FP: Thank you Mr. Patterson.
I would like end on three themes:
(1) Where is Osama? Will we ever get him? Does it matter if we do or if we don’t?
(2) The mainstream media has made it a given that there were no WMDs in Iraq and that Hussein had no connection to Osama or to Islamist terror. But the evidence continues to confirm the exact opposite on both counts, no?
(3) What are the next crucial steps to fighting the Iraq war in particular and the terror war in general?
Chuck Nash?
Nash: In terms of Osama, I think he is probably either in Iran or along the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Where ever he is, he has not had a decent night's sleep in a long time and his every contact with anyone outside his immediate entourage has to be reason for questioning "Is this the guy who is going to turn me in?" And that life-style will do for him until we eventually round him up -- which we most certainly will.
In the meantime, we will look, listen and hopefully find others along the way to him since there is a network and networks have to communicate in some form at some time. Rolling up his personal network will be very rewarding for the American people to see.
That said, the fight will go on because bin-Laden is but one man and this is a war between ideologies. The ideology that the enemy pushes is dehumanizing and barbaric and thus will be rejected by free thinking people. This is not a War on Terror, it is truly a War for Civilization itself.
In terms of WMDs and Saddam’s terror connection, the evidence started as a trickle that the mainstream media tried to discredit but now it has become more of a flow and before long one can reasonably expect that the flow will increase as the tapes and documents are translated and more and more people feel free to talk.
I really believe that when all is said and done that the media - if they were just half as honest about themselves as they are about the faults of others - will have egg all over their face. This probably won't happen though as there will be some reason why they were "deceived" and didn't have the right information.
One must remember with the pre-OIF intelligence, everyone made honest mistakes.
The evidence will have to be analyzed by historians after those who are so quick to criticize are long out of office and the newsrooms.
First and foremost we must not send weak and conflicting signals that keep the Iraqi people wondering if it is safe to work with the Americans. Are we going to be there tomorrow or have an election in this country in November and pull the troops out? One way to do this is to get the entire U.S. government involved in the future of Iraq. As things stand today, only the U.S. military is involved. They are doing a terrific job but the agencies and departments of the new Iraqi government need assistance in standing up.
One of the things that critics love to point out is that at any given time 25% of the army forces are out of their barracks, as if they are AWOL. They are simply in transit to or from their homes to deliver their pay because Iraq has no central banking system, the soldiers are paid in cash and they have to physically transport that cash home to their families and they are given a week to make the round trip. It would be nice to see Treasury, Commerce, Agriculture, Energy and other departments assisting in this vital work. The Iraqis are tough and they will make it, we should be acting that way not seeding doubt.
Second we must work 24/7 to broadcast and get the word out to the Iraqis that the nation state of Iraq is the only solution to protecting the peoples of Iraq. The Iraqis must realize that their best opportunity for a real future comes in the unity of a political state called Iraq. If they break down to village and tribe for their security, another Beirut is possible and that will result in the neighbors stepping in and dividing the spoils. The Shiites in the south do not want to live under Iranian rule but if Iraq fails, they will have to fight off the Mullahs and they know it, same with the Kurds and the Turks and the Sunni will have to figure out how to run Iraq's major cities with no oil revenue. The words of Ben Franklin are germane, "We must hang together or assuredly, we shall all hang separately." In that regard, they will continue to turn in the "foreign fighters" and the Iraqi gangsters and Saddam holdovers who are responsible for so much of the killing and mayhem.
Third, and certainly not last, these are all parallel efforts, we must continue to train and equip the security forces of Iraq and provide the security umbrella that is necessary for this new enterprise to grow.
We should not expect the new Iraq to emerge in a couple of U.S. news cycles, it will take time but it will happen. Iraq has more oil, natural gas, water, and arable land than any other country in the region. It is a potential economic powerhouse that will dwarf the other countries in that part of the world and the neighbours know that. Thus it is incumbent on us to make sure that this emerging regional giant grows to be a responsible, friendly nation in an area of the world that so desperately needs stability and good neighbors. Success in Iraq will make a long-standing contribution to the region and have tremendous impact in Iran and other troubled countries. Failure will plague generations all over the world for years to come. We have won the war, we need to win the peace.
FP: Thank you. One thing I am not certain about is when you say that we will “most certainly” round up Osama. We haven’t done this in 5 years and I am not sure what is so certain about us doing this in the future.
In any case, Tom McInerney?
McInerney: I must agree with the previous speakers in spades so will not repeat their excellent points in detail. If UBL is in Iran we will probably not get him as he has a sanctuary which is probably why we have not gotten him yet. It would be great if we got him but let’s remember it is the ideology of Islamofascism that is the threat.
