[Peace-discuss] Kenneth Pollack in NY Times

[David Green]

In Today’s NY Times, Kenneth Pollack writes a long,
rambling article arguing that Saddam Hussein intends
to do us all in, regardless of the implications for
himself in Iraq. Among his accusations is one that
I’ve never encountered before:

“Then, in October 2000, he dispatched five divisions
to western Iraq. All of the evidence available to the
American government indicated that, with the
acquiescence of Damascus, he intended to move them
through through Syria and into the Golan Heights. In
response, Washington began preparing a military strike
far greater than Desert Fox of 1999 (which itself
prompted revolts throughout Iraq for six months), and
the Israeli military planned its own crushing
response. Only American and Saudi diplomatic
intervention with Syria, combined with the Iraqi
military's logistical problems, quashed the
adventure.”

The only reference I can find through a google search
is this one, from the right wing Jerusalem Center for
Public Affairs (Dore Gold, Moshe Arens, etc., hardline
Likudniks):

“After the outbreak of the current intifada in October
2000, Iraq dispatched five divisions to its joint
border with Syria and Jordan, signaling its continuing
interest in the Palestinian issue.”

I think it’s revealing that the JCPA, which would
clearly have wanted to run with such a story as
Pollack's, puts it in these limited terms (I have no
information on the truth or significance of the
limited JCPA claims). Clearly, Pollack’s scenario is
fabricated.

What’s interesting about this and other aspects of the
Pollack article is the lengths that he is willing to
go to convince readers that Hussein is a threat,
nuclear and otherwise, and the Times willingness to
publish a long article such as this as its lone guest
editorial on a Friday. 

Not that there were doubts anyway (after Powell's UN
presentation), but it’s clear that we’ve entered high
propaganda mode in the heart of the liberal
establishment. At this point, they will say almost
anything and expect to be believed.


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