake to just eliminate him. The same is true for Moammar Gadhafi and for Libya, which is now a failed state. The historic lesson is that it was a strategic failure to go into Iraq. History will not be and should not be kind with that decision.”

[napkinz]

1. George W. Bush, Father Of ISIS

[geardaddy]

8. Thanks for the cartoons.

They are spot on.

[LittleGirl]

11. That should be an OP! well done eom

[HughBeaumont]

15. I still share these.

In case anyone's memory lapses.

[underpants]

24. Great cartoons

[2naSalit]

31. Lest we forget. nt

[billhicks76]

45. Yes But He Also Said Libya

Hillarys war. Oh wait she also voted for and promoted the Iraq War.

[Hekate]

51. No matter how often you repeat the lie, Hillary did not "promote" the Iraq War.

She did vote with the majority -- but there is no need to embellish her record with flat out lies.

[billhicks76]

52. You're Joking Right?

[tblue37]

53. Actually, she did argue pretty foircefully for the IWR in a senate floor speech.

From Kos:

"A golden oldie: Hillary's floor speech to invade Iraq" - Daily Kos.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/12/435624/-&ved=0ahUKEwj2q9njz7rJAhVD4iYKHdXEBcEQFggvMAU&usg=AFQjCNGw-SVfuAkVb5zuvNwGpLvDSJQwyw


A video of her complete floor speech supporting the IWR:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=&ved=0ahUKEwj2q9njz7rJAhVD4iYKHdXEBcEQiE4IJDAB&usg=AFQjCNF1sHlk2z9QIx28jtvfnGP_UlkifA

[BeanMusical]

54. Lol! She sure as hell promoted the war and repeated Bush's lies about WMDs.

[Betty Karlson]

48. Anyone enabling these founding fathers should be disqualified from the presidency.

ANYONE.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

68. George H. W. Bush, grandfather of Isis?

GWB's daddy started the war with Iraq. Junior only tried to finish it. If GHWB didn't start Desert Shield / Desert Storm, there would be no ISIS.

[napkinz]

69. yep, can't forget Reagan & GHWB

[Botany]

2. + 100 Billion

Paul Bremer disbanded the Iraqi Army (mostly Sunni) and sent them home
with no jobs but with some of their weapons too and some of them went on
to become al Qaeda in Iraq which morphed into ISIS. However our "liberal
media" and the republican party are busy trying to blame President Obama's
bad intel for the rise of ISIS.

That poor little Syrian boy on the beach in Turkey, the Russian passenger plane
that was blown up, the 100s of thousands of refugees from the middle east trying
to escape ISIS, the terrorists that attacked Paris, and so many more cases that all
can be traced back to w & Cheney's war in Iraq.

http://time.com/3900753/isis-iraq-syria-army-united-states-military/

[patsimp]

33. blood spattered, covered moron traitors

[valerief]

3. Yes, but look at how many rich people got richer because of the eternal war.

And making rich people richer is all that matters in the world.

[tecelote]

47. Yes. Take the profit out of our wars and they will end tomorrow.

[jalan48]

4. Don't forget. This is a huge money maker for the Neo-Con's business partners.

I believe this has always been about making money off of war. After the fall of the Soviet Union we needed a new "bad guy" to scare Americans into supporting obscene military budgets. This religious war should play out and pay out for a long, long time.

[Botany]

6. KBR which is a spin off from Dick Cheney's Halliburton made 39.5 billion on the Iraq War

http://www.ibtimes.com/winner-most-iraq-war-contracts-kbr-395-billion-decade-1135905

[erronis]

10. And the NeoLibs - the Third Way with bondage to Wall Street and the War Industry.

[jwirr]

13. That and stealing resources.

[volstork]

21. Agreed. Ironically,

the Soviet Union was significantly less of a threat than it was made out to be in the West. They could barely feed their own people. We just needed a boogyman and they were the obvious choice.

[BeanMusical]

57. Exactly. I remember watching a documentary in the mid 90s...

About the end of the cold war and what it meant for the MIC and the spy agencies. One expert basically said the same thing as you just did about needing another boogeyman and added that the spy agencies would turn on us (well, far more than they already were).