We are competing against a very sophisticated Media Plan by the Islamofascists that says to the moderates: “Don’t turn your back on me. Support me against these crusaders who want to take our oil and humiliate us. We the Islamofascists will restore your dignity and resist until victory so don’t betray us.”
This simple message is played daily to them and we are not countering it with a well- thought out action plan. So even if we get UBL we have to defeat the ideology with a counter-media plan that tells the truth. Saturation and repetition is diluting all the good things we are doing. If we got him it would be better to kill him while taking him so we don’t have the same travesty going on as with Saddam.
Unfortunately our justice system has fatal flaws. UBL is not innocent until proven guilty in a war. Chuck Nash got the WMD question SPOT ON. Saddam did have WMDs and they went to Syria and Lebanon with the Russians’ assistance. The Saddam tapes (14 Hours) translated by Bill Tierney verify he had them. It has also been verified that the Russians helped get them out.
We have to get the Media Counter plan right to counter Islamofascists’ media plan and then change the regime in Iran using covert operations and the letting Iranian people retake their country. We will have to have an air campaign to assist the covert campaign after going through a laborious diplomatic Kabuki dance similar to the one we did before Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Syria will be next but hopefully we can use the Libyan model, if not then regime change required using the Afghanistan model. Finally Saudi Arabia must start the process of leading an Islamic reformation from the Holy Cities to rid the earth of this vile form of Islam called Wahabiism which is the ideological doctrine for the Islamofascism. Remember it is as evil as Nazism, Fascism and Communism so it must be reformed from within before we have a clash of civilizations.
FP: So Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. But what if Saudi Arabia does not start that process? Also, how about Hamas leading the PA?
Gabautz: I think all of us agree that what is happening in Iraq involving the Islamic Extremists (terrorists) is a very dangerous situation. I guess I still cling to the hope that the tens of thousands of friendly Iraqis I met when I arrived in Iraq at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom would still be there today. I would not be alive today if it were not for many Iraqis who risked their lives to save mine. Mainstream media simply fails to report the good coming out of Iraq.
Where is Osama? Most likely Iran (if he is alive), but in the scheme of things, it matters little. He will have his followers whether or not he is alive or dead. The Iranian leadership has the same mode of thinking that Osama has.
WMD is/was in Iraq after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I went into Iraq as the first civilian Federal Agent and Arabic linguist. AFOSI has the best trained intelligence officers of any organization. I received decorations/awards during and after the war indicating I was the number one Intelligence collector in regards to Weapons of Mass Destruction and other terrorism issues. This is well documented. I and my fellow Agents (who were active duty) identified four highly suspected WMD sites in southern Iraq that ISG never exploited.
I blame especially one person for this intelligence foul up: Mr. Charles Duelfer. He failed to have his people exploit all the sites. He focused in northern Iraq. When Duelfer gave his speech to Congress on 30 Mar 2004, I knew (and anyone else who understands Arabs and the Middle East) that he was in way over his head and had no clue on how to work in the Middle East. He made one statement to Congress that confirmed this. Duelfer said, “One of the circumstances that struck me the most is the extreme reluctance of Iraqi managers, scientists, and engineers to speak freely”. He continues, “Before arriving in Iraq, I thought they would be more cooperative”. Wow! This is the guy who was leading the weapons inspectors.
It was at this time I fully realized why no WMDs had been found. The reason I was the number one collector of intelligence is because I went to the people who would talk and who really knew what was going on in their areas. I went to the former Iraqi police officers, the former mid and lower level Iraqi soldiers, the merchants, the farmers, the Bedouins, etc. I knew from the start that little intelligence would be obtained from senior Baath Party members.
On 16 Mar 2006, I had a meeting with Congressman Curt Weldon for over an hour. I provided him 15 plus pages of very detailed information to include exact grid coordinates and the names/contact numbers of Iraqis who can take inspectors directly to the WMD sites. If Congressman Weldon doesn't encounter "red tape", he will seek action on the WMD matter.
It has been a 3 year battle for me to get the sites inspected. I only hope that some of the WMDs that were at the sites were not exploited/taken by others (with Russian assistance). AFOSI needs to step forward and provide all of my intelligence reports to Congressman Weldon and Congressman Hoekstra.
My awards indicate I wrote over 80 intelligence reports while in Iraq on this subject. I received word about one month ago from an AFOSI Agent who is currently assigned to Tallil (now Ali Air Base) in Nasiriyah, that none of our electronic intelligence reports can be located (during the time Apr 2003 - July 2003). All reports were also sent to various agencies (to include DIA, DOD, ISG, etc). Find the 80 plus intelligence reports and you will find WMD or you will find evidence they had been removed by others. The Washington Times is currently interviewing me as well. I think in the next month we will know where the WMDs are.
In terms of the terror war, the only way we can ever win it is to continue coming down very hard on extremists, and to gain the support of the moderates. If we can’t do this we will have another September 11th.
