Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroft
Brent Scowcroftis a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General. He was the United States National Security Advisor under U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. He also served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005 and assisted President Barack Obama...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPublic Servant
Date of Birth19 March 1925
CountryUnited States of America
But the central point is that any campaign against Iraq, whatever the strategy, cost and risks, is certain to divert us for some indefinite period from our war on terrorism.
To sum up, the position we took was that since we didn't know the internal situation in Iraq nor Saddam Hussein, that our best bet was to take counsel from the people who did know him and who did deal with him.
Many Sunnis, who are still stuck in the Saddam era mindset and believe Iraq belongs to them, are trying to prevent a new country from developing at all.
Saddam's ouster will not necessarily lead to the same result, since Iraq lacks democratic traditions. Democracy doesn't just consist of holding elections.
If Iraq were to descend into chaos, the Europeans would feel the effects just as much as we would.
After the Iran/Iraq war, Iraq had enormous reconstruction, issues and it was our hope that American business would be able to participate in that since Iraq is fundamentally a wealthy nation.
An attack on Iraq at this time would seriously jeopardize, if not destroy, the global counterterrorist campaign we have undertaken,
(Saddam) took the first strike, that is against the radar sites in the south, as a sign that we really didn't have much stomach for this, and that he could get away and take advantage of it and maybe split the coalition further. So, he starts to fire off some missiles,
I think privately a lot of people are cheering it who are not allowed to do so publicly.
Only very gradually did we understand that we - like any other country - have clearly defined national interests.
Should you or any member of your staff require additional information concerning this matter, an oral briefing will be arranged for you at your convenience,
The Iraqis need help establishing a government. We have to provide them with security.
Progress is only possible if the United States and its allies work together.
I'm afraid that the United States is more isolated today than at any other time in my memory.