Richard Perle: ‘I Don’t Believe I Was Wrong’ About Iraq
Richard Perle: ‘I Don’t Believe I Was Wrong’ About Iraq
Appearing on BBC’s Hardtalk with Stephen Sackur this weekend, Iraq war architect Richard Perle attempted, on the one hand, to distance himself from the failures of the Iraq war, and on the other hand, to claim it was a fantastic success.
“I’m not happy about the way events have unfolded in Iraq,” Perle began. But when asked whether he felt a “sense of personal responsibility” for what has happened in the aftermath of the invasion, Perle said “I certainly don’t consider myself responsible” for the disastrous post-war occupation of Iraq.
Asked whether he was wrong on Iraq, Perle gave this response:
Well, I don’t believe I was wrong. Let me be very clear about that. What I think happened is that a successful invasion was turned into an unsuccessful occupation. I didn’t favor the occupation strategy. I think the occupation was a mistake.
Perle also defended his pre-war claim that regime change in Iraq would bring about “dancing in the streets.” “Essentially,” there was, said Perle. “The Iraqis actually tend to shoot weapons in the air rather than dance in the streets,” he observed. “But we were regarded as liberators at the beginning.” Watch it:
Before the war, Perle advocated simply bombing and leaving Iraq. “We do not have to go into Baghdad,” he said in Oct. 2002 on NBC. “We do not have to engage in door-to-door, street-to-street fighting.”
But once the war began, Perle specifically endorsed the Paul Bremer-led occupation of Iraq. And repeatedly claimed it was producing good results. Appearing on Fox News on April 7, 2004, Perle said, “We’re making so much progress with most Iraqis that those who feel threatened by the progress are more devoted and more energetic than ever to try to destroy the progress we’re making.”
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64 Responses to “Richard Perle: ‘I Don’t Believe I Was Wrong’ About Iraq”
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I believe what the writer Mary McCarthy said of the playwright Lillian Hellman many years ago can apply to Richard Perle and the rest of the neoconservatives: “Every word that comes out of her mouth is a lie, including the words the and and.”
November 23rd, 2007 at 8:21 pmThis is an interesting assessment by Perle. So he didn’t want a ground war in Iraq. Earth to Perle, it was only the ground war that enabled Saddam to be captured in December 2003, some 9 months after the beginning of the invasion. His plan would have left Saddam in power and caused some uncertainty regarding WMD that Saddam may have possessed, in case the UN inspectors missed something. For that reason a bombing only campaign may have been the worst choice possible with the current failed occupation the 2nd worse. Sanctions with inspections made the most sense in 2002 and still make the most sense but that wasn’t the policy choosen and it is a policy that is now unavailable. Perle isn’t the first person to be delusional about Iraq and he certainly will not be the last.
November 23rd, 2007 at 8:26 pmhmmmm…Iraq was bombed for almost 12 years since 1991.
November 23rd, 2007 at 8:31 pmPerle wanted to bomb Iraq and that’s it? How many bombs did he want to drop? Scorched earth? Back to the Stone Age? What was the purpose of just simply bombing the country without the invasion? What did he think it would accomplish? Did he expect a country which had nothing to do with the insecurity of the USA to do afterward?
I mean this sounds completely absurd and this guy was one of the architects? There should be a crime on the books for what he did.
November 23rd, 2007 at 8:55 pmThis guy doesn’t have blood on his hands he must bathe in it. Why is he giving interviews when he should be in prison?
November 23rd, 2007 at 8:59 pmPerle’s name is all over PNAC… why do they continue to lie? They all know we know the truth.
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:01 pmI know that many people (Faux Noise viewers) have never heard the truth. And there are probably about the same number who have become so confused (mostly Faux Noise viewers and Limbaugh fans) that they no longer recognize the truth. Even then, the audacity of these lying scum (neocons) is amazing. They can’t keep track of their lies and yet, they keep on talking.
By the time the election comes around they will be claiming that Iraq seized all the nukes in North Dakota, the Cubans and Venezuelans have occupied Florida, and everything West of the Rockies is now Mexico. And, sadly, the 24%ers will believe it.
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:16 pmWhen the Revolution comes, there’ll be a gibbet waiting for this guy.
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:21 pmWho cares what you think, Perle?
You’re always wrong.
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:28 pmRichard Perle is the pitcher to Bill Kristol’s catcher. IfyaknowwhatImean.
