Them's some mighty bright candles on that there cake

Raw Story is reporting that bombing in Iraq was heavier during the Clinton administration than in the official pre-war that was actually the start of the war period under the Bush administration. The actions under the Clinton administration were reportedly part of a "war of attrition" to downgrade Saddam Hussein's capabilities and prevent full-scale war, whereas BushCo appears to have been laying the groundwork to instigate an all out war.

Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair authorized air strikes on more than 100 days in 1999, sometimes several times per day. The bombings were ostensibly in response to Hussein’s refusal to allow UN weapons inspectors into the country, though critics alleged the move was aimed at deflecting attention from impeachment.

[snip]

The British said they had no figures on how often coalition craft were attacked in 1999, but alleged that Iraqis had violated the Southern no-fly zone 53 times.

By contrast, Iraqis violated the zone just eight times in the eight months before President Bush sought a stiffer resolution from the UN to build a case for war.

In 2000 and 2001—over the course of 24 months—the British reported 280 Southern no-fly zone attacks on coalition forces, along with 18 airspace violations.

Comparative attacks in the eight months before the November 2002 UN resolution totaled just 41.

London Times reporter Michael Smith, who broke the story of the Downing Street Memo, stated that the joint US-UK effort was initially started as punishment for the removal of UN weapons inspectors and continued when the allies came under attack which was considered legal under international law by both countries.

In what some saw as a bid to provide cover for war, the U.S. subsequently engineered the removal of Brazilian diplomat Jose Bustani from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the group which enforces chemical weapons bans.

Under Bustani, the group oversaw the destruction of two million chemical weapons and two-thirds of the world’s chemical weapons facilities, and raised the number of signatories from 87 to 145.

The U.S. accused him of threatening to inspect five countries "for political ends.”

It is abundantly clear that the spikes of activity under BushCo were done to instigate a response to justify a claim that the US was goaded into war by an overly agressive Iraq. When the desired response was not forthcoming, BushCo and the bloodle fixed the intel in order to obtain legal approval for the invasion that had already started.

Meanwhile, charter Axis of Evil member N. Korea has been mentoring that other Axis of Evil country, Iran, in the development of it nuclear (say it right: new-clear, not nu-cu-lar) program.

"In the late 1990s, cooperation began between the two countries, which focused on nuclear (research and development)," said an intelligence report obtained from a non-U.S. diplomat.

"There has been a significant improvement in relations between Iran and North Korea over the past few months," the report said. A recent example is what the three-page report described as a "special secret course to provide technological and practical information to outstanding students." Among the lecturers are senior North Korean scientists and atomic technicians, it said.

"This nuclear cooperation between the two countries has apparently increased significantly during the past year as seen in the arrival of an academic delegation from North Korea in Iran and the existence of this special course," it said.

While the foks in Tehran claim the assistance is merely to improve and accelerate their nuclear energy program, others are skeptical that the goal exclude development of nuclear weaponry, especially considering the fact that N. Korea withdrew from the 2003 nuclear non-proliferation treaty and claims it has already developed nuclear weapons.

Happy Birthday W, pity we all stand to risk more fire-power than the 59 candles nuclear warheads on your uranium cake.

Tags: politics; Iraq War; Bush Administration; Foreign Policy; BBA; Downing Street Memorandum; Honor; conservatism; Rumsfeld; North Korea; Iran; nuclear proliferation

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