Former Indiana Congressman Says Securing Israel Was Hidden Agenda for Iraq War

The Indianapolis Star reports that former congressman John Hostettler, a Republican representing southern Indiana, has self-published a book that puts the decision to invade Iraq on George Bush with a revenge motive, and neocons with a pro-Israel agenda. The excerpt in the Star points at Wolfowitz, Feith, Perle et al:

"It cannot be debated that toppling Saddam was accomplished by means of a 'private compact' with political appointees and their underlings in the Pentagon 'to support' the ideals of 'partisans . . . dedicated to another cause,' " the Wadesville Republican writes in "Nothing for the Nation: Who Got What Out of Iraq."

That other cause, he writes, was securing Israel.

This is good news. It shows that the honorable American impulse of investigating a disaster and assigning blame is spreading--in this case, to a heartland social conservative (wrong on gay marriage) who washed out in the great Iraq election of 2006-- notwithstanding the fact that Hostettler, a mechanical engineer, was one of only six Republican congressmen to vote against the war. Too bad that he had to self-publish, but good for the Indianapolis Star for the coverage. Hostettler now joins Joe Klein, Stephen Sniegoski, Walt, Mearsheimer, Grant Smith, a ton of other smart folks who are willing to point the finger at the bad Zionist-fed ideas that helped create this mess. Let the sunshine in! \

P.S. Hostettler is a gun-toting Baptist who supported the Defense of Marriage Act and once averred that abortion might cause breast cancer. Did you notice that I used Baptist in that sentence? I just injected religion into this! Completely fairly.

Comments

[charles Keating]

Whatever the combo of motives to attack Iraq in 2003, there is no rational strategic reason for the USA to have done so. To have done so for oil access is a red herring. The Oil nations in the Middle East have as much to lose, if not much more, by curbing the delight of user nations to their oil, the current and past source of any power they have, viewed globally. I find Shrub punk revenge and Israel First as salient a salient motive combo for why we ended up in Iraq. The question is, will the same public opinion scam send us into Iran?

[Jim Haygood]

.

That Saddam Hussein was brutally executed after a kangaroo-court trial demonstrated to the world that the Bush crime family are little more than Mafia capos with a government imprimatur.

Now the Great White [liberal] Hope, Barack Obama, has adopted a typical lefty fallback position: Iraq was a bad war, but Afghanistan is a good war. So he's willing to amp up the troop commitment by another 10,000 warm bodies, even as their bases and outposts (the only actual territory NATO controls in Afghanistan) are opportunistically picked off by the Afghan resistance.

Yes, Bush in Blackface wants to continue the lost war -- but on the east side of Iran, instead of the west. Makes no difference, as long as the young bodies keep getting fed into the meat grinder.

Obama is manifestly unfit to serve. Whack him, Hillary, as you hinted at doing. Then off yourself in penitential despair. We'll all be better off.

[charles Keating]

Jim, it won't happen. Hillary is nothing. The next scenario is Iran. Any comments how that will come down?

[Richard Witty]

Personal revenge as a motive to go to war. That is UNHOLY.

I disagree with Charles and Hostettler as to the weight of emphasis. I believe that there was some weight from the neo-cons, but the majority of their thesis and motivation was patriotic.

I'm surprised that he attributes such a high percentage of the weight to Bush's personal revenge. I put it lower.

I believe that the Bush administration client relationship to the oil lobby was primary. I don't know if they wanted free-flowing oil or constrained. But, I do know they wanted to control it, and could only gain control over it by the US military.

They alone couldn't have convinced it. It took a coalition. But oil and the military itself led it.

[charles Keating]

Re: "Personal revenge as a motive to go to war. That is UNHOLY."

Duh, yeah. But the wealthy drunk Shrub should care?

Oil access is nothing, despite Witty's BS--google it, and how the oil interests would've been on easy street regardless of any attack on Iran,

The key is Israel First.

Witty just won't admit it.
Actually he could resolve this problem by going to live in Israel.
But he likes Goy soldirs and taxpayers to support his easy living.

[Doppler]

It will be interesting to learn what specific evidence Hostetler points to in support of his accusation. It's easy to state a point as "beyond debate." Unfortunately, those are often [not in this case] the weakest points factually, strongest emotionally. A former Congressman might have been in a position see the war-mongering machine in action, and the factual details that he saw personally are what I'd like to hear. Phil pointed to a chronological coincidence between an Adelson donation and Feith's appointment at DOD, and speculated about whether there was more. That's the kind detail we need more light on. We need some insider to tell the tale. Maybe if Feith was waterboarded . . . .