[Wounded Bear]

5. Winner...

of today's "No shit, Sherlock!" award.

[Duval]

7. It's too bad they didn't speak up when

it would have made a difference in the outcome. Yes, "It was huge error". We knew that here on DU.

[KansDem]

9. Okay, so let's cut to the chase and put an end to this once and for all!

Arrest Bush, Cheney, and the rest of the gang and drop them into the heart of ISIS with the understanding that all violence ceases. Tell them they can do whatever they wish with the Bushistas; just stop the killing and maiming.

I'm sick and tired of all this!!!

[erronis]

12. Isn't the USofA trying to do the same to Syria? Topple a ruthless leader to

replace with compliant US puppets?

I guess our memory doesn't span more than a few months, or news cycles.

[jwirr]

14. Yes and with the same results even before we get him

toppled.

[hifiguy]

39. That's what the US has done ever since Allen Dulles

shipped a big chunk of the Nazi power structure to the US after WW II and seeded them throughout the Deep State/Permanent Government.

Nazi Germany won the war against the US. Because Dulles and the oligarchs wanted just that result.

[AgingAmerican]

16. Emotions, my ass

It was an opportunity to steal oil.

[lpbk2713]

17. Many things would be different if the Y2K sElection had not been stolen.

[Betty Karlson]

49. Those two should have been banned from the presidency

for election fraud and enabling a war criminal.

[Omaha Steve]

18. Send his twins to the fight

OS

[Blue_Tires]

19. It was never a mistake to eliminate Gaddafi...

Flynn's just talking out of his ass now...

Just because the "good" Libyans were too slow to effectively take control in the power vacuum doesn't mean it was a bad decision...

Gaddafi should have been taken out ages ago...

[Martin Eden]

20. "Instead of asking why they attacked us, we asked where they came from."

WHERE they came from??

They certainly didn't come from Iraq, and Bushco's decision to invade Iraq had nothing to do with that question.

The Bush neocons were intent on invading Iraq prior to 9/11, and they took advantage of the New Pearl Harbor to implement their pre-existing agenda.

[yeoman6987]

26. Terrorism has been around forever. 1972 ring a bell?

[Martin Eden]

28. What does your question have to do with my post?

My point being the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq was not based on where the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 came from.

[Kingofalldems]

40. What does that have to do with Bush/Cheney

being responsible for ISIS?

They also were criminally negligent when warned about Osama Bin Laden,

[Rex]

46. The first folks to hijack a plane were from Cuba.

That is where 'it all started', shhhhhh don't let that other fella know. Evidently all terrorism started in the ME. We can just forget all the centuries of the Spanish Inquisition for that matter or any other act of terrorism.

It started in 1972 for people that don't know any history, I guess what other conclusion is there?

[bullwinkle428]

59. Terrorism is a TACTIC. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with

ideology, politics, geography, etc.

[ProfessorGAC]

63. He Did Say Something About. . .

. . .going the wrong way to cap off his "where did they come from" comment? Maybe he meant that we didn't ask why, we didn't ask how it could be prevented, we just asked "where" and then still went to the wrong place.

[Martin Eden]

64. Not clear exactly what he meant when we have to speculate

Also not entirely sure who he means by "We."

However, he is spot-on about our actions giving rise to Daesh (isis).

[SHRED]

22. Don't forget the American people

The ones who supported this invasion.
They have bloody hands also.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

23. Who is this "We" you speak of and why didn't you speak up then, general?

Most of the "We" I knew personally at the time were outraged at what happened on 9/11 but wanted some real answers. Several of us "treasonous" Americans were personally attacked for asking for that. The media beat the drum of war, including class one assholes like Chris Matthews and shouted down anyone asking questions.

Don't even get me started on how much BS this is ... "We"? "WE"?!!! Fuck you, general!

[underpants]

25. Marking in case I need to cite it

We tried to tell them.

[SunSeeker]

27. K & R & bookmarked!

[Democat]

29. Muammar Gaddafi's Fall Was Under Obama

The headline blames Bush, but the text also mentions Muammar Gaddafi.

[Octafish]

35. Neocons Forever

Like Safari Club and the off-the-books Friends of CIA, they never really go away.

