Page 276 - A Call for a Turkish-Islamic Union

A CALL FOR A TURKISH-ISLAMIC UNION

they acquired the belief, assisted by the Israeli lobby, that a war
in the Middle East was necessary. Had they made a comprehen-
sive evaluation, they soon would have realized that such a belief
was mistaken. If the purpose was to create stability, it is obvious
that war never brings about stability and order. To the contrary,
it destroys the existing order and brings about nothing but loss.
It is a historic fact that stability can be achieved only by preserv-

ing peace.
An article titled "Invading Iraq Not A New Idea For Bush
Clique: 4 Years Before 9/11, Plan Was Set," published in the
Philadelphia Daily News under the name William Bunch, stated
the following:

But in reality, Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, and a
small band of conservative ideologues had begun making the
case for an American invasion of Iraq as early as 1997—
nearly four years before the Sept. 11 attacks and three years
before President Bush took office.
An obscure, ominous-sounding right-wing policy group called
Project for the New American Century, or PNAC—affiliated
with Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld's top deputy Paul Wolfowitz
and Bush's brother Jeb—even urged then-President Clinton to
invade Iraq back in January 1998.

"We urge you to ... enunciate a new strategy that would secure
the interests of the U.S. and our friends and allies around the
world," stated the letter to Clinton, signed by Rumsfeld,
Wolfowitz, and others. "That strategy should aim, above all,
at the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power. 29
But what was the reason for PNAC's members to be so per-

sistent about bringing down Saddam? The same article contin-
ues:

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