Rove: ‘I Wish The Iraq War Never Existed,’ It Was ‘Osama Bin Laden’s Idea’

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/19/rove-history-iraq/

Rove: ‘I Wish The Iraq War Never Existed,’ It Was ‘Osama Bin Laden’s Idea’

On a visit to Ohio yesterday, White House senior political adviser Karl Rove claimed he never wanted the war in Iraq:

“I wish the war were over,” Rove said. “I wish the war never existed... History has given us a challenge.”

History shows Rove was exceptionally eager in 2002 for the upcoming Iraq war, anxious to reap what he viewed would be the political gains for conservatives leading another military conflict:

In January 2002, Rove told conservatives, “Americans trust the Republicans to do a better job of keeping our communities and our families safe…We can also go to the country on this issue because they trust the Republican Party to do a better job of protecting and strengthening America’s military might and thereby protecting America.”

In June 2002, Rove was giving PowerPoint presentations candidates advising them to “focus on the war” in their fall campaigns.

In August 2002, Rove was chairing the White House Iraq Group, whose mission was to “develop a strategy for publicizing the White House’s assertion that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the United States.”

In September 2002, Time reported that when friends asked whether Bush planned to invade Iraq, Rove was been known to reply, “Let me put it this way: If you want to see Baghdad, you’d better visit soon.”

Former White House counterterrorism director Richard Clarke later wrote that the Iraq “crisis was manufactured, and Bush political adviser Karl Rove was telling Republicans to ‘run on the war.’”

Rove also claimed yesterday that it was bin Laden, not President Bush, who decided to launch the Iraq war:

In a question-and-answer period after his speech, Rove was asked whose idea it was to start a pre-emptive war in Iraq.

“I think it was Osama bin Laden’s,” Rove replied.

Rove’s comments are part of re-emerging tactic by the Bush administration to associate the ongoing war in Iraq with 9/11. Rove and company appear to have forgotten that President Bush said 9/11 had “nothing” to do with the war in Iraq.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

1. You're a smartass, KKKarl.

But you ain't no genius . . .

[Initech]

2. OMG!!! What an ass!!!

If this were Osama's idea, we would have found him by now, you lying, murderous little fucking piece of crap!

[lazyriver]

3. I can't believe I'm about to say this but...

Karl Rove might be right. The Bin Ladens do seem to have a lot of control over the Bushes and this bullshit administration. I'm sure KKKarl would have been at the meetings. You know somebody had to tell Bush when to nod his head and say, "Thank you sir, may I have another"..

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. At the time the Iraq war was good politics, now it isn't.

[bdamomma]

5. what a liar, again, always blaming someone else.

[endarkenment]

6. Bin Laden Did It!

So that must mean that al kader has infiltrated the highest levels of aipac and pnac and the bush administration. All of them: off to gitmo for some of the usual treatment until they 'fess up.

[Canuckistanian]

7. Well, that puts the "genius" theory to rest

OBL has NEVER been to Iraq as far as we know.

He just blew his own war rationale out of the water.

[underpants]

8. Aside from the pure whacko element of that-I remember what Richard Clarke wrote

at the end of one of his chapters he wrote something to the effect of

Somewhere Bin Laden sat on a mountaintop thinking "Please oh please invade Iraq"

and they did.