[FairWinds]

30. Even with all the bat-shit crazy war hysteria and propaganda in 2003 . .

fifteen percent of Americans were still opposed to the invasion
when it was launched.

What gets me most of all is that Dubya/Cheney/etc. did not
even bother to come up with plausible lies, and they still got away
with it.

I'm still furious at the Amer Pol Sci Assoc (I used to belong) for
not speaking out . .

[2naSalit]

32. This is the only part of what he said that I agree with...

“It was huge error,” he continued. “As brutal as Saddam Hussein was, it was a mistake to just eliminate him. The same is true for Moammar Gadhafi and for Libya, which is now a failed state. The historic lesson is that it was a strategic failure to go into Iraq. History will not be and should not be kind with that decision.”

The rest is posturing to protect the official story line.

The misunderstanding was so great that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who now heads ISIS, was freed in 2004 from a military prison after a U.S. military commission cleared him as harmless.

>>>>“We were too dumb,” Flynn said. “We didn’t understand who we had there at that moment. When 9/11 occurred, all the emotions took over, and our response was, ‘Where did those bastards come from? Let’s go kill them. Let’s go get them.’ Instead of asking why they attacked us, we asked where they came from. Then we strategically marched in the wrong direction.”

The U.S. invaded Iraq after administration officials — including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Colin Powell — presented false intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction and alleged links to al-Qaeda.

Horsepucky, they knew exactly who was where and from where. I will never buy the BS line that guy is putting out there. If he and his charge didn't know, somebody was misleading them for a long time, which I don't accept completely thought the secrecy was pretty tight with that little clan who occupied the WH back then.

[Octafish]

34. Didn't we mention something about that on DU1?

Illegal. Immoral. Unnecessary. Disastrous. Something.

[world wide wally]

36. Amazing "news" story!!!

But I think I heard a teenage girl telling Jeb(!) about this a few months ago, and I have heard friends mention it over a year ago.

[CJCRANE]

37. That's only half the story.

The other half is probably not something the majority of DU is willing to accept just yet.

[hifiguy]

38. 9/11 had a return address.

Saudi Arabia. But that fact will never be acknowledged.

[Whiskeytide]

42. THIS pisses me off the most,...

... apparently it is okay to sponsor attacks on us IF you also do a little business with us too. Asshats!

[riderinthestorm]

41. K&R and a small sob... nt

[avaistheone1]

43. K & R

[akbacchus_BC]

44. Most civilians knew that invading Iraq was extreme and not warranted!

Too bad the war mongerers are not going to be held accountable for the quagmire they have caused in the Middle East. Worst even, they are not taking responsibility for their criminal acts.

[prouddemfromaustin44]

50. It's astonishing that Bush never got tried for war crimes.

He and his cronies have the blood of countless innocents on their hands. It's just so unfair how he gets to walk free, unlike his victims.

[RobinA]

55. Somehow

this (the headline) strikes me as a bit simplistic and not exactly what Flynn is saying. Although I do realize it makes use of the current liberal meme that the US is responsible for everything bad in the world. The newest form of American exceptionalism.

[malaise]

56. K & R

for the truth

[Justice]

58. So why is Flynn speaking up now - why not in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014?

He was THERE!

He was AT THE TABLE!

He could have spoken out when it mattered.

Easy to speak out now.

[d_legendary1]

65. He would've died in a plane crash or committed suicide

had he outed the Warshrub administration. A lot of people who came clean ended up dead at the time.

[raouldukelives]

60. Of if corporations, on behalf of shareholders, hadn't stole the election. nt

[librechik]

61. Why isn't this Der Spiegel story on the front page of the New York Times?

oh right. Iron Curtain.

[Fuddnik]

62. Anybody good at photoshop? Post their founding fathers on ISIS currency.

$1 note: Dubya!
$5 note: Rummy
$10 note: Condi
$20 note: Darth Cheney.

[blackspade]

66. Great to see the admission.

Not that it will make any difference going forward.
The destruction of 2+ generations will not be easily remedied by our continued blundering.

[Tipperary]

67. No shit Sherlock.

(of course, I do not mean you.)

These idiots. Cheney should be tried for war crimes.

[napkinz]

70. kick