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:58 pmThis is the same nutcase who suggested in the 1980s that we could all save ourselves from Soviet nuclear attack “with enough shovels” (to dig holes and cover ourselves in the dirt). He is also the very same nutcase who promoted plastic and duct tape to protect ourselves from biological attack after 9/11. And yet he is still being sat in a chair in front of the TV cameras to pontificate on how he was right about something that turned out so wrong. Way too many people in this country will buy anything, especially if it wears a suit and can string two sentences together in the glare of the lights.
Footnote: The book “With Enough Shovels: Reagan, Bush and Nuclear War,” by Robert Scheer was reviewed in the NY Times by none other than Joe Klein on Nov. 28, 1982. They all just keep recycling their idiocy for us all.
I firmy believe they are putting stupid juice in the water or the chips or the air.
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:17 pmCrackpot realism at its best.
Genius when it comes to solving a problem and blameless when it doesnt work.
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:36 pmOT… On Thom Hartman today, from his archive, a caller called in with a great idea of protesting in from of media/newspaper outlets/offices. If enough protested the news, demanded the real news EX: Why isn’t Scott McClellan’s statement making front page breaking news?, among hundreds of other examples, maybe we would force the media to do business as expected by the constitution plus help get the truth out to the ‘masses‘… yes masses BARTLEBEE.
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:37 pmComment by had enough — November 23, 2007 @ 10:37 pm
My phone number has been blocked by the local “Reich-wing” radio station. My crime? I asked the guest neocon, “why would Iran, under the threat of attack, send needed military equipment to Iraq”? I was cut off before I could ask who is generating the reports of Iranian arms in Iraq. He never answered the question and the phones rang off the hook with callers condemning my “anti-Americanism”. The host even apologized, to the callers, for allowing my ” offensive, far left position,” to be heard!
We live in a world where questions are considered, by too many, treasonous.
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:50 pmpete
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:08 pmthat’s incredible…WOW good for you.
Our Reich-wing corporate owned media is not working properly as required by the constitution….somehow, someway we need to get the truth out there, get our country back and our media before it is too late.
We live in a world where questions are considered, by too many, treasonous.
Comment by pete — November 23, 2007 @ 10:50 pm
Does the station have an 800 number?
Why don’t you post it here, so we can all give them a call?
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:13 pmPERLE IS A WAR CRIMINAL! SHOULD BE TAKEN TO AN INTERNATIONAL COURT! THAT IS… IF, AND ONLY IF THE FACISTS STATES OF AMERICA WANTS TO REGAIN SOME OF ITS INTERNATIONAL CREDIBILITY… HAIL BUSH! AVE BUSH!
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:28 pmProgressive radio talk for the most part welcome the republicans to call in… makes for great entertainment as these repugs really have no reasonable issues to debate and can never win. But hate America right nut radio does not, can not debate the issues… instead they over talk, name call and hang up.
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:29 pmDoes the station have an 800 number?
Why don’t you post it here, so we can all give them a call?
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:36 pmcould be a local station and Pete may not want to disclose his area of residence. I wouldn’t.
Does the station have an 800 number?
Why don’t you post it here, so we can all give them a call?
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity — November 23, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
I considered doing that, however, I’m going to try a couple angles, including a letter to the station’s ombudsmen, first. It just happened Tuesday and was with a guest host. I’m fair enough to give them a chance. It’s possible it’s just the one, part time, host. I haven’t tried any of the other shows yet.
If they don’t let me call in to rag on my football team’s coach Sunday I’ll post their identity, and 800 number, here as well as Smirking Chimp, C&L, The Zoo, and anywhere else I can think of.
I have also composed a nice letter for the local papers, Public Radio station etc.
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:48 pmLet me be very clear, you were WRONG. Next Brownshirt please.
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:49 pmcould be a local station and Pete may not want to disclose his area of residence. I wouldn’t.
Comment by had enough — November 23, 2007 @ 11:36 pm
That’s another consideration though I live in a large enough city there’s little real danger. I would rather enjoy some troll working through a few thousand “petes” to find lil’ ‘ol me!
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:51 pmI Don’t Believe I Was Wrong’ About Iraq: Richard Perle
Goddamn-it is all I can say. Goddamn Pig is even better.
God on the Cross I hate these bastards.
November 24th, 2007 at 12:05 amThank goodness for your site! The Corporate Media certainly won’t report and hold these guys accountable for their words.
November 24th, 2007 at 12:19 amOn behalf of Israel, I want to thank our American friends for fighting our wars for us. Next up - Iran, then Syria.