Patterson: The question about OBL reminds me that two weeks ago the Democratic Party released their "national security agenda" for 2006 and 2008 containing lots of references to being "smart," and "tough" and "real." In fact, their agenda is not an agenda, its not even a plan, its overly-politicized pap. Not once in over a hundred-some pages did they mention the word "democracy." One of their key proposals is to (and I quote) "eliminate Osama bin Laden (and) destroy terrorist networks like al Qaeda." I'm not exactly sure what the Democrats think we've been doing for the last five years but my understanding and those of my buddies patrolling the Afghan-Pakistan border is exactly that. And as your distinguished guests have pointed out, to "eliminate" OBL would necessitate we either invade Iran or Pakistan or both...because if he's alive that's where he's hiding and, as such, has the sanctuary of these nations' sovereignty. Can't see the Dems who want us to pull out of Iraq immediately taking on that sort of thing.
Your question referencing the MSM, WMDs and Saddam's associations with Al Qaeda is also dead on. As your other panelists attest, Saddam had WMDs and moved them. There can be absolutely no doubt of that. Of course reality and truth doesn't fit their template or the MSM and the Left would have acknowledged that long ago. They're suffering an acute case of BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). I can personally attest that, as a member of the Clinton administration from 1996-1998, I was fully aware of the existence of WMDs in Iraq as well at least a partially functioning nuclear weapons program. As CAPT Nash and General McInerney point out the weapons were moved to Syria and Lebanon.
In April of 2004, Jordanian officials interrupted an Al Qaeda plot to explode approximately 20 tons of chemical weapons in Amman which conceivably killed as many as 80,000 people. The leader of the planned attack was none other than Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi who was convicted by Jordan in absentia. Where did Al Qaeda get 20 tons of VX nerve gas? From Syria. Who made VX nerve gas prior to the foiled attack? Iraq. Doesn't take a lot of "dot-connecting" for me to draw a conclusion.
And if that's not enough of a connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda how about these? Iraqi Intelligence Service documents, seized during the invasion in 2003, reveal bin Laden was considered an "asset" as far back as 1992. Saddam hosted and provided sanctuary to 1993 World Trade Center bomber Abdul Rahman Yasin immediately after that attack. In January 1998, Al Qaeda's #2 Ayman Zawahiri visited Saddam in Baghdad and left with $300,000. One month later, (one month!), bin Laden and Zawahiri announced their alliance and publicly declared war on the U.S. Later that year Iraqi Intelligence Service officers met with bin Laden in Afghanistan which conveniently coincided with OBL’s embassy bombings in Africa.
In fact, the Clinton administration’s 1998 Justice Department indictment of bin Laden was based on findings that “Al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that Al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, Al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.” Richard Clarke, Clinton’s terror guru, asserted at the time that Saddam had offered bin Laden asylum in Iraq following the African bombings. Contrary to what Clarke would have us believe now he wrote a memo to Clinton National Security Advisor and renowned pant’s criminal Sandy Berger advising against U.S. surveillance flights over bin Laden’s camps in Afghanistan because we might tip him off and “alarmed with that knowledge…Usama will likely boogie to Baghdad.” (9/11 Commission Report, p. 134 and 135)
Of course, then there's the whole pesky Salman Pak terrorist training base Saddam sanctioned and funded and that Iraqi Intelligence Service operative Ahmed Hikmat Shakir attended the initial 9/11 planning meeting held in Malaysia in January of 2002. Heck, when he was injured in the fighting in Afghanistan in 2001, Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi accepted Saddam’s offer for medical treatment at his personal hospitable in Baghdad. But don't confuse our journalists with the facts. President Bush is the enemy here not totalitarian butchers or Islamofascists who continue to murder indiscriminately.
For America to prevail in Iraq and in this war for civilization, as CAPT Nash so accurately frames it, we as a nation will have to pull our collective heads out of our posteriors. We have drifted from a nation resolutely allied to one rendered impotent by bitter partisan bickering. All the while, our soldiers continue fighting heroically at every step enduring heartache and sacrifice; our enemies embolden themselves on the irresponsible rhetoric of liberal politicians and complicit media; and we march blindly toward another national tragedy. I hate to end on a somber note but how can anyone read the cockpit transcripts of United 93 and not understand the evil we face?
Unfortunately, many in my country can...and do. We stand on the verge of losing everything we believe in, everything our forefathers fought for, if we don't wake up. We're living in era very similar to 1935-1940. Will the Neville Chamberlain's carry the day or will Churchill and FDR? Seems to me an awful lot of Chamberlain's are having more than their fair share of influence.
FP: Captain Chuck Nash, Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, Paul (Dave) Gaubatz, and Buzz Patterson, thank you for joining Frontpage Symposium.
Previous Symposiums:
The Fall of Palestine