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“Richard B. Cheney Oral History, Secretary of Defense,” Presidential Oral Histories, Miller Center, University of Virginia, March 16–17, 2000 "Compliance with the resolutions will instantly stop the bloodshed. And there's another way for the bloodshed to stop, and that is for the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people to take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside, and then comply with the United Nations resolutions and rejoin the family of peace-loving nations. We have no argument with the people of Iraq. Our differences are with that brutal dictator in Baghdad." George H. W. Bush, “Remarks to Raytheon Missile Systems Plant Employees in Andover, Massachusetts,” February 15, 1991 "In my own view, I've always said that it would be -- that the Iraqi people should put him aside and that would facilitate the resolution of all these problems that exist, and certainly would facilitate the acceptance of Iraq back into the family of peace-loving nations." George H. W. Bush, press conference, White House, March 1, 1991 "President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate Paul Wolfowitz, dean of the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), as deputy secretary of Defense. Wolfowitz has served as the dean of SAIS since 01/1994." School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, “President Bush Nominates SAIS Dean Paul Wolfowitz as Deputy Secretary of Defense,” press release, February 4, 2001 Paul Wolfowitz and Zalmay Khalilzad, “Overthrow Him,” Weekly Standard, December 1, 1997 Washington Examiner reprint "In spite of the setting, it didn't take long for the meeting to turn ugly, with Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz pushing hard to invade Iraq, and Colin Powell and I countering that we should go after bin Laden at this time. At one of the breaks, President Bush pulled me aside and asked, "What am I missing here, Hugh?" You've got it exactly right, Mr. President," I told him. "I have neither seen nor heard anything from either the CIA or the FBI that indicates any linkage whatsoever to Iraq. Stand firm, because it will destroy us in the eyes of the Arab world if we go after Iraq under the guise of Saddam somehow being tied to this when the facts show otherwise. What you'll have is the extremists and the fundamentalists painting it as the Americans are going after their Arab brothers just because they want to. Earlier, both Colin and I had reiterated that there was not one shred of evidence that Iraq was involved in the 9/1 1 attacks — they had all the earmarks of bin Laden but no link whatsoever to Saddam. By the time I was finished stating my case, the President seemed to have made his decision. "We're going to get that guy [Saddam], but we're going to get him at a time and place of our own choosing," he said, nailing the lid on any further discussions about Iraq for the moment." Hugh Shelton, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010) Page 444 According to Rice,the issue of what,if anything, to do about Iraq was really engaged at Camp David. Briefing papers on Iraq, along with many others, were in briefing materials for the participants. Rice told us the administration was concerned that Iraq would take advantage of the 9/11 attacks. She recalled that in the first Camp David session chaired by the President, Rumsfeld asked what the administration should do about Iraq. Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz made the case for striking Iraq during “this round” of the war on terrorism. A Defense Department paper for the Camp David briefing book on the strategic concept for the war on terrorism specified three priority targets for initial action: al Qaeda,the Taliban,and Iraq. It argued that of the three,al Qaeda and Iraq posed a strategic threat to the United States. Iraq’s long-standing involvement in terrorism was cited, along with its interest in weapons of mass destruction. Secretary Powell recalled that Wolfowitz—not Rumsfeld—argued that Iraq was ultimately the source of the terrorist problem and should therefore be attacked. Powell said that Wolfowitz was not able to justify his belief that Iraq was behind 9/11.“Paul was always of the view that Iraq was a problem that had to be dealt with,” Powell told us.“And he saw this as one way of using this event as a way to deal with the Iraq problem.” Powell said that President Bush did not give Wolfowitz’s argument “much weight.” Though continuing to worry about Iraq in the following week, Powell said, President Bush saw Afghanistan as the priority. President Bush told Bob Woodward that the decision not to invade Iraq was made at the morning session on September 15. Iraq was not even on the table during the September 15 afternoon session, which dealt solely with Afghanistan. Rice said that when President Bush called her on Sunday, September 16,he said the focus would be on Afghanistan, although he still wanted plans for Iraq should the country take some action or the administration eventually determine that it had been involved in the 9/11 attacks. At the September 17 NSC meeting, there was some further discussion of “phase two” of the war on terrorism. President Bush ordered the Defense Department to be ready to deal with Iraq if Baghdad acted against U.S. interests, with plans to include possibly occupying Iraqi oil fields." Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (“The 9/11 Commission Report”), (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2004) Page 335 Declassified and Approved for Release, 10 April 2004  Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US August 6th 2001 David Von Drehle and R. Jeffrey Smith, “U.S. Strikes Iraq for Plot to Kill Bush,” Washington Post, June 27, 1993 Iraq ‘behind US anthrax outbreaks’ Pentagon hardliners press for strikes on Saddam · Britain's GPs put on full alert over deadly disease War on Terrorism: Observer special David Rose and Ed Vulliamy, New York Sun 14 Oct 2001 John McCain, interview with David Letterman, Late Show with David Letterman, CBS, October 18, 2001 “Oil Take-Over Pact Announced by Iraq,” New York Times, March 1, 1973 "If one looked at the declarations that we got under resolution 687 from the Iraqis--the initial ones were laugh-out-loud funny. As a matter of fact, we laughed out loud when we looked at them: the nuclear program was entirely peaceful; the chemical declaration was actually quite extensive, if not complete; there was no biological weapons program; and we always thought that the ballistic missile program declaration was incomplete. We knew that these declarations were not right" Robert Gallucci, address at “Understanding the Lessons of Nuclear Inspections and Monitoring in Iraq: A Ten-Year Review,” Institute for Science and International Security, June 14, 2001 transcript "Now, the United Nations believes that he still has very large quantities of VX. VX is a substance, a nerve agent, which is so deadly that a single drop can kill you within a couple of minutes. Anthrax is a biological agent that kills people within five to seven hours -- seven days, rather, after they breathe an amount the size of a single dust particle. If you were to take a five-pound bag of anthrax, properly dispersed, it would kill half the population of Columbus, Ohio."Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, and National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger Remarks at Town Hall Meeting, Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio, February 18, l998 As released by the Office of the Spokesman, February 20, 1998 U.S. Department of State (William Cohen) Douglas Feith to Donald Rumsfeld, “Strategic Planning Guidance for the Joint Staff,” memo, September 18, 2001 "So got on the plane, and we had a chance to talk, and there was a point where Doug and I were talking and we both agreed that it was probably some sort of a jihadist group. I can’t remember what the exact words that we used.  And my staff was around me, and his staff was around him.  I think we were actually on the airplane.  And he said, “I think that the Iraqis are involved in this.”  And I said, “No.  No way.  The Iraqis aren’t involved in this.  “The Iraqis don’t support al Qaeda.  They don’t support Islamist groups, and they wouldn’t do anything as reckless as this.  I just don’t buy it.” Interviewer What was he basing—it was Feith saying this to you—what was he basing his supposition on? John Abizaid Well, with this Administration that had just come in, they were always talking about Saddam Hussein and Iraq all the time.  And they regarded him as a clear if not present danger they regarded him as a danger.  I think there was a belief that they would do whatever they needed to do to break out of these sanctions. And there was a certain amount of intelligence that suggested it although I thought it was very weak.  In retrospect, I still think it was actually weaker than I thought  that suggested that there was some conniving between the Iraqi intelligence services and some of al Qaeda.  But you know there’s always conniving going on in the Middle East with all sorts of different people at all sorts of different levels.  But it wasn’t it just didn’t make any sense to me that there was a connection there, and I told him so.  And we had a pretty heated debate about it." John Abizaid, “Preparing for War After 9/11,” West Point Center for Oral History, April 9, 2012, transcript "After Mr. Cheney and King Abdullah met this evening, Jordanian authorities said in a statement that the monarch had expressed concern about ''the repercussions of any possible strike on Iraq and the dangers of that on the stability and security of the region.'' Instead of backing tough action against Baghdad, King Abdullah urged that the Bush administration's disputes with Iraq be resolved ''through dialogue and peaceful means,'' according to the statement… In Jordan, however, the situation is the reverse. The Jordanians are saying publicly that the danger of instability in the region does not arise from Iraq but from the American plans to take action against the Baghdad regime." Michael R. Gordon, “Middle East Turmoil: Diplomacy; Cheney, in Jordan, Meets Opposition to Military Move in Iraq,” New York Times, March 13, 2002 "WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 - The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials. The officials said the captive, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, provided his most specific and elaborate accounts about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda only after he was secretly handed over to Egypt by the United States in January 2002, in a process known as rendition. The new disclosure provides the first public evidence that bad intelligence on Iraq may have resulted partly from the administration's heavy reliance on third countries to carry out interrogations of Qaeda members and others detained as part of American counterterrorism efforts. The Bush administration used Mr. Libi's accounts as the basis for its prewar claims, now discredited, that ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda included training in explosives and chemical weapons. The fact that Mr. Libi recanted after the American invasion of Iraq and that intelligence based on his remarks was withdrawn by the C.I.A. in March 2004 has been public for more than a year. But American officials had not previously acknowledged either that Mr. Libi made the false statements in foreign custody or that Mr. Libi contended that his statements had been coerced." Douglas Jehl, “Qaeda-Iraq Link U.S.Cited Is Tied to Coercion Claim,” New York Times, December 9, 2005 "We spent a long time at dinner on IRAQ. It is clear that Bush is grateful for your support and has registered that you are getting flak. I said that you would not budge in your support for regime change but you had to manage a press, a Parliament and a public opinion that was very different than anything in the States. And you would not budge either in your insistence that, if we pursued regime change, it must be very carefully done and produce the right result. Failure was not an option. Condi's enthusiasm for regime change is undimmed. But there were some signs, since we last spoke, of greater awareness of the practical difficulties and political risks… From what she said, Bush has yet to find the answers to the big questions: - how to persuade international opinion that military action against Iraq is necessary and justified; - what value to put on the exiled Iraqi opposition; - how to coordinate a US/allied military… He also wants your support. He is still smarting from the comments by other European leaders on his Iraq policy." David Manning to Tony Blair, “Your Trip to the U.S.,” memo, March 14, 2002 "On Iraq I opened by sticking very closely to the script that you used with Rice last week. We backed regime change, but the plan had to be clever and failure was not an option. It.would be a tough sell for us domestically, and probably tougher elsewhere in Europe. The US could go it alone if it wanted to. But if it wanted to act with partners there had to be a strategy for building support for military action against Saddam… Wolfowitz said that he fully agreed. He took a slightly different position from others in the Administration, who were focussed on Saddam's capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction. The WMD danger was of course crucial to the public case against Saddam, particularly the potential linkage to terrorism. But Wolfowitz thought it indispensable to spell out in detail Saddam's barbarism. This was well documented from what he had done during the occupation of Kuwait, the incursion into Kurdish territory, the assault on the Marsh Arabs and to his own people. A lot of work had been done on this towards the end of the first Bush administration. Wolfowitz thought that this would go a long way to destroying any notion of moral equivalence between Iraq and Israel." Christopher Meyer to David Manning, “Iraq and Afghanistan: Conversation with Wolfowitz,” memo, March 18, 2001 Document 6 Bob Woodward, “CIA Told to Do ‘Whatever Necessary’ to Kill bin Laden,” Washington Post October 21, 2001 William Safire, “On Language: Pound Sand,” New York Times, March 31, 2002 “There is a real willingness in the Middle East to get Saddam out but a total opposition to mixing this up with the current operation. . . . The uncertainty caused by Phase 2 seeming to extend to Iraq, Syria etc. is really hurting [Arab leaders] because it seems to confirm the UBL propaganda that this is West vs. Arab. I have no doubt we need to deal with Saddam. But if we hit Iraq now, we would lose the Arab world, Russia, probably half the EU and my fear is the impact of all that on Pakistan. However, I am sure we can devise a strategy for Saddam deliverable at a later date." Blair to Bush, October 11, 2001 Blair to Bush, October 11, 2001 “In objective terms, Iran may be the greater problem for the UK. . . . Ironically, we have Saddam Hussein bound into an established control mechanism… . . We also have to answer the big question —what will this action achieve? There seems to be a larger hole in this than on anything. Most of the assessments from the US have assumed regime change as a means of eliminating Iraq’s WMD threat. But none has satisfactorily answered how that regime change is to be secured, and how there can be any certainty that the replacement regime will be better. Iraq has had no history of democracy so no-one has this habit or experience." Minute Hoon to Prime Minister, 22 March 2002, ‘Iraq’ Page 4-  Hoon to Blair, memo, March 22, 2002 - Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 6 July 2016 for The Report Of The Iraq Inquiry Page 87 “By linking these countries together in his ‘axis of evil’ speech, President Bush implied an identity between them not only in terms of their threat, but also in terms of the action necessary to deal with the threat. A lot of work will now need to be done to delink the three, and to show why military action against Iraq is so much more justified than against Iran and North Korea" Minute Straw to Prime Minister, 25 March 2002, ‘Crawford/Iraq’ Page 2 "I think that when it became clear to him that the United States was thinking of moving its policy forward towards regime change, he wanted to try and influence the United States and get it to stay in the UN, to go to the UN route, which is what we spent the rest of the year trying to do, but he was willing to signal that he accepted that disarmament might not be achieved through the UN route" Monday, 30 November 2009 Subject: UK policy towards Iraq 2001 - 2003 Witnesses: David Manning Page 75-75 "I repeated that it was impossible for the United Kingdom to take part in action against Iraq unless it were through the United Nations. This was our preference, but it was also the political reality. We had no doubt that the United States could take action against Iraq if it wished to do so, but if it wished to do so with us, and if it wished to do so in an international coalition, it would have to go back to the United Nations" Monday, 30 November 2009 Subject: UK policy towards Iraq 2001 - 2003 Witnesses: David Manning Page 19 (Not in book, but similar discussions) "I expected. I think the basic problem was that they genuinely didn’t understand anti-Americanism. They couldn’t see how, given that in this instance they had been the victim, and