In a private conversation at his Texas ranch in early 2003, President Bush said he was committed to invading Iraq whether or not the United Nations passed another resolution condemning Saddam Hussein, a Spanish Language newspaper reported Wednesday. "Saddam Husein will not change and will continue playing; the moment has arrived for undoing of him," Bush told Spain’s then-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on February 22, 2003, according to transcript of Bush’s remarks that was posted on the Web site of El Pais, Spain’s largest daily. (The quote was automatically translated from Spanish to English using Google.) Bush said he would prefer to have a second UN resolution, but in his conversation, he makes clear that he would not hesitate to act without one, El Pais reported. "We have to get rid of Saddam. There are two weeks left. In two weeks we will be ready militarily. We will be in Baghdad at the end of March," Bush said less than a month before bombs began falling on Baghdad.
The US invaded Iraq March 20, 2003. More than 150,000 US troops remain stationed in the country. Although Aznar was a supporter of Bush’s invasion, his successor Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero withdrew the 1,300 Spanish troops that were in Iraq in late April 2004, soon after his election. Bush also threatened nations with retaliation if they did not vote for a UN resolution backing the Iraq war, according to a the transcript. Nations like Mexico, Angola, Chile and Cameroon must know that the security of the United States is at stake, the president tells Aznar. The left-wing El Pais reported that Bush threatened to pull financial aid from Angola and warned that a free-trade agreement with Chile might be delayed in the Senate if they did not back another UN resolution. The confidential transcript was prepared by Spain’s ambassador to the United States at the time, Javier Ruperez, the paper said.
Prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq, Washington unsuccessfully lobbied the 15 members of the UN Security Council for a second resolution paving the way for military action against Iraq if Saddam Hussein failed to comply with demands to disarm. Victory would come "without destruction", he added. The meeting between Aznar and Bush came just days after a massive protest in Madrid by more than a million people against the invasion which Aznar’s conservative government backed. Aznar tells Bush in the transcript that he needed Washington’s help to get Spanish public opinion behind the invasion. He adds that he is worried by Bush’s optimism. "I am optimistic because I believe I am right. I am at peace with myself," Bush responded.
So, when I read articles like this one, I feel shame, then I feel rage, then I feel powerless. It’s always the same sequence. I’m ashamed that America elected these people to the Presidency and that I wasn’t out there screaming at the top of my lungs marching back and forth in front of the White House. "The meeting between Aznar and Bush came just days after a massive protest in Madrid by more than a million people against the invasion which Aznar’s conservative government backed." Good for them! Where was I? I’m enraged at what Bush and Cheney have done, at Bill Clinton for giving them the scandal they needed for the righteous high horse that helped them get elected, at the gullible for voting for them based on such silly grounds, at Congress or the U.N. for not standing up to them on Iraq, etc. Then I feel powerless because none of that matters anymore – you can’t change history.
I met a woman through a support group for people who have MG like me. She is a lot older than me but we instantly liked each other and became friends. She was put on the last train in Vienna during Hitler’s terror. She was a Democrat and so was her husband a Marine who fought in many battles in the Pacific, they have both voted Republican in the last presidential election. When Bush was beating the drum for war, my friend and I had a talk about it. She told me that Bush was right to go to Iraq because Saddam was a bad man and at least we wouldn’t be letting the Iraqis suffer anymore. I haven’t been able to talk to her since that day. If I see her in a supermarket, I kiss and hug her but I can’t bring myself to be with her over this war. Her father died in a concentration camp towards the end of the war. She has a right to feel the way she does but I can’t be with her anymore. I feel too strongly that this war has been a horrible mistake for us and the world. It’s funny that you said something about the Germans not doing anything about Hitler and I have a friend that was there when Hitler was in power and she is Jewish and feels strongly that Bush had to get rid of another Hitler. As far as screaming and marching back and forth in front of the White House, I say it all the time if I could have I would have. I wouldn’t care what anybody else thought of me. MY neice called me on her cell phone in NYC when she and other people marched before the war started, and she said that I was there in spirit and I heard people cheering in the background. It was a great feeling. Thank you for letting me vent on your blog.
Thanks for joining in the vent.