1) Orchestrate 9/11 as a pre-text for war
US military drafted 'Operation Northwoods' plan to commit terror acts in US cities, kill innocent Americans, and hijack airplanes to trick the public into supporting a war against Cuba. (ABC)
War in Afghanistan would have been politically impossible pre-9/11. (USA Today)
2) Invade Afghanistan for a pipeline and it's opium.
1997 - Taleban are in Texas for talks with Unocal about an Afghan pipeline. (BBC)
Feb '98, Unocal rep testifies before congress that an Afghan pipeline can't happen without a single stable Afghan gov't and asks the US to use it's influence to end conflicts there. (US House of Reps)
Aug '98 - Unocal suspends Afghan pipeline activities because of deteriorating political conditions there. (Unocal)
Dec '98 - Unocal drops out of Afghan pipeline consortium. (Unocal)
1999 - US paid entire annual salary of Taliban gov't in hopes to secure a stable Afghan gov't to allow US companies to build a pipeline there to connect to the Caspian Sea. (SF Chronicle)
May '01, US gives $43 million to Afghanistan and becomes their largest donor two years in a row. (CNN)
Some say current military campaign in Afghanistan has hidden objective - revive gas pipeline and open the way for U.S. companies to build further facilities to carry central Asian oil. (BCC)
Dec '02 - Afghan gas pipeline deal signed. (BBC, SF Chronicle)
May '05 - Afghan pipeline draws closer to reality, Afghan President said project was a 'top priority.' (Christian Science Monitor)
July '00 - Taliban bans cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan (BBC), Mar '05, Afghanistan opium production surges. (USA Today)
July '01 - US plans to invade Afghanistan by Oct '01 (BBC, Guardian)
Sept 4 - White House approves plan to invade Afghanistan (CBS, USA Today)
Sept 10 - Plan awaits Bush's approval (MSNBC)
Oct '01 - US invades Afghanistan. (DoD)
3) Invade Iraq for it's oil.
1998 - PNAC calls for a war in Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein who they say threatens Israel and the world's oil supply. (ABC, PNAC)
Of the 18 PNAC members who urged Clinton to remove Saddam in '98, 10 will be in the new Bush administration. (ABC)
Jan '01 - Bush had pre-9/11 Iraq war plan according to Treasury Dept memo. (CNN)
Bush made plans for ousting Saddam and for Iraq's oil before 9/11. (BBC)
9/11 - Barely 5 hrs after the Pentagon crash, Rumsfeld begins strike plans against Iraq. (CBS)
Feb '02 - Bush admin was warned statements that Iraq trained Al Qaeda in weapon making was fabricated, yet they would later use same statements as foundation for military action in Iraq. (NY Times, AFP)
Sept '03 - Poll later finds 70% Americans believe Saddam-9/11 link. (CNN, White House)
White House officials say privately 9/11 was main reason for war in Iraq (ABC), Bush says US is in Iraq because of 9/11. (CNN, White House)
4) Invade Iran for it's oil and because it's in the middle of the Oman Gulf, the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia (our #1 oil friends and largest oil reserves), Iraq (2nd largest oil reserves), Armenia, Turkmenistan, Caspian Sea (lot's of oil), Afghanistan (pipeline, opium), and Pakistan (oil buyer, middleman).
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Source for all news quotes)