given all the help they had tried to administer around the world, they were not more popular. So it made them more insular, and a lot of their ideas were actually about things that would simply strengthen their standing at home but do nothing for them overseas necessarily." The Alastair Campbell diaries. Volume 4, The burden of power : countdown to Iraq Page 64 "Concerning the Iraqi issue, His Majesty warned, during his meetings with the three leaders, that attacking Iraq will form a catastrophe for the region at large and will increase instability and chaos. His Majesty pointed out that dialogue is the sole means to tackle the Iraqi issue and solve all disputed issues between Iraq and the UN… His Majesty pointed out that focusing on the Iraqi issue without any positive move towards the Palestinian issue and the Arab Israeli conflict raises disapproval." “King and Queen Return Home,” King Abdullah II official website, August 4, 2002 "Attached is a quote from the Washington Post, Wednesday, October 17, 2001, quoting Rich Armitage saying, “If the coalition felt it was necessary to go after terrorist groups in other countries, this would be a matter for the coalition to discuss among themselves.” First, I should say I have no idea what Armitage actually said. But if he said it, I have this thought: I think we have all agreed that there is not a single coalition, and that the mission will determine the coalition—not that the coalition would determine the mission. The President is on record, repeatedly, as saying we will be going after other terrorist networks and other states that harbor terrorists. I think we ought to try to all get our positions calibrated so we are all on the same sheet of music." Donald Rumsfeld to Colin Powell, “Coalitions,” memo, October 18, 2001 “More surprising: An Iraqi ex-intelligence officer who has told the Iraqi National Congress of specific sightings of "Islamicists" training on a Boeing 707 parked in Salman Pak as recently as September 2000 says he was treated dismissively by CIA officers in Ankara this week. They reportedly showed no interest in pursuing a possible Iraqconnection to Sept. 11" Jim Hoagland, “What About Iraq?,” Washington Post, October 12, 2001 "The Deputy Director for Intelligence (DDI) directed that Iraq and al-Qaida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship be published on June 21, 2002, although it did not reflect the NESA's views. CTC's explanation of its approach to this study and the analysts' differing viewswere contained in the paper's Scope Note, which stated: (U) This intelligence assessment responds to senior policymaker interest in a comprehensive assessment of Iraqi regime links to al-Qa'ida. Our approach is purposefully aggressive in seeking to draw connections, on the assumption that any indication of a relationship between these two hostile elements could carry great dangers to the United States."Central Intelligence Agency, “Iraq and al-Qa’ida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship” (the “Murky Paper”), June 21, 2002 Page 305 "Some analysts concur with the assessment that intelligence reporting provides “no conclusive evidence of cooperation on specific terrorist operations,” but believe that the available signs support a conclusion that Iraq has had sporadic, wary contacts with al-Qaida since the mid-1990s, rather than a relationship with al-Qaida that has developed over time. These analysts would contend that mistrust and conflicting ideologies and goals probably tempered these contacts and severely limited the opportunities for cooperation. These analysts do not rule out that Baghdad sought and obtained a nonaggression agreement or made limited offers of cooperation, training, or even safehaven (ultimately uncorroborated or withdrawn) in an effort to manipulate, penetrate, or otherwise keep tabs on al-Qaida or selected operatives." Central Intelligence Agency, “Iraq and al-Qa’ida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship” (the “Murky Paper”), June 21, 2002 Page 306 "Our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and al-Qa’ida is evolving and is based on sources of varying reliability. . . . We have solid reporting of senior-level contacts between Iraq and al-Qa’ida going back a decade. . . . We have credible reporting that al-Qa’ida leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire WMD capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to al-Qa’ida members in the areas of poisons and gasses and making conventional bombs. . . Iraq’s increasing support to extremist Palestinians, coupled with growing.indications of a relationship with al-Qa’ida, suggest that Baghdad’slinks to terrorists will increase, even absent U.S. military action" AUTHORIZATION OF THE USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES AGAINST IRAQ [Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 132 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)][Senate] (CIA Director George Tenet) "Mr Bush said in his ITV interview that they would discuss "all options" over action on Iraq but there were "no immediate plans" for action. He said: "I made up my mind that Saddam needs to go. That's about all I'm willing to share with you."" “Blair Flies In with Ceasefire Agenda,” BBC News, April 6, 2002 "And as I have said repeatedly, Saddam Hussein would like nothing more than to use a terrorist network to attack and to kill and leave no fingerprints behind. Colin Powell will continue making that case to the American people and the world at the United Nations." White House, “President Bush Meets with Prime Minister Blair,” news release transcript, January 31, 2003 "King Abdullah of Jordan was just here again. He's obviously intensely concerned, because Jordan has a majority population of Palestinians. And to attack Iraq, while the Middle East is in the terror that it is right now, and America appears not to be dealing with something which, to every Muslim, is a real problem, but instead go over here, I think, could turn the whole region into a cauldron and, thus, destroy the war on terrorism." Brent Scowcroft, Face the Nation, CBS, August 4, 2002 Brent Scowcroft, “Don’t Attack Saddam,” Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2002 "David's strong sense was that though they might go it alone, they didn’t want to. They valued TB’s advice. They needed to be persuaded on UN/ultimatum and on the need to do more re the Middle East. Bush felt that it was possible to see a quick collapse of the Iraqis. He had also talked up evidence of links with al-Qaeda, which our and US intelligence were not convinced of. We were pushing the idea of a tough, time-bound ultimatum. Bush had said he was ‘evangelical’ re getting rid of Saddam and was a ‘good vs evil guy’. He felt equally strongly about Korea. But David felt it was not a lost cause to push him down the UN ultimatum route. TB’s note had made clear our basic support but also said we had to be blunt about the difficulties. His note went through the need for an agreed strategy on six fronts — UN ultimatum route/evidence/MEPP/post-Saddam/Arab Muslim worlds/ Afghanistan" The Alastair Campbell diaries. Volume 4, The burden of power : countdown to Iraq Page 285 "I will be with you, whatever. But this is the moment to assess bluntly the difficulties. The planning on this and the strategy are the toughest yet. This is not Kosovo. This is not Afghanistan. It is not even the Gulf War." Tony Blair to George W. Bush, “Note on Iraq,” letter, July 28, 2002 Page 1 "And - and here is my real point - public opinion is public opinion. And opinion in the US is quite simply on a different planet from opinion here, in Europe or in the Arab world. In Britain, right now I couldn't be sure of support from Parliament, Party, public or even some of the Cabinet. And this is Britain. In Europe generally, people just don’t have the same sense of urgency post 9/11 as people in the US; they suspect - and are told by populist politicians ~ that it’s all to do with 43 settling the score with the enemy of 41; and various other extraneous issues like steel etc have soured the atmosphere a little." Tony Blair to George W. Bush, “Note on Iraq,” letter, July 28, 2002 Page 3 (Quote not in book but similar theme) "When TB (Tony Blair) came back in, GWB (George W Bush) said he’d decided to go to the UN and put down a new UNSCR, challenge the UN to deal with the problems for its own sake. He could not stand by. He would say OK, what will you do? Earlier, not too convincingly, Karen had claimed GWB was always going to go down the UN route. Cheney looked very sour throughout, and after dinner, when TB and Bush walked alone to the chopper, Bush was open with him that Cheney was in a different position. Earlier, when we had said that the international community was pressing for some direction but that in the US there would be people saying ‘Why are you going to the UN, why aren’t you doing it now?’ Cheney smiled across the table, making it pretty clear that was where he was. The mood was good. As we left, Bush joked to me ‘I suppose you can tell the story of how Tony flew in and pulled the crazed unilateralist back from the brink.’ He said he was going to make clear that if the UN didn’t deal with it — no hesitation. He said he didn’t commit troops lightly, nobody would. Said TB totally understands link between WMD/Iraq and terrorism. Condi said the Cold War was about our values winning and we should push that. I said it was important they didn’t come over as ideologues. DM said the TB/GWB/Cheney meeting was quite extraordinary, a US president using a UK prime minister to persuade an American vice president. Cheney had not looked happy but it was clear Bush had made his mind up. He was very clear on the threat, and the need of the UN to deal with it." The Alastair Campbell diaries. Volume 4, The burden of power : countdown to Iraq Page 296 "In the middle of these preparations we learned that Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, a terrorist affiliated with al Qaeda, was operating a lab in the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq. Zarqawi and his affiliates joined ranks with Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish terrorist organization seeking to produce WMD. The briefing read, “Al-Zarqawi has been directing efforts to smuggle an unspecified chemical material originating in northern Iraq into the United States.” There was some concern that Zarqawi and Ansar al-Islam were conducting unconventional weapons work, testing cyanide gas and toxic poisons on animals and even their own associates. The President’s advisors were split on what to do. The Vice President and Don favored military action, perhaps air strikes followed by “ex- ploitation,” meaning gathering up evidence at the site after the strike. Colin believed that military action would destroy any chance of build- ing an international coalition to confront Saddam. After one key meet- ing in mid-June, I followed the President into the Oval Office and told him that I agreed with Colin. I also asked him if he was comfortable with the military option that had been presented to him. Were we really going to put “boots on the ground” after.a strike to “exploit” territory inside Iraq—even Kurdish-controlled territory? What would the Turks think? I was relieved to learn that the President had the same reserva- tions. He decided to wait and let the larger Iraq strategy play out over the following months" Condoleezza Rice, No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington Page 177-178 "Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold of the Marine Corps, who retired in late 2002, has said he regarded the American invasion of Iraq unnecessary. He issued his call for replacing Mr. Rumsfeld in an essay in the current edition of Time magazine. General Newbold said he regretted not opposing the invasion of Iraq more vigorously, and called the invasion peripheral to the job of defeating Al Qaeda." More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation By David S. Cloud and Eric Schmitt April 14, 2006 NYT (Not in book but similar theme) "In his memoir, CIA Director George Tenet writes that, as early as the fall of 2002, CIA officers suggested to Defense officials that they “scrap the idea of a fighting force of Iraqi exiles.” Some CIA personnel objected in general to a training program that would be overt and run by the military —rather than covert and run by them. But the main argument that State and CIA officials made against the program was simply that it was a mistake to work so closely with the externals. But then came the news stories, citing State and CIA sources, that depicted the training program as a stalking horse for Chalabi—echoing the widely touted allegations that Rumsfeld and his team were intent on anointing Chalabi as Iraq’s leader after Saddam. Rumsfeld resented those allegations, which were untrue and came with no supporting evidence. But the criticism may have made him reluctant to push Franks on the issue of opposition training: Rumsfeld went out of his way to avoid even appearing to help Chalabi, much less favoring him over other externals. In the fall, Rumsfeld asked me to update Franks on the training program, which I did at one of the war plan review sessions in Rumsfeld’s office. Luti was with me. Franks listened and appeared to accept our analy-sis. Then, when the meeting broke up and Rumsfeld had walked away from the conference table, Franks walked around to where Luti and I were standing. He leaned over me LBJ-style and delivered into my face the unforgettable remark: “Doug, I don’t have time for this fucking bullshit.” I answered that it would have been better if Franks had shared his thoughts with the Secretary." Douglas Feith, War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism Page 383 "The meeting on Saturday morning, September 7, sparked considerable debate about the wisdom of trying to revive a UN inspection regime. Colin Powell was firmly on the side of going the extra mile with the UN, while the vice president argued just as forcefully that doing so would only get us mired in a bureaucratic tangle with nothing to show for it other than time lost off a ticking clock. The president let Powell and Cheney pretty much duke it out. To me, the president still appeared less inclined to go to war than many of his senior aides. A week later, on Saturday, September 14, Steve Hadley convened another meeting in the White House Situation Room, attended by second-echelon officials from the NSC, State Department, DOD, and CIA. The agenda was titled, “Why Iraq Now?” Bob Walpole, the national intelligence officer for strategic programs, was among those present. He recalls telling Hadley that he would not use WMD to justify a war with Iraq. Someone, whom he did not know at the time but now recognizes as Scooter Libby, leaned over to another participant in the meeting and asked, “Who is this guy?” Walpole explained to Hadley that the North Koreans were ahead of Iraq in virtually every category of WMD. Bob knew that we had recently discovered Pyongyang’s covert program to produce highly enriched uranium, and he correctly assumed this would become public knowledge soon. “When that gets out, you guys will have a devil of a time explaining why you are more worried about a country that might be working on nuclear weapons rather than one that probably already has them and the wherewithal to deliver them to the U.S.,” he told the group. Someone suggested that the confluence with terrorism made Iraq a bigger threat. Two other CIA analysts present spoke up, saying that a much stronger case could be made for Iran’s backing of international terrrorism than could be made for Iraq’s. They recall Doug Feith saying that their objections were just “persnickety" At the center of the storm : my years at the CIA by George Tenet Page 485-486 (Extended Quote from book) "TO: Gen. Myers FROM: Donald Rumsfeld SUBJECT: WMD Please take a look at this material as to what we don’t know about WMD. It is big." Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 1 "* We assess Iraq is making significant progress in WMD programs * Our assessments rely heavily on analytic assumptions and judgment rather than hard evidence * The evidentiary base is particularly sparse for Iraqi nuclear programs * Concerted Iraqi CCD&D have effectively negated our view into large parts of their WMD program We don’t know with any precision how much we don’t know" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 4 "* We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build a nuclear weapon without external expertise * We are certain many of the processes required to produce a weapon are in place — We think they possess a viable weapon design — We do not know the status of enrichment capabilities — We think a centrifuge enrichment program is under development but not yet operational * We do not know if they have purchased, or attempted to purchase, a nuclear weapon * We do not know with confidence the location of any nuclear weapon-related facilities Our knowledge of the Iraqi nuclear weapons program is based largely — perhaps 90% -- on analysis of imprecise intelligence" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 5 We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build biological weapons without external expertise We are certain all of the processes required to produce biological weapons are in place — We know they have produced anthrax, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin and gas gangrene * We cannot confirm the identity of any Iraqi facilities that produce, test, fill, or store biological weapons — A large number of suspect facilities have been identified that could support R&D/production — We believe Iraq has 7 mobile BW agent production plants but cannot locate them Our knowledge of what biological weapons the Iraqis are able to produce is nearly complete...our knowledge of how and where they are produced is probably up to 90% incomplete" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 6 "* We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build chemical weapons without external expertise * We do not know if all the processes required to produce a weapon are in place — Demonstrated capability to produce mustard & nerve agents — Lack the precursors for sustained nerve agent production We can confirm the identity of facilities producing feedstock chemicals suitable for CW precursors We cannot confirm the identity of any Iraqi sites that produce final chemical agent Our overall knowledge of the Iraqi CW [program is primarily limited to infrastructure & doctrine. The specific agent and facility knowledge is 60-70 percent incomplete." Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 7 "* We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build ballistic missiles without external expertise * We are certain many of the processes required to produce ballistic missiles are in place — We know they can produce short range ballistic missiles (Al Samoud and Ababil-100) — We doubt all processes are in place to produce longer range missiles We can confirm the identity of most facilities that contribute to ballistic missile production or RDT&E We have good information on general storage at production/assembly sites, but little missile-specific data Our knowledge of the Iraqi ballistic missile program is about half complete for the production process but significantly lacking — less than 25 percent — for staging and storage sites" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 8 “They have an appetite for weapons of mass destruction. They have been, every period since they’ve been able to get the inspectors out of there, working diligently to increase their capabilities in every aspect of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile technology. And as they get somewhat stronger, the problem gets somewhat greater" Donald Rumsfeld, interview, Fox News Sunday, September 9, 2001 Page 1722 (2002?) THREATS AND RESPONSES: THE ADMINISTRATION; BUSH OFFICIALS SAY THE TIME HAS COME FOR ACTION ON IRAQ By Todd S. Purdum Sept. 9, 2002 NYT "Speaking on BBC One's Fern Britton Meets programme, Tony Blair was asked whether he would still have gone on with plans to join the US-led invasion had he known at the time that there were no WMD. He said: "I would still have thought it right to remove him. I mean obviously you would have had to use and deploy different arguments, about the nature of the threat." “Removing Saddam Was Right, Even Without WMD—Blair,” BBC News, December 12, 2009 It is within the power of the Director of the CIA, George Tenet, to order a national intelligence estimate, known as an NIE. National intelligence estimates bring together all the agencies of the Federal Government involved in intelligence, sits them down, and collects and coordinate all of their information to reach the best possible conclusion he can come up with. I was stunned to learn last week that we have not produced a national intelligence estimate showing the current state of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. What is incredible, with all of the statements made by members of this administration about those weapons, is the fact that the intelligence community has not been brought together… It is time for the administration to rise to the occasion, to produce this evidence, as has been asked for and been produced so many times in the past when America’s national security was at risk. We cannot accept anything less than that before any member of the House or the Senate is asked to vote on this critical question of going to war" Senator Dick Durbin Senate, Congressional Record, September 10 Pages S8428-9 (Worth reading his whole statement) "Although we have little specific information on Iraq’s CW stockpile, Saddam probably has stocked at least 100 metric tons (MT) and possibly as much as 500 MT of CW agents—much of it added in the last year" Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Judgments,” Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Intelligence Estimate, October 2002 Page 10 "Baghdad has mobile facilities for producing bacterial and toxin BW agents; these facilities can evade detection and are highly survivable. Within three to six months these units probably could produce an amount of agent equal to the total that Iraq produced in the years prior to the Gulf war." Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Judgments,” Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Intelligence Estimate, October 2002 Page 2 "CHENEY: What we said, Wolf, if you go back and look at the record is, the issue's not inspectors. The issue is that he has chemical weapons and he's used them. The issue is that he's developing and has biological weapons. The issue is that he's pursuing nuclear weapons." Richard Cheney, interview with Wolf Blitzer, CNN, March 24, 2002 In the foreword to the dossier the Prime Minister said:  “What I believe the assessed intelligence has established beyond doubt is that Saddam… continues in his efforts to develop nuclear weapons.” The executive summary states that: “As a result of the intelligence, we judge that Iraq has…. sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, despite having no active civil nuclear programme that could require it,” while the main body of the text stated that: “… there is intelligence that Iraq has sought the supply of significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” Intelligence and Security Committee Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction – Intelligence and Assessments September 2003 Page 27-28 Reference Niger Uranium The 24 September 2002 Dossier Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community’s PrewarIntelligence on Iraq Page 49 "A foreign government service reported that as of early 2001, Niger planned to  send several tons of “pure uranium” (probably yellowcake) to Iraq. As of early 2001, Niger and Iraq reportedly were still working out arrangements for this deal, which could be for up to 500 tons of yellowcake. We do not know the status of this arrangement." Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Judgments,” Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Intelligence Estimate, October 2002 Page 29 "By its past and present actions, by its technological capabilities, by the merciless nature of its regime, Iraq is unique. As a former chief weapons inspector of the U.N. has said, "The fundamental problem with Iraq remains the nature of the regime, itself. Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction… Many people have asked how close Saddam Hussein is to developing a nuclear weapon. Well, we don't know exactly, and that's the problem… Knowing these realities, America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud" White House, “President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat,” news release transcript, October 7, 2002 Henry Kissinger, “Our Intervention in Iraq,” Washington Post, August 12, 2002 James A. Baker III, “The Right Way to Change a Regime,” New York Times, August 25, 2002 "We need to step back," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). "We're grieving. We need to step back and think about this so that it doesn't spiral out of control. We have to make sure we don't make any mistakes." She was walking down a hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. A plainclothes police officer hovered a few steps away, looking very serious. The Capitol Police began guarding Lee on Saturday because of death threats she received after voting against a resolution authorizing President Bush to use military force against anyone associated with last week's terrorist attacks. The resolution passed 98-0 in the Senate and 420-1 in the House. Lee's was the sole dissenting vote. "In times like this," she said, "you have to have some members saying, 'Let's show some restraint.' " Peter Carlson, “The Solitary Vote of Barbara Lee,” Washington Post, September 19, 2001 "there is still a group of people out there, nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded killers, by the way, that hate America. And they hate us because we love freedom. I want you to tell your kids that the reason there is an enemy that wants to strike America is because this great country, this great land loves freedom. We love the fact that people can worship freely in America. We love the fact that people can speak their mind. We love a free press, we love everything that freedom offers, and we're willing to defend it at all costs. The more we love freedom, the more the enemy hates us. And that's why we've got to protect the homeland" George W. Bush, “Remarks by the President at Chris Chocola for Congress, and Indiana Victory Finance Dinner 2002,” South Bend, Indiana, September 5, 2002 Michael Kranish, “Hillary Clinton Regrets Her Iraq Vote. But Opting for Intervention Was a Pattern,” Washington Post, September 15, 2016 “One Year Later: Diplomacy and Tracking Terrorists,” “Live Online” chat with Richard Holbrooke, Washington Post, September 10, 2002 "Were we to pick up where we left off a decade ago and head to Baghdad, the tormented people of Iraq would be sure to erupt in joy. If we liberate them, they may (if only for a while) forgive America the multitude of its sins. They may take our gift and do the easiest of things: construct a better Iraq than the one that the Tikriti killers have put in place" Fouad Ajami, “Iraq and the Thief of Baghdad,” New York Times, May 19, 2002 “Iraq Agrees to Weapons Inspections,” CNN, September 17, 2002 “Saddam Hussein’s Deception and Defiance,” Office of the Press Secretary, White House, September 17, 2002 "Overemphasis on and underperformance in daily intelligence products. As problematic as the October 2002 NIE was, it was not the Community’s biggest analytic failure on Iraq. Even more misleading was the river of intelligence that flowed from the CIA to top policymakers over long periods of time—in the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) and in its more widely distributed companion, the Senior Executive Intelligence Brief (SEIB). These daily reports were, if anything, more alarmist and less nuanced than the NIE. It was not that the intelligence was markedly different. Rather, it was that the PDBs and SEIBs, with their attention-grabbing headlines and drumbeat of repetition, left an impression of many corroborating reports where in fact there were very few sources. And in other instances, intelligence suggesting the existence of weapons programs was conveyed to senior policymakers, but later information casting doubt upon the validity of that intelligence was not. In ways both subtle and not so subtle, the daily reports seemed to be “selling” intelligence—in order to keep its customers, or at least the First Customer, interested." Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, Report to the President of the United States (“The WMD Commission Report”), March 31, 2005 Page 14 "I wasn't so sure about the al Qaeda connection. But I had heard enough to know that Saddam Hussein, with his stockpiles of nerve gas and death-dealing chemicals, is more of a menace than I had thought. I'm not ready for war yet. But Colin Powell has convinced me that it might be the only way to stop a fiend, and that if we do go, there is reason." Mary McGrory, “I’m Persuaded,” Washington Post, February 6, 2003 "Having identified and articulated those enormous stakes, can Bush and Blair leave the decision about Iraq's fate solely in the hands of Hans Blix, a studious, by-the-book Swedish treaty lawyer who failed to detect Saddam Hussein's nuclear program the first time around? Did George W. Bush become president to have that happen? The prospect boggles the mind and chills the blood." Jim Hoagi Hurdles in the Hunt for Weapons,” Washington Post, November 28, 2002 Lally Weymouth, “Same Old Saddam,” Washington Post, November 14, 1997 "Mr Russert: There's an article in The New Yorker magazine by Jeffrey Goldberg which connects Iraq and Saddam Hussein with al-Qaida. What can you tell me about it? VICE PRES. CHENEY: I've read the article. It's a devastating article I thought. Specifically, its description of what happened in 1988 when Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against the Kurds in northern Iraq, against some his own people… With respect to the connections to al-Qaida, we haven't been able to pin down any connection there. I read this report with interest after our interview last fall. We discovered, and it's since been public, the allegation that one of the lead hijackers, Mohamed Atta, had, in fact, met with Iraqi intelligence in Prague, but we've not been able yet from our perspective to nail down a close tie between the al-Qaida organization and Saddam Hussein. We'll continue to look for it." Dick Cheney, Meet the Press, NBC, March 24, 2002 "Iraqi dissidents agree that Iraq’s programs to build weapons of mass destruction are focussed on Israel. “Israel is the whole game,” Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, told me. “Saddam is always saying publicly, ‘Who is going to fire the fortieth missile?’ “—a reference to the thirty-nine Scud missiles he fired at Israel during the Gulf War. “He thinks he can kill one hundred thousand Israelis in a day with biological weapons.” Chalabi added" The Great Terror,” New Yorker, March 17, 2002 Jason Burke, “The Missing Link?,” Guardian, February 8, 2003 "Bush has failed to present the current war and its impending new Iraqi front in terms of a democratic struggle against totalitarianism. He has failed to discuss in any serious way the moral aspect of the war, has failed to present the war as an act of solidarity with horribly oppressed Iraqis and other victims of Muslim fascism, has failed to show the humanitarian aspect of the war, has failed to present the war in the light of the long history of anti-totalitarianism." Paul Berman, “Why Germany Isn’t Convinced,” Slate, February 14, 2003 Judith Miller and Michael Gordon, “Threats and Responses: The Iraqis; U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest for A-Bomb Parts,” New York Times, September 8, 2002 Elisabeth Bumiller, “Traces of Terror: The Strategy; Bush Aides Set Strategy to Sell Policy on Iraq,” New York Times, September 7, 2002 The Biggest Secret: James Risen on Life as a NY Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror STORY JANUARY 05, 2018 Democracy Now Charles Duelfer, Iraq Survey Group, “Regime Strategic Intent: Sorting Out Whether Iraq Had WMD Before Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq’s WMD, September 30, 2004 Nick Thorpe, “3,000 Iraqi Exiles to Train at U.S. Base in Hungary for Secret Role in War,” Guardian, January 16, 2003 "Sen. CARL LEVIN (D), Michigan: General Shinseki, could you give us some idea as to the magnitude of the Army's force requirement for an occupation of Iraq, following a successful completion of the war? Gen. ERIC SHINSEKI, Army Chief of Staff, '98-'03: In specific numbers, I would have to rely on combatant commander's exact requirements. But I think-- Sen. CARL LEVIN: How about a range? Gen. ERIC SHINSEKI: I would say that what's been mobilized to this point, something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers, are probably, a-- you know, figure that would be required. We're talking about post-hostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so it takes significant ground force presence" The Invasion of Iraq,” PBS Frontline, May 9, 2004, transcript If I might digress for a moment, Mr. Chairman, from my prepared testimony, because there has been a good deal of comment--some of it quit outlandish--about what our postwar requirements might be in Iraq. That great Yankee catcher and occasional philosopher, Yogi Berra, once observed that it is dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future. That piece of wise advice certainly applies to predictions about wars and their aftermath, and I am reluctant to try to predict anything about what the cost of a possible conflict in Iraq would be--what the possible cost of reconstructing and stabilizing that country afterwards might be. But some of the higher-end predictions that we have been hearing recently, such as the notion that it will take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq, are wildly off the mark." Paul Wolfowitz, testimony, Hearing Before the Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, February 27, 2003 "On the other side, we can't be sure that the Iraqi people will welcome us as liberators, although based on what Iraqi-Americans told me in Detroit a week ago, many of them, most of them with families in Iraq, I am reasonably certain that they will greet us as liberators, and that will help us to keep requirements down" Paul Wolfowitz, testimony, Hearing Before the Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, February 27, 2003 "You know, in the very week that we negotiated with Turkey, the administration also told the Governors there wasn't any more money for education and health care… So I would recommend to the Governors that they may want to hire the person that has been negotiating for Turkey on their behalf, because he has done a very good job." Paul Wolfowitz, testimony, Hearing Before the Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, February 27, 2003 "But Saddam Hussein is -- he's treated the demands of the world as a joke up to now, and it was his choice to make. He's the person who gets to decide war and peace." George W. Bush, “President Bush: This Is a Defining Moment for the UN Security Council,” White House, February 7, 2003 "The inspections are not working. Dribbling out of a warhead here, a missile there, may give the appearance of disarmament, but it is not reducing Saddam's capabilities." White House, “Global Message on Iraq,” statement, March 6, 2003 "He's a master at deception. He has no intention of disarming -- otherwise, we would have known. There's a lot of talk about inspectors. It really would have taken a handful of inspectors to determine whether he was disarming -- they could have showed up at a parking lot and he could have brought his weapons and destroyed them. That's not what he chose to do." White House, “President George Bush Discusses Iraq in National Press Conference,” news release transcript, March 6, 2003 George W. Bush, “President Says ‘It is a Moment of Truth’ for UN,” White House, February 9, 2003 Sean Loughlin, “House Cafeterias Change Names for ‘French’ Fries and ‘French’ Toast,” CNN, March 12, 2003 "But the reported remarks of one of his ministers last week comparing President Bush's tactics with those of Hitler turned annoyance to outrage. It is no exaggeration to say that relations between the Germany and the US are at their lowest ebb since the foundation of the federal republic after the second world war. The president, who conceives of diplomacy in a very personal way, is understood to be furious. He pointedly omitted to congratulate Schröder on his victory and his security adviser, Condoleeza Rice, has said that relations between the two countries have been "poisoned"" John Hooper, “U.S.