[This article was written in 2004. It was never published, and I have decided, fifteen years later, to post it online here.]
The invasion of Iraq was declared for the purpose of ending the decades-long dictatorship of President Saddam Hussein — which was suspected of producing weapons of mass destruction and sheltering terrorists who threatened the US — and to replace it with a democratic government. The U.S. military’s mission objectives were:End the regime of Saddam HusseinIdentify, isolate, and eliminate Iraq’s WMD, systems, and facilitiesCapture or drive out terrorists sheltered in IraqCollect intelligence on terrorist networks and on Iraq’s illicit WMD activitySecure Iraq’s oil fields and natural resources for the Iraqi peopleEnd sanctions and immediately deliver humanitarian relief and assistanceHelp the Iraqi people rapidly transition to a representative form of self-government that does not threaten its neighbors and is committed to the territorial integrity of IraqThe United…
Transcript of the July 25, 2019 phone callCaveat within the transcript itself: "The text in this document records the notes and recollections of Situation Room Duty Officers and NSC policy staff assigned to listen and memorialize the conversation in written form as the conversation takes place. A number of factors can affect the accuracy of the record, including poor telecommunications connections and variations in accent and/or interpretation."Gordon Sondland, testifying publicly on Nov. 20, said:...members of this committee have frequently framed these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a 'quid pro quo?' With regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.In late September, a week after news broke that a whistleblower had reported an inappropriate call President Trump had with Ukraine's President Zelensky, Trump attempted to defend himself by releasing what he referred to as a "transcript&quo…