Thank you for making Middle East safe for Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territories. Thanks goys!
November 24th, 2007 at 12:24 amOnce again, Perle is showing the complete disconnect there is between his beliefs and reality.
If confronted with reality, Perle plays semantics, draws arbitrary lines to skirt responsibility, and obfuscates -when not telling outright lies.
“Iraqis tend to shoot their weapons in the air”? Riiight. And I suppose Iraqi IEDs are actually a welcome sign. What a twit.
November 24th, 2007 at 1:17 am.
.
.
Many don’t know this, but Richard Perle PUBLICLY stated that the Iraq invasion WAS ILLEGAL.
in 2003…
War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal
November 24th, 2007 at 1:54 am.
.
.
Comment by Gregor Samsa — November 24, 2007 @ 1:17 am
That’s what’s fascinating. The neocons are invested in a web of lies. And, just like a spider web, when a single strand is plucked the whole web trembles.
Heck, the “players” can’t keep their own lies straight; how on Earth can they hope to keep up with all the other lies? As bad as things are, I really think they will collapse without much help from their opposition. I hope.
November 24th, 2007 at 2:01 amIt is not just that all neoconservatives are liars. A common characteristic is the utter inability to admit they were wrong, even to themselves.
The lying is a product of an elitist mentality, unmoored from any personal ethics, which says that only they know what is best. Lying is merely a means to their end of achieving superior policies and therefore superior results. By the same reasoning, democracy merely gets in their way.
But it appears that neoconservatives have gone so far down this path of rationalization that they can no longer admit they were wrong about anything. To admit they were wrong is to admit they don’t know best, which brings down the entire rationalization for their foul lies, and in some cases foul existence.
November 24th, 2007 at 2:15 amComment by VerbalKint — November 24, 2007 @ 2:15 am
It’s a product of “authoritarianism”. Here’s a link to a “must read”.
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
November 24th, 2007 at 2:23 amI didn’t favor the occupation strategy. I think the occupation was a mistake.
The WTF-Incredulometer not only pegged out on this one, but the whirlyframmitz melted.
What did this neocon clown think would happen after a successful invasion, a rodeo? A circus perhaps? Maybe popcorn at the movies?
Fu(K you pearly, and the gates that are going to slam shut on your ass.
November 24th, 2007 at 2:59 amAutralian opposition claims victory-Iraq a major factor
Howard likely to be dumped from legislature
November 24th, 2007 at 6:09 amOfficial figures from the Australian Electoral Commission showed Labor in front with more than 60 percent of the ballots counted. An Australian Broadcasting Corp. analysis showed that Labor would get at least 81 places in the 150- seat lower house of parliament — a clear majority.
http://ccoaler.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 11/ howards-reign-in-australia-is-over.html
November 24th, 2007 at 6:50 amHowards gone!! Yay..another member of the coalition of the billing is no longer willing to take our blood money to continue this blood money farce
November 24th, 2007 at 6:59 amhttp://ccoaler.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-ruddslide.html
ITS A RUDDSLIDE
November 24th, 2007 at 7:59 amperles of wisdom by one of the most hateful, evil men on the face of the earth.
He didn’t want a ground war, he wanted Iraq obliterated off the planet. Why is our government filled with these jewish terrorists? It seems more and more that Israel wants to obliterate every other middle eastern country off the face of the earth and they want us to do it for them.
November 24th, 2007 at 8:05 amIf Perle thinks he was not wrong then he must think that George Bush is the most intelligent man that he has ever met. If that sounds familiar, stupid, self-serving and insame to you, you are correct.
Perle completely wrong as were every other misquided neocon who lied us into attacking Iraq. Perle’s actions were instrumental in removing the leader of a sovereign nation that was actually an ally in preventing proliferation of Al-Qaida.
Not only is Perle wrong, he is completely wrong. If he was the North pointing needle of a compass he would point South all the time. Perle must recognize his own complicity in propping up our little woodenhead president as he squandered the health, wealth and security of our nation.
I wish only the worst for Perle and you shoud too.
November 24th, 2007 at 8:13 amHave you noticed that right-wingers have a pathological incapacity for self-criticism? It’s as if a part of their brains were missing! All they ever do is screw up and blame the liberals.
November 24th, 2007 at 8:27 amMr. Perle’s long career will unfortunately provide fodder for historians and not the MSM. A couple of my pet peeves are the Whitehouse visit on the morning of Sept 12, 2001 and the difference of opinion about what was said as he crossed paths with Mr. Tennet on the way out.
