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| Iraq |
| U.S. Official: Iraq a Lesson for Others |
| 2003-04-09 |
| Edited for content: A top U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that the war on Iraq should be a lesson for other regimes pursuing weapons of mass destruction, but insisted that the United States is seeking the peaceful elimination of those weapons programs. John R. Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, spoke to reporters after meetings with Vatican officials on proposals for humanitarian assistance and postwar reconstruction in Iraq. He was asked about speculation that Syria and Iran could be America's next targets after the war in Iraq. "We are hopeful that a number of regimes will draw the appropriate lesson from Iraq that the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction is not in their national interest," Bolton said. He's from State? Bolton emphasized that the United States considered Iraq a distinct case because attempts to eliminate its weapons have gone on for 12 years. "This is a wonderful opportunity for Syria to forswear the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and, as with other governments in the region, to see if there are not new possibilities in the Middle East peace process," Bolton said. I'd say that was a strong hint |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 Bolton must be working for the DOD, State is an official annex of the Chiraq government. |
| Posted by: TJ Jackson 2003-04-10 00:43:08 |
| #6 Yeah, liberalhawk is right, Bolton is a political appointee. Rest assured that a bunch of State is trying to undermine him as we speak. But, it's still nice to hear. |
| Posted by: John Thacker 2003-04-09 12:42:33 |
| #5 State Dept.: Oh, and while your autocratic regimes crumble from the accumulation of backwards values and willful ignorance, our nation grows stronger every day, our military grows stronger every day. Iraq was supposed to be the non-Isreali bad-ass of the Middle East, and they folded within a month. Eh, ah Assad, you think the Syrian people would support you...or US? thank you, drive through |
| Posted by: defscribe 2003-04-09 11:28:10 |
| #4 IIUC Bolton is not Foreign Service, he's a neocon Cheney insisted on. Cabinet members dont generally pick their direct reports, IIUC, the White House does. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-09 11:18:51 |
| #3 Yet another sign that that at least some parts of the State Department have figured out that they work for the USA. September 11th cleared more than few heads. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-04-09 11:11:55 |
| #2 We are hopeful that a number of regimes will draw the appropriate lesson from Iraq Which is that while you can defy the UN with impunity, you better listen to what the USA and its allies say. This is an object lesson far beyond the Arab world. About time IMHO! |
| Posted by: Phil B 2003-04-09 10:01:20 |
| #1 Was he tapping a truncheon when he said it? |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-04-09 09:57:42 |