-German Relations Strained over Iraq,” Guardian, September 24, 2002 "The survey results also show that an overwhelming 81% of British voters now agree with the international development secretary, Clare Short, that a fresh United Nations mandate is essential before a military attack is launched on Saddam Hussein." Alan Travis, “Support for War Falls to New Low,” Guardian, January 21, 2003 "The most recently published opinion poll on attitudes to war, by the state's own official pollsters, showed 91% opposition" Giles Tremlett and Sophie Arie, “Aznar Faces 91% Opposition to War,” Guardian, March 28, 2003 Ginger Thompson and Clifford Krauss, “Threats and Responses: Security Council; Antiwar Fever Puts Mexico in Quandary on Iraq Vote,” New York Times, February 28, 2003 "Saddam Hussein can leave the country, if he's interested in peace. You see, the decision is his to make. And it's been his to make all along as to whether or not there's the use of the military. He got to decide whether he was going to disarm, and he didn't. He can decide whether he wants to leave the country. These are his decisions to make. And thus far he has made bad decisions." White House, “President Bush: Monday ‘Moment of Truth’ for World on Iraq,” news release transcript, March 16, 2003 "my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. (Applause.) And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country." White House, “President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended,” news release transcript, May 1, 2003 Judith Miller, “Aftereffects: The Hunt for Evidence; Trailer Is a Mobile Lab Capable of Turning Out Bioweapons, a Team Says,” New York Times, May 11, 2003 "Q But, still, those countries who didn't support the Iraqi Freedom operation use the same argument, weapons of mass destruction haven't been found. So what argument will you use now to justify this war? THE PRESIDENT: We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories. You remember when Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said, Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons. They're illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two. And we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." White House, “Interview of the President by TVP, Poland,” news release transcript, May 29, 2003 Central Intelligence Agency, Iraqi Mobile Biological Warfare Agent Production Plants, May 28, 2003 James Risen, “The Struggle for Iraq: Intelligence; Ex-Inspector Says CIA Missed Disarray in Iraqi Arms Program,” New York Times, January 26, 2004 "But the orders had a psychological impact I did not foresee. Many Sunnis took them as a signal they would have no place in Iraq's future. This was especially dangerous in the case of the army. Thousands of armed men had just been told they were not wanted. Instead of sign- ing up for the new military, many joined the insurgency. In retrospect, I should have insisted on more debate on Jerry’s orders, especially on what message disbanding the army would send and how many Sunnis the de-Baathification would affect. Overseen by longtime exile Ahmed [sic] Chalabi, the de-Baathification program turned out to cut much deeper than we expected, including mid-level party members like teachers.” George W. Bush, Decision Points (New York: Crown, 2010) Page 259 Dexter Filkins and Ian Fisher, “The Struggle for Iraq: Ransacking; Iraqis and G.I.’s Raid the Offices of an Ex-Favorite,” New York Times, May 21, 2004 "Let me begin by saying, we were almost all wrong, and I certainly include myself here. Sen. [Edward] Kennedy knows very directly. Senator Kennedy and I talked on several occasions prior to the war that my view was that the best evidence that I had seen was that Iraq indeed had weapons of mass destruction. I would also point out that many governments that chose not to support this war -- certainly, the French president, [Jacques] Chirac, as I recall in April of last year, referred to Iraq's possession of WMD. The Germans certainly -- the intelligence service believed that there were WMD. It turns out that we were all wrong, probably in my judgment, and that is most disturbing" David Kay, statement at Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, January 28, 2004 CNN Transcript: David Kay at Senate hearing "These assessments were all wrong. This became clear as U.S. forces searched without success for the WMD that the Intelligence Community had predicted. Extensive post-war investigations were carried out by the Iraq Survey Group (ISG). The ISG found no evidence that Iraq had tried to reconstitute its capability to produce nuclear weapons after 1991; no evidence of BW agent stockpiles or of mobile biological weapons production facilities; and no substantial chemical warfare (CW) stockpiles or credible indications that Baghdad had resumed production of CW after 1991. Just about the only thing that the Intelligence Community got right was its pre-war conclusion that Iraq had deployed missiles with ranges exceeding United Nations limitations" REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT, MARCH 31, 2005 (Similar to references in book) "In the summer and fall of 2003, the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) investigated whether Iraq had a mobile biological weapons program as part of its overall investigation into Iraq’s WMD capabilities. The primary focus was investigating sites and individuals identified by CURVE BALL and later, CURVE BALL himself. The ISG located and debriefed over sixty individuals who could have been involved in a mobile program, were linked to suspect sites, or to CURVE BALL. Many of the individuals corroborated some of the reporting on personnel and some legitimate activities CURVE BALL claimed were cover activities, but none provided evidence to substantiate the claim of a mobile BW program. Inspections of the facilities CURVE BALL had described also did not support his story. A CIA assessment dated May 26, 2004 states that “investigations since the war in Iraq and debriefings of the key source indicate he lied about his access to a mobile BW production project. The CIA and DIA jointly issued a congressional notification in June 2004 noting that CURVE BALL was assessed to have fabricated his claimed access to a mobile BW production project and that his reporting had been recalled." Senate Committee on Intelligence, Use by the Intelligence Committee of Information Provided by the Iraqi National Congress, S. Rep. 109-330, September 8, 2006 Page 106-107 (Similar theme in book) Donald Rumsfeld Known Unknowns Unverified Sources “liberate ourselves, our friends and allies in the region, and the Iraqi people themselves, from the menace of Saddam Hussein." Paul Wolfowitz, statement at House National Security Committee Hearings on Iraq, September 16, 1998 “Why is it that terrorists want to go after Americans? Because we are always dropping bombs on people and telling people what to do; because we are the policemen. We pretend to be the arbitrator of every argument in the world, even those that have existed for 1,000 years. It is a failed, flawed policy" Ron Paul, remarks in the House, Congressional Record, October 5, 1998, H9489 Carl Ford to Richard Armitage,“Niger—Sale of Uranium to Iraq Is Unlikely,” State Department INR memo, March 1, 2002 Nigerian Denial of Uranium Yellowcake Sales to Rogue States,” CIA cable, March 8, 2002 Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Mobile BW Source Deemed Unreliable,” redacted memo, May 26, 2004

In todays video, I spoke to Stephen Zunes about Joe Biden's role in the Iraq war, his rewriting of history and his following years. Stephen opposed the war and wrote many articles against the war at the time. From this experience, Stephen is able to break down just how influential Biden was in making the Iraq war happen. He did not only just vote for the Iraq war, when many democrats did not, he was the Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time. This meant he could of used his position to prevent the war, but instead he strongly supported it. In recent years, Biden has tried to rewrite his position on the Iraq war and Stephen breaks down these lies. Bio Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as coordinator of the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Recognized as one the country’s leading scholars of U.S. Middle East policy and of strategic nonviolent action, Professor Zunes serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/dave-decamp-on-nordstream-kakhovka-dam-ukraine-us-korean-tensions-china Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Stephen Zunes Links Website - http://stephenzunes.org/ Books Twitter - https://twitter.com/SZunes?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor - @SZunes Books The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America's Soldiers by by Joseph Hickman 16 Feb. 2016 Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution by Stephen Zunes Show Notes WORTH THE PRICE? Joe Biden and the Launch of the Iraq War The Real News Network - Short Doc (Stephen Features) Joe Biden Was Instrumental in Launching the Iraq War The Real News Network Western Saraha JOINT DECLARATION The Kingdom of Morocco, the United States of America and the State of Israel Proclamation on Recognizing The Sovereignty Of The Kingdom Of Morocco Over The Western Sahara 2020 Gen. Mark Milley in Syria to Support U.S. Troops WSJ Gordon Lubold March 4, 2023 Israel 6 Day War- Occupied Territories Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory illegal: UN rights commission Palestinian women walk by Israel's barrier near Ramallah in the West Bank. IRIN/Shabtai Gold Palestinian women walk by Israel's barrier near Ramallah in the West Bank UN 20 October 2022 Roll Call Vote 102nd Congress - 1st Session 1991 Gulf War Vote Where Biden Is (and Isn’t) Turning Back Trump’s Israel Policies NYT By Giovanni Russonello May 17, 2021 Nuclear weapons at a glance: Israel Research Briefing Published Thursday, 28 July, 2022 UK Parliament Pope condemns any war on Iraq Monday, January 13, 2003 CNN United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Washington, D.C. November 13, 2002 JULY 31, 2002 U.S. Military Action Against Iraq, Day 1 Joe Biden Chairman AUGUST 1, 2002 U.S. Military Action Against Iraq, Day 2 Joe Biden Chairman The Case Against War A rebuttal to eight arguments put forward by proponents of an invasion of Iraq STEPHEN ZUNES The Nation SEPTEMBER 12, 2002 Stephen Zunes Articles Against The Iraq War (At The Time) Roll Call Vote 107th Congress - 2nd Session XMLVote Summary Question: On the Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114 ) October 11, 2002 Passed the Senate on October 11, 2002 (77–23) To Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq House Passed the House on October 10, 2002 (296–133) Transcript: Obama's Speech Against The Iraq War January 20, 2009 2002 Barack Obama Interview: Against Iraq Obama's 2002 Speech Against the War, Delivered by Supporters Sir Tony Blair knighthood: More than one million sign Change.org petition calling for ex-prime minister to have honour removed There is opposition to Sir Tony Blair's appointment as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter due to his record while in 10 Downing Street, including the 2003 military invasion of Iraq By Greg Heffer, political reporter Saturday 8 January 2022 Sky H.J.Res.114 - Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 107th Congress (2001-2002) Fact check: Biden again dishonestly suggests he opposed the Iraq War from the beginning By Daniel Dale January 6, 2020 CNN 15 FEBRUARY 2003 On 15 February 2003, anti-war rallies took place across the globe – the largest occurring in Rome, Italy where a crowd of 3 million gathered to protest the USA’s threat to invade Iraq. Police figures report that millions more demonstrated in nearly 600 cities worldwide - Guiness World Records 22 March, 2003, 20:47 BBC Anti-war protests span the globe France and Germany unite against Iraq war Staff and agencies Wed 22 Jan 2003 The Guardian Biden addresses possible link between son’s fatal brain cancer and toxic military burn pits Health Jan 10, 2018 PBS Biden administration authorizes $2.5 billion in arms sales to Egypt despite human rights concerns Jennifer Hansler By Jennifer Hansler, CNN January 25, 2022 Saudi Crown Prince Is Held Responsible for Khashoggi Killing in U.S. Report But the Biden administration stopped short of directly penalizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calculating that the risk of damaging American interests was too great By Julian E. Barnes and David E. Sanger Feb. 26, 2021 NYT Cluster bombs: Biden defends decision to send Ukraine controversial weapons BBC 8th July 2023 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 Nearly 3/4 of the World’s Dictators Receive US Weapons and Military Assistance BY MATTHEW HOH Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Addresses Media in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 7, 2023 March 7, 2023 Pentagon chief, on surprise trip, says US troops to stay in Iraq In Baghdad, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledges continued US troop presence in fight against ISIL Al-Jazeera Western Sahara profile Published 31 January 2023 BBC Biden campaign, Blinken orchestrated intel letter to discredit Hunter Biden laptop story, ex-CIA official says April 21, 2023 In The News Brooke Singman House Gov Antony Blinken: ‘Spies who lie’ letter ‘wasn’t my idea, didn’t ask for it’ — still refuses to call Hunter laptop real By Steven Nelson May 1, 2023 NY Post Scott Horton Stephen Zunes Interviews