Another bullet he dodged was the fallout from the Conrad Black trial.
He and all cooperative members of the Board at Hollinger Int. were given letters clearing them despite of or because of revelations in the Breeden Report.
The report offers a list of characters and agendas embroiled in a battle for control of Media outlets.
http://www.sec.gov/ Archives/ edgar/ data/ 868512/ 000095012304010413/ y01437exv99w2.htm
November 24th, 2007 at 8:30 amPerle always presenrs himself as a persuader. Selling crap.
November 24th, 2007 at 8:53 amHe was a far left loon who finally broke.
So pay attention all you conspiracy nuts.
This dog still thinks chasing cars is a good idea and claims no responsibility for what happens after we actually catch one.
November 24th, 2007 at 9:24 amWhat I think happened is that a successful invasion was turned into an unsuccessful occupation. I didn’t favor the occupation strategy. I think the occupation was a mistake.
———————–
Bombing and invasion but no occupation.
In other words,……….WHAT?
Are these the people determining American foreign policy?
Where do they come from?
How do we get rid of them?
November 24th, 2007 at 9:26 amTypical neocon. Never admit mistakes, or errors in judgement. Never admit lies. Never doubt yourself, regardless of facts and results.
November 24th, 2007 at 9:59 amAlways blame someone else; i.e. they took your brilliant idea and messed it up. Fingerpointing is learned in lesson one of neocon schooling. Irresponsibility is key; accept no accountability. Continue to lie until the point of delusion.
@45
November 24th, 2007 at 10:03 amPlease ignore the troll
Breeden Report Page 483
November 24th, 2007 at 10:54 am“It is, of course, possible for a conflicted board member to act at least somewhat responsibly. As a conflicted Executive Committee member, however, Perle did not. Rather, his Executive Committee performance falls squarely into the “head-in-the-sand†behavior that breaches a director’s duty of good faith and renders him liable for damages under Delaware law.”
“I have not been on an outing like this for four years,†said Rajaa Mahmoud..
In other words, his last pleasant family outing occurred before the invasion under Saddam’s rule. Thanks for clearing that up for us, CHL
November 24th, 2007 at 11:16 amProgressive radio talk for the most part welcome the republicans to call in…
That’s one of the reasons why I love Thom Hartmann’s show. He brings on conservatives all the time and he continually makes hay out of them. I don’t know why they haven’t caught on yet. But he does it in a very respectful and dignified way. He never calls them names and he never cuts them off. He just comes back with well reasoned and well researched answers that show the lie of what the conservative is saying.
November 24th, 2007 at 11:51 amHere’s an update for our resident loon:
Bombing shatters Baghdad’s calm
By Nancy A. Youssef and Hussein Kadhim | McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD — A remote-controlled bomb exploded in the middle of a crowded Baghdad pet market Friday morning, killing at least 13 people, wounding 57, ending a two-month lull in major attacks in the Iraqi capital and raising fears that recent improvements in security may not last.
Sometime before 9 a.m., witnesses said, someone detonated an improvised bomb hidden in a pile of trash in the Ghazal Bazaar in central Baghdad, where salesmen gather once a week to sell birds, monkeys, tropical fish and other animals.
November 24th, 2007 at 11:59 amPerle has the mind of a sociopath. No conscience whatsoever.
November 24th, 2007 at 12:10 pmPerle has the mind of a sociopath. No conscience whatsoever.
Comment by Hawkeye
Perle has the mind of a neoCON. NeoCON and sociopath are interchangeable words with this pack of people with no conscience.
November 24th, 2007 at 12:21 pmR. Perle was just another lying traitorous war criminal-to-be in the run up to Bush’s imperial invasion and occupation of The Republic of Iraq. He is a lying traitorous war criminal now. He should be taken to the World Court in the Hague to stand trial for complicity in Bush’s million war crimes (one million murdered Iraqis = 1,000,000 war crimes).
November 24th, 2007 at 12:31 pmRemarkable similarity between Perles revisionism and the “good” Germans after WWII. Must be instinctive to distance ones self from atrocities once they are articulated. Perle, like the rest of the Vulcans are indeed war criminals. Lucky for him the ruling class will protect him from deserved accountiblility.
November 24th, 2007 at 12:43 pmPerl is a fat one.
