Some creepy 2001 Iraq flashbacks:

[Robb]

Archived at arabnews.com: (note: some of the links seem to be dying on me, but searching on the dates should bear fruit for anyone who wants the whole article)

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US defense chiefÕs views on global threats(Thursday 7, June, 2001)

He (Rumsfeld) says that when US Vice President Dick Cheney went through his conformation hearings to be defense secretary in 1989, Ònot a single senator asked him about Iraq. The word never came up. And a year later, weÕre at war with Iraq in the Persian Gulf.Ó ÒIt made me wonder what name of a country or what word for a military capability wasnÕt mentioned during my confirmation hearings four months ago that within a year could come up and dominate our lives.Ó

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US abandons two-war defense strategy, focus now on Ôasymmetric threatsÕ (Thursday, 28, June, 2001)

Army General Tommy Franks, Commander of the US Central Command, further clarified the new global mission for American fighting forces last week in a speech. Franks warned that the United States must prepare itself for a future ÒasymmetricÓ sneak attack much like the infamous strike Japan launched against the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at the beginning of World War II.

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US threatens to hit other states(Tuesday, 9, October, 2001]

European diplomats said any attempt to extend the (Afghanistan) campaign by targeting Iraq, as some US officials have suggested, would blow apart the global coalition against terrorism, and alienate not only Arab and Muslim states but also key European partners including Russia. The White House said the Negroponte letter was only the latest such warning from the Bush administration.