Dave Decamp returned to the program for the 2nd time, this time to discuss the developments in Ukraine in more detail. We discussed the ongoing reports about the Nordstream story, the Kakhovka Dam, Western escalations and Russia's response. We also spoke about Ukraine's counter-offensive, US-South Korean provocations towards North Korea, ongoing tensions with China and signs the US is isolated in Europe towards China. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/matthew-hoh-talks-about-the-struggles-of-veteran-hood-treatment-of-veterans-common-problems Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Daves Links https://www.youtube.com/@antiwarnews/videos AntiWar.com https://twitter.com/DecampDave https://original.antiwar.com/author/Dave_DeCamp/ Show Notes https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/interview-with-dave-de-camp-syria-the-war-on-terror-and-ukraine Ex-CIA director says Russia is 'most likely suspect' for alleged Nord Stream sabotage Natalie Musumeci Sep 29, 2022 Business Insider European security officials observed Russian Navy ships in vicinity of Nord Stream pipeline leaks Katie Bo Lillis Natasha Bertrand Kylie Atwood By Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand and Kylie Atwood, CNN September 29, 2022 How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now SEYMOUR HERSH FEB 8, 2023 THE COVER-UP The Biden Administration continues to conceal its responsibility for the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines SEYMOUR HERSH MAR 22, 2023 Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Pipelines, U.S. Officials Say By Adam Entous, Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman March 7, 2023 NYT U.S. had intelligence of detailed Ukrainian plan to attack Nord Stream pipeline THE DISCORD LEAKS | The CIA learned last June, via a European spy agency, that a six-person team of Ukrainian special operations forces intended to sabotage the Russia-to-Germany natural gas project By Shane Harris and Souad Mekhennet June 6, 2023 WAPO Dutch intelligence warned CIA about alleged Ukrainian plot to attack Nord Stream pipelines, Netherlands’ public broadcaster reports Mick Krever Alex Marquardt Sarah Dean Sugam Pokharel By Mick Krever, Alex Marquardt, Sarah Dean and Sugam Pokharel, CNN Tue June 13, 2023 U.S. Warned Ukraine Not to Attack Nord Stream CIA pressed Kyiv weeks before explosions sabotaged the natural-gas pipelines bringing Russian gas to Europe By Bojan Pancevski Follow , Drew Hinshaw Follow , Joe Parkinson Follow and Warren P. Strobel Follow Updated June 14, 2023 WSJ "Europe itself has taken very significant steps to both decrease demand but also look at ways to pursue the transition to renewables at the same time. And ultimately this is also a tremendous opportunity. It’s a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs. That’s very significant and that offers tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come, but meanwhile, we’re determined to do everything we possibly can to make sure that the consequences of all of this are not borne by citizens in our countries or, for that matter, around the world." Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly At a Joint Press Availability REMARKS ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ROOM WASHINGTON, D.C. SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 Nord Stream 1: Gazprom announces indefinite shutdown of pipeline Norway, Poland open new gas pipeline amid Nord Stream leaks France 24 27/09/2022 H.R.4346 - Chips and Science Act 117th Congress (2021-2022) - AUGUST 09, 2022 FACT SHEET: CHIPS and Science Act Will Lower Costs, Create Jobs, Strengthen Supply Chains, and Counter China White House JUNE 06, 2023 Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby Why the Evidence Suggests Russia Blew Up the Kakhovka Dam A dam in Ukraine was designed to withstand almost any attack imaginable — from the outside. The evidence suggests Russia blew it up from within. By James Glanz, Marc Santora, Pablo Robles, Haley Willis, Lauren Leatherby, Christoph Koettl and Dmitriy KhavinJune 16, 2023 NYT "Kovalchuk considered flooding the river. The Ukrainians, he said, even conducted a test strike with a HIMARS launcher on one of the floodgates at the Nova Kakhovka dam, making three holes in the metal to see if the Dnieper’s water could be raised enough to stymie Russian crossings but not flood nearby villages. The test was a success, Kovalchuk said, but the step remained a last resort. He held off." Inside the Ukrainian counteroffensive that shocked Putin and reshaped the war By Isabelle Khurshudyan, Paul Sonne, Serhiy Morgunov and Kamila Hrabchuk December 29, 2022 WAPO Conflicts of Interest: Ukraine Plotted to Destroy Dam Months Before Its Destruction by Conflicts of Interest Posted onJune 14, 2023 On COI #431, Kyle Anzalone covers the destruction of The Nova Kakhovka Dam U.S. to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, in major reversal The tanks won’t arrive in Ukraine for many months. Biden announces U.S. will send Abrams tanks to Ukraine Politico By LARA SELIGMAN 01/25/2023 US dismisses Polish plan to provide fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine Pentagon says plan for Poles to give Soviet-era jets to US ‘not tenable’ as Ukraine cities await promised Russian ceasefire Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates Julian Borger in Washington and Patrick Wintour in London Wed 9 Mar 2022 The Guardian Slovakia joins fellow NATO member Poland in sending fighter jets to Ukraine Updated March 17, 2023 NPR US signals to allies it won’t block their export of F-16 jets to Ukraine Natasha Bertrand Kylie Atwood Oren Liebermann By Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood and Oren Liebermann, CNN May 19, 2023 Exclusive: Ukraine has cultivated sabotage agents inside Russia and is giving them drones to stage attacks, sources say Natasha Bertrand Zachary Cohen Kylie Atwood By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen and Kylie Atwood, CNN June 5, 2023 Militias used US armoured vehicles in attack over Russian border on twitter (opens in a new window) Militias used US armoured vehicles in attack over Russian border on facebook (opens in a new window) Militias used US armoured vehicles in attack over Russian border on linkedin (opens in a new window) Save current progress Christopher Miller in Kyiv, Felicia Schwartz in Washington and Polina Ivanova in Berlin MAY 23 2023 FT Minister backs Ukraine carrying out Russia strikes with British weapons Tue 26 Apr 2022 The Guardian U.S. Set to Approve Depleted-Uranium Tank Rounds for Ukraine The armor-piercing ammunition has raised concerns over health and environmental effects By Michael R. GordonFollow and Gordon LuboldFollow June 13, 2023 Nuclear Weapons in Europe: Mapping U.S. and Russian Deployments By Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow March 30, 2023 The CFR U.S. doubts Ukraine counteroffensive will yield big gains, leaked document says It’s a marked departure from the Biden administration’s public pronouncements about the vitality of Ukraine’s army and is likely to embolden critics calling for negotiations to end the war By Alex Horton, John Hudson, Isabelle Khurshudyan and Samuel Oakford April 10, 2023 WAPO Washington Post: Leaked document reveals US doubts about Ukraine's counteroffensive Share Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share via Email by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 11, 2023 France ‘backs Ukraine’s Nato bid’ to pressure Russia into peace talks Emmanuel Macron, the French president, reportedly hopes the about-turn in policy could help end the war By Henry Samuel IN PARIS 20 June 2023 The Telegraph America Still Leads the World, But Its Allies Are Uneasy In the global struggle between the Eurasian “Heartland” and the US-led "Rimland," there's trouble ahead. Goodbye to all that? Goodbye to all that?Photographer: Stefan Rousseau/Getty Images ByNiall Ferguson June 18, 2023 Bloomberg Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 On 21 to 22 June 2023, the UK and Ukraine jointly hosted the international Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2023) in London. Organisations: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office South Korea and US begin largest war games in years amid North threats Protesters stage a rally to oppose the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 22, 2022. By Euronews with AP • Updated: 22/08/2022 North Korea fired more than 100 artillery rounds - South military Reuters November 2, 2022 Reuters A US nuclear-powered sub arrives in South Korea, a day after North Korea resumes its missile tests BY HYUNG-JIN KIM AND KIM TONG-HYUNG Published 4:51 AM BST, June 16, 2023 AP DOD BASE STRUCTURE REPORT - FISCAL YEAR 2015 BASELINE - 587 admitted overseas bases Page 7 Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America’s followers,’ says Macron The ‘great risk’ Europe faces is getting ‘caught up in crises that are not ours,’ French president says in interview BY JAMIL ANDERLINI AND CLEA CAULCUTT APRIL 9, 2023 Politico We don’t want to decouple from China, but can’t be overreliant Germany will seek cooperation where it lies in our mutual interest, but we will not ignore controversies either BY OLAF SCHOLZ NOVEMBER 3, 2022 Politico Clips Biden: No Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Victoria Nuland Nordstream FIRESIDE CHAT with Hon. Robert C. O’Brien at the 2023 Global Security Forum Global Security Forum - Min 11 Seth Moulton Milken Institute Clip - Full Video 2023 GLOBAL CONFERENCE The United States and China: Navigating Strategic Competition (Invite only) Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Beverly Hilton - International Ballroom Min 35

Matthew Hoh returned to the show for the 5th time, this time for a conversation about Veteran Hood. We spoke about Matt's own personal struggles, general treatment of Veterans in the US, common reasons and struggles for post war veterans. Matt was of course involved in both Iraq and Afghanistan, so he has personal insight into the subject, which we discuss throughout the episode. I hope this video was helpful if you are a veteran, or if you are close to one. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/syria-foreign-arms-terrorists-syria-today-an-interview-with-vanessa-beeley Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Bio - Matthew has been a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy since 2010. In 2009, Matthew resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan with the State Department over the American escalation of the war. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, Matthew took part in the American occupation of Iraq; first in 2004-5 in Salah ad Din Province with a State Department reconstruction and governance team and then in 2006-7 in Anbar Province as a Marine Corps company commander. When not deployed, Matthew worked on Afghanistan and Iraq war policy and operations issues at the Pentagon and State Department from 2002-8. - Center for International Policy | Matthew Hoh Matt's Links Eisenhower Media Network - https://eisenhowermedianetwork.org/experts/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MatthewPHoh Substack - https://matthewhoh.substack.com/ Matt's Recommended Articles NOVEMBER 8, 2019 And the Armies That Remained Suffer’d: Veterans, Moral Injury and Suicide BY MATTHEW HOH JULY 9, 2021 Was it Just? America and Her Suicidal Combat Veterans BY MATTHEW HOH Show Notes The U.S. Should Be a Force for Peace in the World Eisenhower Media Network NYT Ukraine JUNE 9, 2023 A War Long Wanted: Diplomatic Malpractice in Ukraine BY MATTHEW HOH Counter Punch "A new partnership of nations has begun, and we stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a new world order -- can emerge: A new era -- freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, east and west, north and south, can prosper and live in harmony." Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit 1990-09-11 speech, Toward A New World Order - CSPAN Clip "It was also interesting to confirm that President Carter gave the Iraqis a green light to launch the war against Iran through Fahd.” Talking Points, State Department, "Talking Points" [for Alexander Haig meeting with Ronald Reagan], Top Secret/Sensitive, circa April 1981 "Mr Kelly: We have no defense treaty relationship with any Gulf country. That is clear. We support the security and independence of friendly states in the region. Ever since the Truman administration, we have maintained Naval forces in the Gulf because of our interest in stability in that region. We are calling for a peaceful resolution of any differences in that area and we hope and trust and believe that the sovereignty of every state in the Gulf ought to be respected. Mr. HAMILTION: Do we have a commitment to our friends in the Gulf in the event that they are engaged in oil or territorial disputes with their neighbors ? Mr. KELLY: As I said, Mr. Chairman, we have no defense treaty relationships with any of the countries. We have historically avoided taking a position on border disputes or on internal OPEC deliberations, but we have certainly, as have all administrations, resoundingly called for the peaceful settlement of disputes and differences in the area. Mr. HAMILTON: If Iraq, for example, charged across the border into Kuwait, for whatever reason, what would be our position with regard to the use of U.S. forces ? Mr. KELLY: That, Mr. Chairman, is a hypothetical or a contingency, the kind of which I can't get into. Suffice it to say we would be extremely concerned, but I cannot get into the realm of '' what if answers. Mr. HAMILTON: In that circumstance, it is correct to say, however, that we do not have a treaty commitment which would obligate us to engage U.S. forces ? Mr. KELLY: That is correct. Mr. HAMILTON: That is correct, is it not ? Mr. KELLY: That is correct , sir ..” Developments in the Middle East, July 1990: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, Second Session, July 31, 1990, Volume 4 Page 14 Monroe Doctrine Nayirah testimony Russel Company Opium Forbes Family Opium Wars "Warhorse" Soldiers participate in Military Salute to Service; attend Denver Bronco game By (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Andrew Porch, 2nd BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.) Army Mill November 20, 2012 President Obama claims rise of Isis is 'unintended consequence' of George W. Bush’s invasion in Iraq Mr Obama says rise is an example of 'why we should aim before we shoot' Heather Saul Wednesday 18 March 2015 The Independent President Barack Obama Speaks With VICE News VICE News 16 March 2015 Min 12 Unethical human experimentation in the United States More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation Give this article By David S. Cloud and Eric Schmitt April 14, 2006 NYT Eric Shinseki Veteran Affairs Budget NATIONAL VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION ANNUAL REPORT VA Suicide Prevention 2022 Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention September 2022 Page 5 ‘A Poison in the System’: The Epidemic of Military Sexual Assault Nearly one in four U.S. servicewomen reports being sexually assaulted in the military. Why has it been so difficult to change the culture? NYT By Melinda Wenner Moyer Published Aug. 3, 2021 A review of post-traumatic stress disorder. Part I: Historical development and classification NIH Survey: Veterans say Afghanistan, Iraq wars not worth it Moni Basu, CNN October 5, 2011 JULY 10, 2019 Majorities of U.S. veterans, public say the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting BY RUTH IGIELNIK AND KIM PARKER AT WAR WITH THE TRUTH U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it, an exclusive Post investigation found. By Craig Whitlock Dec. 9, 2019

In todays video, I spoke to Vanessa Beeley, an independent journalist who has covered the Middle East for the last decade and most specifically Syria. We spoke about the foreign interference in the so called "Syrian civil war", the Western/Gulf armed foreign terrorists and the constant rebranding of these groups in the media. We also discussed the current state of Syria, the occupations, sanctions and the reemergence of Syria on the international stage, with the normalising of relations in the Arab League. Vanessa is the daughter of former British diplomat Harold Beeley and has lived in Syria for the last 4 years and reported on the ground in Syria, during the conflict. Bio Vanessa Beeley is an independent journalist and photographer who has worked extensively in the Middle East - on the ground in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Palestine, while also covering the conflict in Yemen since 2015. In 2017 Vanessa was a finalist for the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism which was won by the much-acclaimed Robert Parry that year. In 2018 Vanessa was named one of the 238 most respected journalists in the UK by the British National Council for the Training of Journalists. In 2019, Vanessa was among recipients of the Serena Shim Award for uncompromised integrity in journalism. Vanessa contributes regularly to Mint Press News, Russia Today, UK Column, The Last American Vagabond, and many other independent media outlets. Please support her work at her Patreon account. https://www.patreon.com/vanessabeeley Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/bilderberg-the-elitist-3-day-secret-trans-atlantic-meeting-an-interview-with-charlie-skelton https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Vanessa Beeley's Links Twitter - https://twitter.com/VanessaBeeley Substack - https://beeley.substack.com/ Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@vanessabeeley1268 Show Notes Network of Syria conspiracy theorists identified – study This article is more than 11 months old Campaign disseminating disinformation sent thousands of tweets, often targeting the White Helmets, research finds Mark Townsend The Guardian Sun 19 Jun 2022 75 Years & Counting: A History of Western Regime Change in Syria Part Off Guardian Vanessa Beeley First Syrian Republic SYRIA: 40 LINKS THAT PROVE REGIME CHANGE PLANS U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition groups, cables released by WikiLeaks show Syrian anti-government protesters march in Banias, Syria on Sunday. The Arabic banner at center reads: "All of us would die for our country.” The Washington Post By Craig Whitlock April 17, 2011 "AQI supported the Syrian opposition from the beginning, ideologically and through the media.. AQI conducted a number of operations in several Syrian cities under the name Al Nusra, one of its affiliates… If the situation unravels there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria. And this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want in order to isolate the Syrian regime" Department of Defense, ‘Information Report 14-L-0552/DIA), August 2012 Judicial Watch Page 3 "former DIA chief Michael Flynn – who had been in the post at the time the report was circulated in 2012 and remained there until 2014 – quite remarkably not only confirmed in a July 2015 Al-Jazeera interview that the report had crossed his desk but also explained that he ‘paid very close attention... the intelligence was very clear.’ When asked if the US government’s decision to ignore the intelligence was deliberate or accidental he then stated: ‘I don’t know that they turned a blind eye, I think it was a decision. I think it was a wilful decision.’ As if this was not enough, when the incredulous interviewer asked Flynn to clarify whether he meant there was a decision in the US government knowingly to support such extremist groups, the former DIA chief doubled down by confirming ‘it was a wilful decision to do what they’re doing.’ Moreover, when he was then asked why he did not try to stop arms transfers to the Salafist principality while in office he replied: ‘I hate to say this... but it’s not my job" Al-Jazeera, ‘Head to Head: Who is to blame for the rise of ISIL?’, 29 July 2015 Michael T Flynn, the former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, on how to deal with ISIL and Iran (interview minute 11-13) Syria intervention plan fueled by oil interests, not chemical weapon concern This article is more than 9 years old Nafeez Ahmed Massacres of civilians are being exploited for narrow geopolitical competition to control Mideast oil, gas pipelines Fri 30 Aug 2013 The Guardian News World August 09 2013 11:07:05 Moscow rejects Saudi offer to drop Assad for arms deal BEIRUT - Agence France-Presse The Revolution Business by Journeyman - Documentary Comparing Assad To Hitler, Turkey's Prime Minister Calls On Him To Resign November 22, 2011 NPR 'Assad has now joined Hitler and Hussein': AP REPORTER PUBLISHED: 15:30, 1 September 2013 The Daily Mail MARCH 17, 2015 Reuters Turkish PM says negotiating with Assad like shaking hands with Hitler By Reuters Staff Assad, like Hitler, would manipulate elections The Obama administration’s Syria policy has gone from farce to tragedy and now back to farce. By RAFAEL MEDOFF The Jeruselem Post OCTOBER 5, 2016 Sean Spicer Raises Outcry With Talk of Hitler, Assad and Poison Gas NYT By Nicholas Fandos and Mark Landler April 11, 2017 The VETO Documentary Vanessa Beeley Leaked telephone call between Nuland and Pyatt, the then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John McCain tells Ukraine protesters: 'We are here to support your just cause' The Guardian Sun 15 Dec 2013 NPR 'World Is Watching,' U.S. Diplomat Tells Ukraine December 11, 2013 US used Nazis as Cold War spies Published 28 October 2014 REVEALED: TONY BLAIR’S EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO COURT SYRIA’S DICTATORS Declassified obtains briefing notes for prime minister Tony Blair’s visit to meet president Bashar al-Assad in October 2001, the first trip by a British premier to Syria in history, as the UK sought to woo the Assad regime. MATT KENNARD 29 OCTOBER 2021 Declassified UK Assad close to being knighted under Blair Dipesh Gadher Sunday July 01 2012 The Times "He said Americans ″are held in direct contravention of international law. Many of them reportedly staked out as human shields near possible military targets, brutality that I don’t believe Adolf Hitler ever participated in anything of that nature."" Bush Says Saddam Even Worse Than Hitler TOM RAUM AP News November 1, 1990 CFA Franc Americans, Need Help in Syria? Call the Czechs. Prague parlays its unique position in Syria into being America's protecting power. By Emily Tamkin AUGUST 4, 2017 Foreign Policy Magazine Who's Funding ISIS? Wealthy Gulf 'Angel Investors,' Officials Say 'Angel investors' from the Gulf continue to provide money to the terror group, say officials. Image: ISIL militants driving in vehicles near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit An image from a propaganda video uploaded on June 8 by the jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, AKA ISIL or ISIS, allegedly shows militants driving in vehicles near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. AFP - Sept. 21, 2014 by Robert Windrem NBC News Qatar ‘funnelled millions of dollars to Nusra Front terrorists in Syria’ Andrew Norfolk, Chief Investigative Reporter Friday June 04 2021, 12.01am, The Times The Real Reason to Intervene in Syria Cutting Iran's link to the Mediterranean Sea is a strategic prize worth the risk By James P. Rubin June 4th 2012 Foreign Policy (Bill Clintons Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs) "We asked Lord Richards whether he knew that Abdelhakim Belhadj and other members of the al-Qaeda affiliated Libyan Islamic Fighting Group were participating in the rebellion in March 2011. He replied that that “was a grey area”. He added that “a quorum of respectable Libyans were assuring the Foreign Office” that militant Islamist militias would not benefit from the rebellion. He acknowledged that “with the benefit of hindsight, that was wishful thinking at best.”. The possibility that militant extremist groups would attempt to benefit from the rebellion should not have been the preserve of hindsight. Libyan connections with transnational militant extremist groups were known before 2011, because many Libyans had participated in the Iraq insurgency and in Afghanistan with al-Qaeda." House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK’s future policy options Third Report of Session 2016–17 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 6 September 2016 Page 13 "Instead, Mr. Obama decided to make the rebel training program a “covert action” run by the C.I.A. He signed a secret finding allowing the agency to begin preparing to train and arm small groups of rebels in Jordan, a move that circumvented the legal issues and allowed the White House to officially deny it was giving the lethal aid. Besides the legal worries, there were other concerns driving the decision to make the program a secret. As one former senior administration official put it, “We needed plausible deniability in case the arms got into the hands of Al Nusra.” Obama’s Uncertain Path Amid Syria Bloodshed October 22nd 2013 NYT "Abu Kumayt, a fighter with the Syrian Revolutionaries Front who said he fought in the battle under cover, gave a slightly different version. He said that groups with the antitank missiles fought alongside Nusra fighters and under their command — but that only Nusra and its Islamist ally Ahrar al-Sham were allowed to enter the base when it fell. Nusra, he said, lets groups vetted by the United States keep the appearance of independence, so that they will continue to receive American supplies. His group’s commander, Jamal Maarouf, has been unable to enter Syria since his fighters were driven from their base in Idlib Province this fall. In his house in Reyhanli, near Antakya, he blamed anemic Western support and a mistake that he and other fighters made: They initially welcomed Nusra’s foreign jihadists, believing that they would help bring victory. No F.S.A. faction in the north can operate without Nusra’s approval,” Mr. Maarouf said, adding that the front had either bought or terrorized F.S.A. fighters into compliance. “Nusra cannot cover every area so they still need them. But once they take control, they will confiscate all weapons or oblige those factions to pledge allegiance.”As Syria’s Revolution Sputters, a Chaotic Stalemate December 27th 2014 NYT "From: Jake Sullivan To: Hillary Clinton Date: 2012-02-12 09:01 Subject: SPOT REPORT 02/12/II See last item - AQ is on our side in Syria" UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05789138 Date: 10/30/2015 - Wiki Leaks "The Moderate Face of Al Qaeda” Foreign Affairs How the Group Has Rebranded Itself By Colin P. Clarke October 24, 2017 The Good and Bad of Ahrar Al-Sham: An Al Qaeda-Linked Group Worth Befriending By Michael Doran, William McCants, and Clint Watts January 23, 2014 Accepting Al Qaeda The Enemy of the United States’ Enemy By Barak Mendelsohn March 9th 2015 (CFR Magazine) Hillary Clinton speaks out about US creating the Mujahedeen "Question: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs that the American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahideen in Afghanistan six months before the Soviet intervention. Is this period, you were the national security advisor to President Carter. You therefore played a key role in this affair. Is this correct? Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahiddin began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. But the reality, closely guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention [emphasis added throughout]. Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into the war and looked for a way to provoke it? B: It wasn’t quite like that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would. Q : When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against secret US involvement in Afghanistan , nobody believed them . However, there was an element of truth in this. You don’t regret any of this today? B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, essentially: “We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war." Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war that was unsustainable for the regime , a conflict that bought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire. Q: And neither do you regret having supported Islamic fundamentalism, which has given arms and advice to future terrorists? B : What is more important in world history? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some agitated Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war? Q : “Some agitated Moslems”? But it has been said and repeated: Islamic fundamentalism represents a world menace today... B: Nonsense! It is said that the West has a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid: There isn’t a global Islam. Look at Islam in a rational manner, without demagoguery or emotionalism. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is t h ere in com m on among fundamentalist Saudi Arabia , moderate Morocco, militarist Pakistan, pro-Western Egypt, or secularist Central Asia? Nothing more than what unites the Christian countries…" The Brzezinski Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur (1998), University Of Arizona The strange case of Moazzam Begg Richard Norton-Taylor Tue 7 Oct 2014 The Guardian Terror trial collapses after fears of deep embarrassment to security services Swedish national Bherlin Gildo’s lawyers argued British intelligence agencies were supporting the same Syrian opposition groups as he was Richard Norton-Taylor Mon 1 Jun 2015 The Guardian Kerry in leaked audio: ‘I lost the argument’ for use of force in Syria Elise Labott Ryan Browne By Elise Labott and Ryan Browne, CNN Tue October 4, 2016 "The initial message about the Syrian issue was that we always wanted [President] Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran,” he said. This was the case, he said, even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated to al-Qaida. “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” he said, adding that this designation did not apply to everyone in the Syrian opposition. “Still, the greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc. That is a position we had well before the outbreak of hostilities in Syria. With the outbreak of hostilities we continued to want Assad to go.” 'Israel wanted Assad gone since start of Syria civil war' SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the US Michael Oren told The Jerusalem Post in a parting interview "For Jerusalem, the status quo, horrific as it may be from a humanitarian perspective, seems preferable to either a victory by Mr. Assad’s government and his Iranian backers or a strengthening of rebel groups, increasingly dominated by Sunni jihadis. "This is a playoff situation in which you need both teams to lose, but at least you don’t want one to win — we’ll settle for a tie,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. “Let them both bleed, hemorrhage to death: that’s the strategic thinking here. As long as this lingers, there’s no real threat from Syria.” Israel Backs Limited Strike Against Syria September 5th 2013 NYT "Nusra Front, however, hasn’t bothered Israel since seizing the border area last summer—and some of its severely wounded fighters are regularly taken across the frontier fence to receive treatment in Israeli hospitals… Only about one-third of the Syrians treated in Israel, however, were women and children. An Israeli military official acknowledged that most of the rebels on the other side of the fence belong to Nusra but said that Israel offered medical help to anyone in need, without checking their identity. “We don’t ask who they are, we don’t do any screening…Once the treatment is done, we take them back to the border and they go on their way,” he said." Al Qaeda a Lesser Evil? Syria War Pulls U.S., Israel Apart Mountaintop on edge of Golan Heights illustrates complexities. WSJ March 12th 2015 Nayirah testimony UK military operations in Syria and Iraq - Defence Committee UK Parliament 16 Sept 2016 "Ah yes of course, that must have been why the US initiated *in 2013* its biggest rebel/proxy assistance effort in decades— a program that lasted until mid-2017. The covert program was worth $billions, coordinated with 14+ countries & worked with 80+ FSA groups across #Syria."Charles Lister Tweet James Le Mesurier: White Helmets co-founder died from fall, Turkey says Published 16 December 2019 White Helmets Middle East round-up: Syria rejoins the Arab League Here’s a round-up of Al Jazeera’s By Abubakr Al-Shamahi Published On 11 May 2023 11 May 2023 Turkish occupation of Syria Golan Heights Water H.R.3202 - Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act of 2023 118th Congress (2023-2024 US needs to ‘wake up’ about the threat from China: Marco Rubio Fox News March 30th 2023 Min 2:14 - Marco Rubio Fox De-Dollarization "What my constant cry was that our biggest problem was our allies. Our allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria. The Turks were great friends, and I’ve a great relationship with [Turkish President Recep] Erdoğan, who I’ve just spent a lot of time with, the Saudis, the Emiratis, etc. What were they doing? They were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra, and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world. If you think I’m exaggerating, take a look. Where did all of this go? So now what’s happening? All of a sudden, everybody is awakened because this outfit called ISIL, which was al Qaeda in Iraq, which when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space and territory in eastern Syria, work with al-Nusra, who we declared a terrorist group early on, and we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them. So, what happened? Now, all of a sudden [now that ISIS has taken over western Iraq]—I don’t want to be too facetious—but they have seen the lord. Now we have—the president’s been able to put together a coalition of our Sunni neighbors, because America can’t once again go into a [Sunni] Muslim nation and be the aggressor. It has to be led by Sunnis. To go and attack a Sunni organization. And so, what do we have for the first time? Now Saudi Arabia has stopped the funding from going in. Saudi Arabia is allowing training on its soil of American forces under Title 10, open training. The Qataris have cut off their support for the most extreme elements of the terrorist organizations. And the Turks, President Erdoğan told me—he is an old friend—said, “You were right; we let too many people through. Now we are trying to seal the border.” VP Joe Biden 2014 talk to Harvard University Delivers remarks on foreign policy min 53:10 Books Documentaries The Revolution Business by Journeyman The VETO Documentary Vanessa Beeley

In todays video, I discuss an example of a politicians hypocrisy and public deceivery. It is the perfect example of how they say one thing in public and do the complete opposite in private, or in this case, the exact thing David Lammy accused Rishi Sunak of. I am not a party politics man or partisan, this is purely a show of the sham of our political and media system. The video discusses David Lammy, a young Rishi Sunak clip, a paid for Bilderberg attendance, MI6, BP and an utter, brazen David Lammy hypocritical tweet at Sunak, about his younger self "Aristocrats" comment, 1 month after being with literal Aristocrats, paid for by Aristocratic types. This video does not go in detail about Sunak or Lammy's political career, just a specific recent example. Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/bilderberg-the-elitist-3-day-secret-trans-atlantic-meeting-an-interview-with-charlie-skelton https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Show Notes David Lammy Mp UK's Rishi Sunak becomes richest ever occupant of Number 10 By Alistair Smout October 25, 2022 Reuters Boris Johnson DAVID LAMMY: WASHINGTON’S MAN IN LABOUR The likely future foreign secretary has been attending elite gatherings in the US while courting MI6 and displaying his establishment credentials on Labour’s foreign and military policy, which is likely to be near-identical to the current government. MARK CURTIS 12 MAY 2023 Declassified UK Interview with Charlie Skelton about Bilderberg Charlies Links Charlie Skelton is a comedy writer, journalist and olive farmer. He is script editor of Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live and writes on various similar sorts of things for television and radio. He has covered the Bilderberg meeting every year since 2009 for the Guardian. Twitter The Guardian David Lammy Tweet about Sunak Bilderberg 2022 meeting - Participants List of Bilderberg participants over the years "Name of donor: (1) Newbridge Advisory; (2) Bilderberg Association Address of donor: (1) Mermaid House, 2 Puddle Dock, London EC4V 3DS (2) 2 St. James’ Place, London SW1A 1NP Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): (1) Reimbursed £5,669.57 for flights and accommodation on 8 June 2022; (2) Airport transfers at £160 and meals approximately £376.58; total value £536.58 Destination of visit: Washington DC, United States Dates of visit: 2-5 June 2022 Purpose of visit: To partake in the Bilderberg Meeting 2022. (Registered 19 July 2022; updated 22 July 2022) This is a late entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 11 August 2022. Paragraph 15 of chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules refers." David Lammy Registered Interests John Sawers BP Newbridge Advisory Chatham House John Sawers Chatham House BP's Iraq Oil Drilling Contract Mr. Gill Sharethis specific contribution To ask the Prime Minister which members of his Government have attended meetings of the Bilderberg Group. [34298] The Prime Minister [holding answer 16 March 1998]: None. Written Answers Volume 309: debated on Monday 30 March 1998 We Are Change Tony Blair Clip Deutsche Bank Global Advisory Board REVEALED: DOZENS OF UK FORMER SENIOR OFFICIALS PROFIT FROM FOSSIL FUEL CORPORATIONS, RUBBER-STAMPED BY WHITEHALL COMMITTEE MARK CURTIS 4 FEBRUARY 2021 Declassified UK