November 24th, 2007 at 1:14 pmRichard Perle is just another of the lying fascist pig neo-conservatives who will never face reality. Delusion is a terrible thing.
November 24th, 2007 at 1:16 pmAnother necon traitor pig who should be gutted when he appears in public. How are these enemies of the people moving about so freely???
November 24th, 2007 at 1:31 pm“We’re making so much progress with most Iraqis that those who feel threatened by the progress are more devoted and more energetic to try to destroy the progress we’re making”…………………….say whaaa?????
November 24th, 2007 at 2:31 pmBlack is facing up to 15 years on Dec. 10.
http://www.blacksjustice.com/
November 24th, 2007 at 2:41 pmuh folks, folks. Notice that he says he doesn’t **BELIEVE** that he did anything wrong. Like the tobacco executives who testified that they didn’t **BELIEVE** that smoking was linked to health problems, a belief isn’t debatable.
November 24th, 2007 at 7:12 pm#$%*&!!%&$$$!!#$%%!!!$%@&
YOU
PERLE!
What more can we say, truly?
November 24th, 2007 at 8:05 pmThe man doesn’t look in the mirror much, I guess?
November 25th, 2007 at 12:08 pmA Perel that IS a swine.
November 25th, 2007 at 1:47 pmOne of the most dangerous Zionists in America. Should be tried for treason with the others.
November 26th, 2007 at 4:05 amI’m late to this party, but I will say that events of the past few years opened my eyes to see past some life-long conditioning and come to a realization similar to what Plunger is saying in comments # 8 and #9. Israeli companies Comverse and Amdocs do, in fact, control our telecommunications records and they do have the capability of monitoring it all; I am aware of this from other research and corporate work. If it’s true that Jonathan Pollard’s spying gave Israel control over the US nuclear arsenal as well, that could explain even more about the Neocon cabal’s power.
Liberals need to get over their baseless “anti conspiracy theory” bias — it is merely brainwashing they have falle prey to, and it enables the covert operators of globalist espionage agents, most likely working for the controllers of the private, centralized banking systems of most of the world’s companies, to succeed in subverting the Constitution and highjacking US might. As David Ray Griffin so succinctly points out, all people believe a conspiracy theory about 9/11. The Bush-Neocon-media theory is that it was all perpetrated by a small group of Muslims, mostly from Saudi Arabia. You have to overlook one hell of a lot of facts to come to that “conclusion.” And you have to believe a usurper “Administration” blatantly centered on globalist conquest which has proven to be liars about virtually EVERYTHING else, and wanted NO investigation of the attacks (doesn’t it occur to you to ask “why not?”). Being organized, determined, well-armed, and in possession of a legal monopoly on using force domestically means these treasonous criminals have all that its opposition lacks. If we continue to lack all these elements, the future looks rather like what one has every right to expect from The Fourth Reich.
Liberals must not only summon up the energy and courage to rally to organize, but to target courageous candidates like Dennis Kucinich for as much massive editorial and monetary support as they possibly can. They have got to stop being captives of the Democratic Party, especially in light of its record of aiding and abetting Republican repressive tactics against Americans they’ve demonstrated this past year. The Democratic Party if part of the Imperialist Establishment. Liberals must not support the party until and unless this changes; they must work outside this structure and help only individual candidates. They must definitely stop respecting and following the lead of media talking heads whose only job is to assist the dynastic beneficiaries of corporate power in destroying democracy. If the media denigrates a candidate and calls him “unelectable,” that’s the candidate you should be looking at for possible support. (Not the one Rupert Murdoch throws fund-raising bashes for, hint, hint.)
November 26th, 2007 at 9:14 pmMy problem with supporting any candidate is that I’m very afraid that the elections might be fixed anyway. That scares the shit out of me because I know it is a real possibility and not some extremist idea.
Despite being dubious of them all, I would hope that Kucinick and Ron Paul could somehow run together. I think they couls win an honest election. Maybe Jimmy Carter needs to come home and check our elections.
The Democratic Party is not going to let Kucinick get the nomination, much less the Republicans letting Ron Paul get nominated…the only two guys in the whole race who actually seem to be honest people.
Obama look appealing but I suspect he’s owned by the establishment just like they own all the others. Twidlee-Dee, Twidlee-Dum.
I don’t think we’re going to see real change until we see some of these people hanging from the Capitol steps. The government hasn’t yet figured out that the American public thinks most of it’s national leaders are cheap thugs at best and Nazis at worst.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:39 am