Doppler

[Todd]

"It will be interesting to learn what specific evidence Hostetler points to in support of his accusation."

I don't think that it is a secret than many of the neocons in the administration have ties to Israel, and supported the Clean Break/Defense of the Realm nonsense.

Just as most progressives aren't going to admit to being Marxists, I don't expect many neocons to admit to being Israel-onliers. I would guess that most criminals also plead innocent in court, even against the strongest evidence. What's new?

Since we aren't going to get tearful confessions, we can, at least, take Bush at his word when he stated in one of his early state of the union addresses after 9-11 that an attack on Iran would serve to protect protect our allies in the region-he may have even used Israel instead of allies.

I know I heard plenty of talk about protecting our allies, and only Israel wanted the attack on Iraq. We're just left to put two and two together.

[Duscany]

Doug Feith's law partner was a west bank/zionist fanatic. That alone should have disqualifed Feith from any policy-making job in the US goverment. Instead he became the stovepipe for funneling Chalabi's Iraq war fantasies to Dick Cheney.

[Todd]

I've also read that the Jack Abramoff scandals had some sleazy connections to Israel. I can't know if there is any truth to the allegations, but it would be interesting to know if there were any connections. Anyone know?

[Glenn Condell]

'I've also read that the Jack Abramoff scandals had some sleazy connections to Israel.'

How quickly that running sore dried up. Almost as clean as the Rosen/Weissman case. Or the Israeli art students and the high-fiving 'removalists'. Stanch the flow, then STFU about it.

I read early about Abramoff connections to Sharon family illegal gambling interests, to rabid settler groups and their need for arms, to ripping off the Indians of course, to the Rove/Norquist nexus, even to Mohammed Atta and his cronies on one of Abramoff's floating brothel/casinos, not long before 911.

With both Abramoff and the spy case, there's far more there than meets the eye, but we may wait years to find out, if we ever do. The sudden death of both issues, the utter lack of interest in teasing out the connections, is suspicious.

[Dana]

on Abramoff:

"One of the more intriguing aspects of the federal investigation into the activities of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff is his Israeli connections. His large $2.2 million bail is reported to be due to fears that he would flee to Israel, as some of his business associates have already done, to avoid prosecution. Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew and ardent Zionist, set up a charity called Capital Athletic Foundation, which illegally provided $140,000 worth of weapons and security equipment to hard-line Israeli settlers."

http://isteve.blogspot.com/2005/11/jack-abramoffs-israeli-connections.html

another story down the memory hole.

[5 dancing shlomos]

i dont buy the revenge motive. how many times did monkey george think about revenge while gov? it was brought to us by one of his jewish handlers. it was put into his ear by several. it is constantly put into press by various jewcons and jewpets.

revenge motive is fraudulent like the oil reason to put responsibility elsewhere than israel and israel's agents.

[charles Keating]

WITTY: I believe that the Bush administration client relationship to the oil lobby was primary. I don't know if they wanted free-flowing oil or constrained. But, I do know they wanted to control it, and could only gain control over it by the US military.They alone couldn't have convinced it. It took a coalition. But oil and the military itself led it.

MEARSHEIMER: With regards to the question of oil, there is hardly any evidence that oil was driving the Iraq war. Except for Kuwait, none of the oil producing states favored the war. And even though Kuwait favored the war, it didn't push the U.S. hard to attack. Saudi Arabia was opposed to the war, as were the other oil producing states in the regime. There is hardly any evidence that I'm aware of that the oil companies which were pushing this war. The oil companies wanted to cut a deal with Saddam, so they could help him develop his oil fields, move his oil around the globe, and make lots of money in the process. The basic problem is there is not a lot of evidence to support the idea that oil was driving this war. What we believe was driving this was war was 1) The Israeli Lobby, and 2) the fact that George Bush and Cheney after 9-11 believed it was necessary to topple Saddam to win the war on terrorism. It's a combination of them pushing this war to make this happen. http://www.counterpunch.org/ali02112008.html

[5 dancing shlomos]

the usa controlled the gulf oil and saddam promised whatever usa wanted even to leave. oil from iran is a business deal same as tea from china.

israel wanted total destruction. destroy the country, the culture, the future of iraq. this seems to have been achieved.

this desire was a longstanding goal of israel.