In todays video I interviewed Charlie Skelton who since 2009 has covered the Bilderberg group for the Guardian. We discuss some of the massive names, countries, corporations and governments represented at the last two meetings. The 2022 meeting in Washington saw a complete media blackout, except for Charlies article for the Guardian. There was also little attention to the 2023 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. We also discuss a brief history of the group, the potential influence and Charlies personal experiences being on the ground, outside the meeting locations. He tells a comedic story of his first ever experience covering the group in Greece, where he was chased by secret police and almost arrested for simply taking photos. The Bilderberg meetings are often attended by heavy hitters from North America and Europe, in royalty, heads of western intelligence, NATO, the EU, Governments, banks, corporations, investors, media and big tech. These people sit on multiple boards and are industry leaders. They meet once a year, for 3 days in secret, with no press oversight and Chatham house rules, so nothing said can be discussed outside the meeting. Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-interview-with-joseph-solis-mullis-historical-sino-western-relations-the-new-cold-war https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Charlies Links Charlie Skelton is a comedy writer, journalist and olive farmer. He is script editor of Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live and writes on various similar sorts of things for television and radio. He has covered the Bilderberg meeting every year since 2009 for the Guardian. Twitter The Guardian Show Notes Bilderberg wiki page Bilderberg Website The diversity crisis at the world’s most influential think tank If the Bilderberg Group refuses to change, it has no business playing any part in 21st-century politics and decision-making, writes Charlie Skelton Wednesday 29 July 2020 The Independent Bilderberg Ahoy! Pompeo and Kushner join the billionaire boat club From a Swiss shore, the rich and mighty – and select, discreet reporters – could be seen enjoying the annual secretive summit Charlie Skelton in Montreux Sun 2 Jun 2019 The Guardian Alex Jones Charlie Skelton - Another https://bilderbergmeetings.org/meetings/meeting-2023/participants-2023 https://bilderbergmeetings.org/background/steering-committee/former-steering-committee-members Queen Beatrix of The Nethlands Kings of The Netherlands Our man at Bilderberg: Six days to lost innocence Charlie Skelton At the end of the annual secret meeting of the global elite, a call of nature feeds Charlie Skelton's worst fears Read all of Charlie Skelton's Bilderberg files Mon 18 May 2009 The Guardian (Greece) https://bilderbergmeetings.org/meetings/meeting-2023/participants-2023 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies at Senate artificial intelligence hearing | full video CBS News Sam Altman Tweet Jason Bermas Interview with Charlie - Guardian Sleuth Dares To Demystify Bilderberg Media Blackout ChatGPT and Microsoft chiefs join US and European elites flocking to Lisbon for secretive, behind-closed-doors Bilderberg meetings on AI, China, Russia-Ukraine and the future of banking The 69th Bilderberg meeting is currently underway May 18-21 in Lisbon, Portugal Secretive meeting assembles top US and European businessmen and politicians The elite crew share behind-closed-door discussions around major global issues By DAVID AVERRE 19 May 2023 Daily Mail Jens Stoltenberg Tweet Mr. Gill Sharethis specific contribution To ask the Prime Minister which members of his Government have attended meetings of the Bilderberg Group. [34298] The Prime Minister [holding answer 16 March 1998]: None. Written Answers Volume 309: debated on Monday 30 March 1998 We Are Change Tony Blair Clip Deutsche Bank Global Advisory Board Obama, Clinton Ditch Press for Secret Meeting Former rivals ditch press for late night rendezvous before Clinton concedes. By KATE SNOW ABC June 6th 2008 Dan Dicks

In todays video I interviewed Joseph Solis-Mullis, we discussed historical Sino-Western relations, the opium wars, WW1, the post WW2 relationship and the new cold war. Please feel free check out our interview and his work. . A graduate of Spring Arbor University and the University of Illinois, Joseph Solis-Mullen is a political scientist and current graduate student in the economics department at the University of Missouri. An independent researcher and journalist, his work can be found at the Ludwig Von Mises and Libertarian Institutes, Antiwar.com, the Journal of the American Revolution, Journal of Libertarian Studies, and the QJAE. Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/iraq-an-interview-with-matthew-hoh https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Josephs Links https://libertarianinstitute.org/author/joseph-solis-mullen/ https://mises.org/profile/joseph-solis-mullen https://twitter.com/solis_mullen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Clips FIRESIDE CHAT with Hon. Robert C. O’Brien at the 2023 Global Security Forum Global Security Forum - Min 11 Seth Moulton Milken Institute Clip - Full Video 2023 GLOBAL CONFERENCE The United States and China: Navigating Strategic Competition (Invite only) Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Beverly Hilton - International Ballroom Min 35 Show Notes https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-fake-china-threat-and-its-very-real-danger/ Patrick Macfarlane Interview with Joseph https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/china-an-interview-with-patrick-macfarlane China Won't Be Taking Over the World China globe TAGS Global Economy 08/09/2021Joseph Solis-Mullen China is spreading fentanyl into america Russel Company Opium Forbes Family Opium Wars List of Skull and Bones members Chinese Civil War Century of Humiliation The Opening to China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Wangxia, 1839–1844 The Treaty of Wangxia (Wang-hsia) was the first formal treaty signed between the United States and China in 1844. It served as an American counterpart to the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanjing that ended the First Opium War in 1842 The Opening to China Part II: the Second Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Tianjin, 1857–1859 Boxer Rebellion Shandong Problem Chinease Laborer's The Danger of the Fake China Threat ft. Joseph Solis-Mullen Ep. 225 By Patrick MacFarlane JUL 27, 2022 Long March Second Sino-Japanese War America Takes Philippines As Colony History of Taiwan US military considered using nuclear weapons against China in 1958 Taiwan Strait crisis, leaked documents show Ben Westcott By Ben Westcott, CNN May 24, 2021 - NYT Documents Risk of Nuclear War Over Taiwan in 1958 Said to Be Greater Than Publicly Known The famed source of the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has made another unauthorized disclosure — and wants to be prosecuted for it. Give this article Soldiers in 1958 on Kinmen Island, also called Quemoy. According to an apparently still-classified document, American officials doubted they could defend Taiwan with only conventional weapons. Soldiers in 1958 on Kinmen Island, also called Quemoy. According to an apparently still-classified document, American officials doubted they could defend Taiwan with only conventional weapons By Charlie Savage Published May 22, 2021 NYT USSR planned nuclear attack on China in 1969 The Soviet Union was on the brink of launching a nuclear attack against China in 1969 and only backed down after the US told Moscow such a move would start World War Three, according to a Chinese historian. Andrew Osborn in Moscow and Peter Foster in Beijing 13 May 2010 The Telegraph The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962 History Gov Cuban Missile Crisis 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China 203. Joint Statement Following Discussions With Leaders of the People’s Republic of China1 Shanghai, February 27, 1972 JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA JANUARY 1, 1979 The August 17, 1982 U.S.-China Communiqué on Arms Sales to Taiwan Six Assurances H.Con.Res.88 - Reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of United States-Taiwan relations. 114th Congress (2015-2016) H.R.2479 - Taiwan Relations Act 96th Congress (1979-1980) Strategic Ambiguity Trump admin approves new sale of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine The Trump administration first approved the sale of Javelins to Ukraine in 2017. ByLuis Martinez, Conor Finnegan, and Elizabeth McLaughlin October 1, 2019 ABC United States and state-sponsored terrorism How the U.S. Government Amassed $31 Trillion in Debt By Jim Tankersley Jan. 22, 2023 NYT Taiwan is Part of China Ep. 249 By Patrick MacFarlane US, Philippines agree to larger American military presence By JIM GOMEZ February 2, 2023 AP MAY 24, 2022 Quad Joint Leaders’ Statement Aukus deal: US, UK and Australia agree on nuclear submarine project Published 14 March October 7, 2022 U.N. body rejects debate on China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims in blow to West Reuters Wakhan Corridor (Afghan-China) Taiwan president’s meeting with US speaker divides opinion at home Helen Davidson in Taipei While Tsai Ing-wen was visiting the US, her predecessor was in Beijing on a mission to bolster cross-strait relations Fri 7 Apr 2023 The Guardian Japan and the Netherlands Announce Plans for New Export Controls on Semiconductor Equipment Commentary by Gregory C. Allen , Emily Benson and Margot Putnam Published April 10, 2023 CSIS Lord Mayor’s Defence and Security Speech - Thursday 10 June 2021 Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, delivered the 2021 Annual Defence and Security Lecture at the Mansion House 22nd June 2021 -"The notion of strategic resilience and the integrity of our strategic base and critical national infrastructure is on the table again in an uncertain and unpredictable world. One in which Pax Americana finds itself being stretched by no less than three authoritarian states; Russia, Iran and China, each of which is seeking its own independent sphere of influence separate to any American-backed global order or rule book" MI6 regrets helping Vladimir Putin to win power, says ex-spy chief The Times October 1st 2018 China projects bombed ‘Changing global order’: China’s hand in the Iran-Saudi deal China brokering a deal between longtime Gulf rivals is ‘a broader sign of a changing global order’, analysts say. By Mersiha Gadzo Published On 11 Mar 2023 11 Mar 2023 Fox March 1, 2023 FBI director says COVID pandemic 'most likely' originated from Chinese lab

In todays video, I conducted interview with Kelly Vlahos, of the Quincy Institute For Responsible Statecraft. We spoke about the Media's role in starting and continuing the Iraq War and other conflicts after the Iraq War. We also touched on how the Media machine works, hiring ex-generals, lazy journalism and access. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/iraq-afghanistan-the-system-that-continually-perpetuates-them-an-interview-with-daniel-l-davis Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT BIO - Kelley Beaucar Vlahos comes to QI from The American Conservative, where for the last three years she served as the magazine’s executive editor. Before joining TAC in 2017, Vlahos served as a contributing editor to the magazine, reporting and publishing regular articles on US war policy, civil liberties, foreign policy, veterans, and Washington politics since 2007. She also organized the magazine’s major annual foreign policy conference for the last three years. Prior to that, Vlahos was director of social media and a digital editor at WTOP News in Washington, DC from 2013 to 2017. She spent 15 years as an online political reporter for FOX News at the channel’s Washington D.C. bureau, as well as Washington correspondent for Homeland Security Today magazine. She is on the board of PublicSquare.net, a non-profit media project promoting informed Left-Right debate. Her recent media appearances include C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, Tucker Carlson Tonight, NPR’s 1A, POTUS on Sirius XM, and Al Jazeera. Before moving to the nation’s capital, Vlahos earned her degree in Journalism-Mass Media at Central Connecticut State University and worked her way through local and regional newspapers in her home state of Connecticut, including The New Britain Herald and The Torrington Register Citizen. She is co-host of the Crashing the War Party podcast with Daniel Larison. Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/VlahosAtQuincy Show Notes Symposium: Aside from Bush & Cheney who is at fault for the Iraq War? (Quincy) Setting the record straight on the teeming media swamp that supported Iraq (Quincy) Scott Horton Show 3/24/23 Kelley Vlahos on Those Most Responsible for Iraq War II The Patriot Act - Wiki Political Opposition of Ron Paul THREATS AND RESPONSES: THE IRAQIS; U.S. SAYS HUSSEIN INTENSIFIES QUEST FOR A-BOMB PARTS Give this article By Michael R. Gordon and Judith Miller Sept. 8, 2002 NYT Bad News: How the Media Marched Us to War in Iraq and Beyond Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft YT US military admits killing 33 civilians in Afghanistan air strike This article is more than 14 years old US expresses regret for deaths last August but blames Taliban for taking position near village Matthew Weaver and agencies Thu 9 Oct 2008 The Guardian U.S. confirms 13 civilian deaths in Afghan raid U.S. military airstrikes in western Afghanistan killed 13 Afghan civilians and only three militants, the U.S. said Saturday, three days after an American general traveled to the site to investigate NBC Feb. 21, 2009 CIA Black Sites Bush: Saddam was not responsible for 9/11 Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington 12 Sep 2006 The Guardian "I am often asked why we are in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat. My administration, the Congress, and the United Nations saw the threat, and after 9/11, Saddam's regime posed a risk that the world could not afford to take. The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power." SEPT. 11, 2001-2006; Remarks By Mr. Bush Sept. 12, 2006 NYT CIA’s final report: No WMD found in Iraq In his final report, the CIA’s top weapons inspector in Iraq said Monday that the hunt for weapons of mass destruction has gone “as far as feasible” and has found nothing NBC April 26, 2005 Bush admits there were no WMDs in IRAQ and no link to 911 YT Clip "part of the reason we went into Iraq was the main reason we went under direct at the time was we thought he had weapons of mass destruction it turns out he didn't but he had the capacity to make weapons... How Petraeus changed the U.S. military Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst, Sun November 11, 2012 Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret) Church Commitee Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand A PENTAGON CAMPAIGN Retired officers have been used to shape terrorism coverage from inside the TV and radio networks. By David Barstow April 20, 2008 NYT Biden’s winning the Afghan messaging By ALEXANDER WARD and QUINT FORGEY 09/13/2021 Politico (Sponsored by Lockheed Martin) How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now SEYMOUR HERSH FEB 8, 2023 Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Pipelines, U.S. Officials Say By Adam Entous, Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman March 7, 2023 NYT “The FBI Called Me”: Meet Aric Toler, the Bellingcat Sleuth Who Helped The New York Times Find Suspected Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira The Times publicly identified the man believed to have leaked intelligence documents before law enforcement did. Toler helped the paper’s Visual Investigations team—and dodged a meeting with the FBI. “They’re probably listening to me right now,” he said. BY CHARLOTTE KLEIN APRIL 18, 2023 Vanity Fair Bellingcat Tweet Russiagate was a hoax w/Matt Taibbi | The Chris Hedges Report The Real News Network John Kerry Leaked Tape Min 25 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4phB-_pXDM Quote in written form - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/the-management-of-savagery-by-max-blumenthal Project Veritas Leaked Audio ABC Biden campaign, Blinken orchestrated intel letter to discredit Hunter Biden laptop story, ex-CIA official says April 21, 2023 In The News Brooke Singman House Gov Antony Blinken: ‘Spies who lie’ letter ‘wasn’t my idea, didn’t ask for it’ — still refuses to call Hunter laptop real By Steven Nelson May 1, 2023 NY Post

