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CHB Investigates. . .
Role reversal: Bush wants war, Pentagon urges caution
By DOUG THOMPSON
Jan 22, 2003, 01:18

Senior Pentagon officials are quietly urging President George W. Bush to=
 slow
down his headlong rush to war with Iraq, complaining the administration=92s
course of action represents too much of a shift of America=92s longstanding=
 =93no
first strike=94 policy and that the move could well result in conflicts with
other Arab nations.<?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

=20

=93We have a dangerous role reversal here,=94 one Pentagon source tells Capi=
tol
Hill
Blue. =93The civilians are urging war and the uniformed officers are urging
caution.=94

=20

Capitol Hill Blue has learned the Joint Chiefs of Staff are split over
plans to
invade <?xml:namespace prefix =3D st1 ns =3D
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Iraq in the coming weeks.=
 They
have asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumseld to urge Bush to back down=
 from
his hard line stance until United Nations weapons inspectors can finish=
 their
jobs and the U.S. can build a stronger coalition in the Middle East.

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=93This is not Desert Storm,=94 one of the Joint Chiefs is reported to have=
 told
Rumseld. =93We don=92t have the backing of other Middle Eastern nations. We=
 don=92t
have the backing of any of our allies except Britain and we=92re advocating=
 a
policy that says we will invade another nation that is not currently=
 attacking
us or invading any of our allies.=94

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Intelligenced sources say some Arab nations have told US diplomats they may
side with Iraq if the U.S. attacks without the backing of the United=
 Nations.
Secretary of State Colin Powell agrees with his former colleagues at the
Pentagon and has told the President he may be pursuing a "dangerous course."

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An angry Rumsfeld, who backs Bush without question, is said to have told the
Joint Chiefs to get in line or find other jobs. Bush is also said to be
=93extremely angry=94 at what he perceives as growing Pentagon opposition to=
 his
role as Commander in Chief.

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=93The President considers this nation to be at war,=94 a White House source
says,=94
and, as such, considers any opposition to his policies to be no less than an
act of treason.=94

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But conversations with sources within the Bush administration, the Pentagon,
the FBI and the intelligence community indicate a deepening rift between the
professionals who wage war for a living and the administration civilians to
want to send them into battle.

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Sources say the White House has ordered the FBI and CIA to =93find and=
 document=94
links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9-11
terrorist attacks.

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=93The implication is clear,=94 grumbles one longtime FBI agent. =93Find a=
 link, any
link, no matter how vague or unproven, and then use that link to justify
action
against Iraq.=94

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While Hussein and Iraq have been linked to various terrorist groups in the
past, U.S. intelligence agencies have not been able to establish a provable
link with bin Laden=92s al Qaeda forces.

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=93There may be one,=94 says another FBI source. =93There should be one. All=
 logic
says there has to be one, but we haven=92t established it as a fact. Not=
 yet.=94

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Pentagon planners privately refer to the pending Iraq conflict as a =93Bush
league war,=94 something that may be fought more for political gain than
anything
else.

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=93During Desert Storm, the line officers wanted to finish the job, wanted=
 to
march into Iraq and take out Hussein and his government, but President Bush
and
JOC Chairman (Colin) Powell pulled the plug on the operation,=94 says one
Pentagon officer. =93We had our chance. We had the justification. We had the
support. We don=92t have it now.=94

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Some Pentagon staffers point to last weekend=92s antiwar rally in=
 Washington,
where they say the  crowd included many veterans of Desert Storm.

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=93This wasn=92t just a bunch of tree huggers and longhairs marching,=94=
 says Arnold
Giftos of Huntington, West Virginia, who served in Desert Storm and who
came to
march. =93Go to any meeting of veterans groups in this country and you will=
 see
serious discussion on whether or not we should be getting into this war.=94

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Reporters covering the marches on Saturday and Sunday say they counted about
500 marchers among the 30,000 who carried signs or other items identifying
themselves as veterans.

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=93I served in Vietnam,=94 said Robert Brighton of Detroit, who marched in
Washington. =93I supported Desert Storm. I don=92t support this. It=92s=
 madness.=94

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In addition, Capitol Hill Blue has learned that both House Speaker Dennis J.
Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist have told the White House that
they have =93increasing=94 numbers of Republicans in both Houses raising=
 doubts
about the war.

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=93Nobody in the party wants to come out publicly and tell the President=
 he=92s
wrong,=94 says one Hill source close to the GOP leadership, =93but we don=92=
t have
the kind of unity we need on this thing. It could blow apart on us at any
time.=94

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Public support for a war with Iraq is also slipping. In November of 2001,=
 just
two months after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, 78
percent
of Americans favored military action against Iraq. That support has slipped=
 to
as low as 52 percent in January polls. A Washington Post-ABC news poll taken
last week shows Americans evenly split over Bush's handling of the crisis=
 with
Iraq.

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Spokesmen for the White House, Pentagon and Congressional leadership offices
would not comment on the record for this report.

=A9 Copyright 2003 Capitol Hill Blue




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