In todays video I interviewed Patrick Macfarlane, the Justin Raimondo Fellow at the Libertarian Institute and host of Vital Dissent. We discussed China, the new cold war, Taiwan, US/Western provocations, alliances and escalating tensions. Please check out our interview and his work. Patrick MacFarlane is the Justin Raimondo Fellow at the Libertarian Institute where he advocates a noninterventionist foreign policy. He is a Wisconsin attorney in private practice. He seeks to expose establishment narratives with well researched documentary-style content and insightful guest interviews. His work has appeared on antiwar.com and Zerohedge. Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/iraq-an-interview-with-matthew-hoh https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Patrick's Links https://libertarianinstitute.org/ https://vitaldissent.com/ https://twitter.com/patmacfarlane_ Show Notes Chinese Civil War 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China 203. Joint Statement Following Discussions With Leaders of the People’s Republic of China1 Shanghai, February 27, 1972 JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA JANUARY 1, 1979 The August 17, 1982 U.S.-China Communiqué on Arms Sales to Taiwan Six Assurances H.Con.Res.88 - Reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of United States-Taiwan relations. 114th Congress (2015-2016) H.R.2479 - Taiwan Relations Act 96th Congress (1979-1980) Strategic Ambiguity Taiwan is Part of China Ep. 249 By Patrick MacFarlane U.S. to Expand Troop Presence in Taiwan for Training Against China Threat The Pentagon is helping Taiwan focus on tactics and weapon systems that would make the island harder to assault Taiwanese military personnel trained at a base in Taoyuan, Taiwan, this week WSJ RITCHIE B TONGO/SHUTTERSTOCK By Nancy A. Youssef and Gordon Lubold Feb. 23, 2023 Bolton praises Biden decision to send troops to Taiwan, but ‘we can do a lot more’ BY JULIA SHAPERO - 02/23/23 The Hill Pelosi’s ‘reckless’ Taiwan visit deepens US-China rupture The Guardian Sun 7 Aug 2022 08.00 BST Taiwan says China making simulated attack on main island The Guardian Sat 6 Aug 2022 February 15, 2023 State Department vows US will defend Philippines if necessary after China ship blinds crew with military laser Fox News October 31, 2022 U.S. plans to deploy B-52s to north Australia amid China tensions - source By Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson Reuters DOD BASE STRUCTURE REPORT - FISCAL YEAR 2015 BASELINE - 587 admitted overseas bases Page 7 US, Philippines agree to larger American military presence By JIM GOMEZ February 2, 2023 AP MAY 24, 2022 Quad Joint Leaders’ Statement Aukus deal: US, UK and Australia agree on nuclear submarine project Published 14 March Rishi Sunak Twitter China Thread https://vitaldissent.com/170-2 - Corbett Constitution of Japan We don’t want to decouple from China, but can’t be overreliant Germany will seek cooperation where it lies in our mutual interest, but we will not ignore controversies either BY OLAF SCHOLZ NOVEMBER 3, 2022 Politico BRICS Disney Lockheed Martin Apple https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/a-conversation-with-stuart-j-hooper-an-overview-of-the-military-industrial-complex UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier pictured in South China Sea Brad Lendon By Brad Lendon, CNN Fri July 30, 2021 Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series December 16, 2020 Strategic context: The rules-based international system By Jeffrey Cimmino and Matthew Kroenig Gen. Mark Milley in Syria to Support U.S. Troops WSJ Gordon Lubold March 4, 2023 https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/interview-with-dave-de-camp-syria-the-war-on-terror-and-ukraine October 7, 2022 U.N. body rejects debate on China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims in blow to West Reuters Sen. Lindsey Graham defends calling for Russians to assassinate Putin The Kremlin pounced on Graham’s comments, labeling them "criminal," while some GOP members of Congress also criticized his remarks NBC March 4, 2022 By Rebecca Shabad NYET MEANS NYET: RUSSIA'S NATO ENLARGEMENT REDLINES Date:2008 February 1 WIKI Leaks - Tweet Venezuela: Maduro suffers setback in claim to gold at BoE Published 21 December 2021 BBC ‘Changing global order’: China’s hand in the Iran-Saudi deal China brokering a deal between longtime Gulf rivals is ‘a broader sign of a changing global order’, analysts say. By Mersiha Gadzo Published On 11 Mar 2023 11 Mar 2023 Fox March 1, 2023 FBI director says COVID pandemic 'most likely' originated from Chinese lab Clips https://twitter.com/ErikSolheim/status/1640949406106255360?s=20 - IN FULL: Former Australian PM, Paul Keating joins Laura Tingle in conversation on 'AUKUS' at the NPC 'Take him out': Graham intensifies calls to assassinate Putin | LiveNOW from FOX

In todays video, I conducted an interview with Daniel L Davis, about the Iraq & Afghanistan wars and his time there. Along with his on the ground experience, he also compliments this with excellent knowledge of the topic area. We focused on the system that feeds these wars, and continues to perpetuate them. The Generals telling congress & the media the war is going well, careerism, the media themselves, fear of speaking out, squad rotations, not wanting to be the one who admits failure and the financial incentives to keep the wars going. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/obama-trump-qanon-and-hopium-an-interview-with-james-corbett Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Bio - Daniel L. Davis is a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities. Davis retired from the U.S. Army as a Lt. Col. after 21 years of active service. He was deployed into combat zones four times in his career, beginning with Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and then to Iraq in 2009 and Afghanistan twice (2005, 2011). He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor at the Battle of 73 Easting in 1991, and awarded a Bronze Star Medal in Afghanistan in 2011. He is the author of The Eleventh Hour in 2020 America. Davis gained some national notoriety in 2012 when he returned from Afghanistan and published a report detailing how senior U.S. military and civilian leaders told the American public and Congress the war was going well while, in reality, it was headed to defeat. Events since confirmed his analysis was correct. Twitter - https://twitter.com/danielldavis1 Books Eleventh Hour in 2020 America: How America's foreign policy got jacked up - and how the next Administration can fix it by Daniel L Davis Show Notes Afghanistan: An Interview With Matthew Hoh After Retreat, Iraqi Soldiers Fault Officers The New York Times By C. J. Chivers July 1, 2014 Fall of Mosul "I think at most, we’re looking at maybe 50 to 100, maybe less. There’s no question that the main location of al Qaeda is in tribal areas of Pakistan.” CIA Director Leon Panetta: Serious Problems With Afghanistan War but Progress Being Made, ABC News JACK DATE June 27, 2010 https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/afghanistan Plan To Add 40,000 Troops In Afghanistan Gains Traction November 11, 2009 NPR General Petraeus on Afghanistan 31 Aug. 2010 "Progress in Afghanistan has been slow but for the first time, we are getting the inputs right to achieve success", said ISAF Commander General David Petraeus during his first interview for NATOchannel.tv. Barack Obama: Afghanistan war is on track This article is more than 12 years old Review of troop surge strategy concludes US has made progress, but is a long way from winning the conflict Chris McGreal in Washington Thu 16 Dec 2010 The Guardian Petraeus applauds troops' work in Afghanistan By the CNN Wire Staff January 26, 2011 Afghan war effort ‘on track,’ general tells Congress BY KEN DILANIAN MARCH 20, 2012 LA Times Warlord, Inc. : extortion and corruption along the U.S. supply chain in Afghanistan Author: John F Tierney; United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs. Publisher:[Washington, DC] : [U.S. House of Representatives], 2010 The War In Afghanistan Cost America $300 Million Per Day For 20 Years, With Big Bills Yet To Come Christopher Helman Forbes Staff Hank Tucker Forbes Staff 0 Aug 16, 2021 The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War By Craig Whitlock (truthovercomfort.co.uk) The Afghan Papers Lloyd J. Austin III > U.S. Department of Defense > Biography Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Addresses Media in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 7, 2023 March 7, 2023 Pentagon chief, on surprise trip, says US troops to stay in Iraq In Baghdad, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledges continued US troop presence in fight against ISIL Al-Jazeera Slow Progress Being Made in Iraq, Petraeus Tells Congress Doug Mills/The New York Times By David Stout Sept. 10, 2007 "Warhorse" Soldiers participate in Military Salute to Service; attend Denver Bronco game By (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Andrew Porch, 2nd BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.) Army Mill November 20, 2012 General Dan Bolger says what the US does not want to hear: Why We Lost Spencer Ackerman in New York On Tuesday, the retired general who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan will publish a candid book likely to be unloved in military and political circles Spencer Ackerman Mon 10 Nov 2014 The Guardian "The Budget requests $842 billion in discretionary budget authority for 2024, a $26 billion or 3.2-percent increase from the 2023 enacted level. This growth enables DOD to make the investments necessary to execute the Administration’s 2022 National Security and National Defense Strategies." Budget of the U.S. Government FISCAL YEAR 2024 Page 68 Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling Military Analyst CNN MSNBC military analysts and experts Read the biographies of MSNBC’s military analysts and experts, who are helping us bring you complete and in-depth coverage of the showdown with Saddam. Link copied Dec. 17, 2003 MSNBC Milley Says War With China, Russia Not Inevitable March 29, 2023 DoD By David Vergun Air Force general predicts war with China in 2025, tells officers to prep by firing 'a clip' at a target, and 'aim for the head' “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025," said Gen. Mike Minihan in a memo sent to the officers he commands and obtained by NBC News Jan. 27, 2023 By Courtney Kube and Mosheh Gains Arms Sales By World’s Biggest Defense Companies Rise To Almost $600 Billion Dominic Dudley Contributor I write about business and politics in the Middle East and beyond Follow Dec 5, 2022 Forbes

In todays video, I conducted an interview with James Corbett, about the concept of Hopium, and his documentary featuring it. We discuss Obama, Trump, Qanon, Musk and more. Hopium is intertwined with society in politics, religion, idols and general life. As with Obama and Trump, this belief of someone coming to save society, like a superhero or divine figure, followed a pattern of disappointment and egregious lies. The initial Echo on James does not continue. Feel free to skip in and check yourself. Also, the beeping from our previous interview has been fixed. I did edit in some text to state this, I am unsure why it is not appearing. The Corbett Report is an independent, listener-supported alternative news source. It operates on the principle of open source intelligence and provides podcasts, interviews, articles and videos about breaking news and important issues from 9/11 Truth and false flag terror to the Big Brother police state, eugenics, geopolitics, the central banking fraud and more. He started The Corbett Report website in 2007 as an outlet for independent critical analysis of politics, society, history, and economics. Since then he has written, recorded and edited thousands of hours of audio and video media for the website, including a podcast and several regular online video series. https://www.corbettreport.com/interview-1801-james-corbett-on-obama-trump-q-musk-and-hopium/ Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/iraq-part-2-an-interview-with-matthew-hoh Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Show Notes Mass Media Course https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/the-media-an-interview-with-james-corbett Episode 404 - A Brief History of Hopium President Woodrow Wilson The Twenty Eighth President of the United States of America 1913–1921 US Army - Page 2 Obama calls Bush’s leadership catastrophic Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama told voters Saturday that in the wake of President Bush’s “catastrophic failure of leadership” the nation needs a candid leader like himself, not rival Hillary Rodham Clinton’s calculated politics NBC Nov. 4, 2007 Pelosi: Bush Impeachment `Off the Table’ PRINT By Susan Ferrechio Published: November 8, 2006 NYT Obama on Investigating Bush Crimes: "Need to Look Forward" Clip Aide: Obama Won't Prosecute Bush Officials APRIL 20, 2009 CBS Pakistani man who was tortured by the CIA is released from Guantanamo Bay February 3, 2023 NPR The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 Barack H. Obama NATO and Afghanistan 31 Aug. 2022 Obama’s Nobel peace prize didn’t have the desired effect, former Nobel official reveals By Adam Taylor September 17, 2015 Bailed out banks The Treasury Department has invested about $200 billion in hundreds of banks through its Capital Purchase Program in an effort to prop up capital and support new lending. Here's a list of the banks that got bailed out CNN Money Obama’s Final Drone Strike Data by Micah Zenko January 20, 2017 CFR Operation Timber Sycamore Behind the Sudden Death of a $1 Billion Secret C.I.A. War in Syria By Mark Mazzetti, Adam Goldman and Michael S. Schmidt Aug. 2, 2017 NYT Obama: ‘We tortured some folks Obama says he has 'full confidence' in CIA Director John Brennan. By JOSH GERSTEIN 08/01/2014 Politico President Obama: "We tortured some folks." (C-SPAN) QAnon Q Clearance Episode 395 - Precedent Trump Syria: US, UK and France launch strikes in response to chemical attack This article is more than 5 years old Witnesses report loud bangs moments after Trump said he had ordered retaliatory strikes Military strikes launched against Assad regime – ulian Borger in Washington and Peter Beaumont Sat 14 Apr 2018 The Guardian https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/449525268529815552?t=N1nB1U43ebIkpbPfhE07LA&s=19 - Vaccine Autism Tweet Video Trump Autism Vaccine CNN The origins of Donald Trump’s autism/vaccine theory and how it was completely debunked eons ago WAPO By Ariana Eunjung Cha September 17, 2015 Trump team denies skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was asked to head vaccine commission By Dan Merica, CNN Updated 6:17 PM EST, Tue January 10, 2017 Trump appears to abandon vaccine sceptic group denounced by scientists Robert F Kennedy Jr claimed to be leading a review of links to autism – a widely debunked claim – but now says he hasn’t heard from the White House in months David Smith in Washington The Guardian Wed 21 Feb 2018 Operation Warp Speed Trump hails the COVID-19 vaccine as 'one of the greatest achievements of mankind' and rejects vaccine skepticism in new interview Oma Seddiq Dec 23, 2021 Business Insider The American Deep State: Wall Street, Big Oil, and the Attack on U.S. Democracy Peter Dale Scott US drone strike ordered by Trump kills top Iranian commander in Baghdad Zachary Cohen Hamdi Alkhshali Angela Dewan By Zachary Cohen, Hamdi Alkhshali, Kareem Khadder and Angela Dewan, CNN Sat January 4, 2020 Who Is Bill Gates? (Full Documentary, 2020) WHO Funding UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs MICROSOFT CORPORATION, Civil Action No. 98-1232 (Antitrust) COMPLAINT Filed: May 18, 1998 Arpanet SpaceX Wins NASA $2.9 Billion Contract to Build Moon Lander Elon Musk’s company bested Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and others in the contest to carry American astronauts to the lunar surface NYT By Kenneth Chang Published April 16, 2021 Elon Musk Cameo Scene - Iron Man (2010) Movie Clip HD Elon Musk reportedly planning to launch AI rival to ChatGPT maker Tesla and Twitter boss said to be bringing together team, weeks after co-signing letter demanding pause in AI research Miranda Bryant Sat 15 Apr 2023 The Guardian Tesla Energy Department Loans Episode 429 - Meet Elon Musk, Technocratic Huckster Elon Musk wants to offer Americans an ‘everything app’ like China’s WeChat. One hurdle? Habits BYBARBARA ORTUTAY AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS October 15, 2022 Fortune