Saddam asked Bush for $1bn to go into exile

[Gorbachioo]

Saddam asked Bush for $1bn to go into exile | the Daily Mail


Saddam asked to get 1 billion dollars for leaving iraq before the war had started. Appearantly Bush knew this and declined his offer.


I wonder how dumb Bush supporters feel now

 

[Blackjack]

Actually i doubt Bush supporters feel stupid at all. The people who voted for him are the ones who would have rather gone to war than give Saddam a billion dollars for anything actually.

Personally, i think declining was the right thing to do (i am by no means a Bush supporter btw) There were plenty of Saddam minded people to take over, and going along the same lines. A billion dollars would have been a small price to pay to avoid war, and all the people killed. But it was just as much a question of getting rid of the people around Saddam, as Saddam himself.
Paying Saddam to leave, would have made little more than symbolic value.

 

[old.Tohtori]

"We do nhot, discurse with terrorismists."

 

[Sparx]

i think turning his offer down was right too.

If we dont bow down to terrorists kidnapping we shouldnt be allowed bribes

 

[CorNokZ]

Capturing him > Paying him to (maybe) disappear

 

[Ctuchik]

Personally, i think declining was the right thing to do

lol yeah, starting wars and being responsible for more deaths then saddam ever was is ALWAYS better.

and then we also have the financial COST of said war, how many hundreds of billions are they up on now?

and Seel, saddam was never a terrorist, a dictator yes, a terrorist no

but then again, USA (and many other countries) use the word terrorist on anyone that isn't agreeing with them.

 

[Gorbachioo]

I have to say im a little surprised by your opinions so far


Surely letting him have 1 billion dollars is better than killing tens of thousands of people, loose all your credibility and pay more than 1 trillion dollars for a war that had no reason to take place.

And it wasnt the americans that needed to pay that 1 billion. He was going to take it from Iraqis.

If Bush had accepted his offer, there would probably a peaceful democracy in Iraq right now. Well alot more peaceful than it is now anyway. Im sure some would still resist but they would have alot less support.

 

[cHodAX]

Lets see, a $1 billion payoff or...


150,000 Iraqi lives lost

$600 billion of U.S. taxpayers money flushed down the toilet with no end in sight

3,500 U.S. service personel lives lost

What you have to ask yourself is what has the U.S. administration gained from this war that would offset such massive losses?

 

[old.Tohtori]

and Seel, saddam was never a terrorist, a dictator yes, a terrorist no

But for a Bush quote it would fit, no?

 

[Jeremiah]

There is no doubt that if Saddam went into exile, Iraq would still be in chaos. So you would be $1 million down, with no improvement in the situation. Iraq wouldnt have settled into a democracy, muslim denominations would continue to kill each other.

It may have saved the lives of the troops + the casualties of war (which is obviously a very good thing) but theres no guarentee that a UN force wouldnt have required to step in to try keep the peace - and we'd be back to a foriegn army on Iraq soil again.

 

[Gorbachioo]

There is no doubt that if Saddam went into exile, Iraq would still be in chaos. So you would be $1 million down, with no improvement in the situation. Iraq wouldnt have settled into a democracy, muslim denominations would continue to kill each other.

It may have saved the lives of the troops + the casualties of war (which is obviously a very good thing) but theres no guarentee that a UN force wouldnt have required to step in to try keep the peace - and we'd be back to a foriegn army on Iraq soil again.

I disagree. If Saddam had left i dont see why the people of iraq would have supported some new dictator. Some probably would have, but thats a small minority. I dont see why they would be against democracy in this case.

And yes. UN forces probably would have been needed in that case. But they wouldnt have faced the same resistance that americans are facing now, because they would be there to help and nothing else, whereas americans clearly are not.

 

[Chronictank]

It may have saved the lives of the troops + the casualties of war (which is obviously a very good thing) but theres no guarentee that a UN force wouldnt have required to step in to try keep the peace - and we'd be back to a foriegn army on Iraq soil again.

And give radicals less ammo to bring people to their cause as well as the countless people in Iraq who are now in such a shit situation they see joining such groups as the only way out, etc, etc etc...

They could have simply said to sadaam, resign publicly (effectively go into exile) and declare the state a democracy with elections to decide the new regime or even a phased approach with the payment based on pre-determined goals being achieved

 

[Gamah]

I disagree. If Saddam had left i dont see why the people of iraq would have supported some new dictator. Some probably would have, but thats a small minority. I dont see why they would be against democracy in this case.

And yes. UN forces probably would have been needed in that case. But they wouldnt have faced the same resistance that americans are facing now, because they would be there to help and nothing else, whereas americans clearly are not.

You clearly have no clue, people would struggle for power, and that would mean civil war...? You think any of the 3 main factions would allow the other to gain control/leadership over any government?

You think because someone "steps down" everyones going to say "lol m8's lets set up a fair and just democracy" you are shockingly ignorent about human nature.

 

[soze]

Giving $1bn to Sadam would have been a great idea. I mean he would have used that money to buy a villa in Spain and just lived the rest of his life on the interest.

Or would he have plowed that money into buying dirty bombs and taking them to the US and Europe? Lots of people may have died but giving him money could have killed just as many maybe more people.

 

[Chronictank]

Giving $1bn to Sadam would have been a great idea. I mean he would have used that money to buy a villa in Spain and just lived the rest of his life on the interest.

he was laughably tried as a war criminal in a illegal war, he may have been a sick fuck but these double standards are why radical groups have so much support.
so what if he dissapears to buy "a villa in spain"

Or would he have plowed that money into buying dirty bombs and taking them to the US and Europe? Lots of people may have died but giving him money could have killed just as many maybe more people.

what exactly are you basing that on?, he had no wmd's when he was running the country what makes you think he will spend all his own money to go buy them afterwards?

 

[Succi]

Having saddam leave iraq would not have solved all the problems , so

 

[Bugz]

"It seems he's indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if he's allowed to take $1billion and all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction."

Obviously Saddam does not intend to simply go buy a house in the Bahamas and enjoy the rest of his life with beach babes.

Such ignorance in this thread.

 

[Gorbachioo]

"It seems he's indicated he would be prepared to go into exile if he's allowed to take $1billion and all the information he wants about weapons of mass destruction."

Obviously Saddam does not intend to simply go buy a house in the Bahamas and enjoy the rest of his life with beach babes.

Such ignorance in this thread.

And what exactly would he do with that information?

And what do you think he intended to do then?

Ignorance? ;o

 

[Gorbachioo]

You clearly have no clue, people would struggle for power, and that would mean civil war...? You think any of the 3 main factions would allow the other to gain control/leadership over any government?

You think because someone "steps down" everyones going to say "lol m8's lets set up a fair and just democracy" you are shockingly ignorent about human nature.

Saying that they wouldnt even consider democracy and just rush straight in to war is also ignorant. As stated earlier, some would ofcourse resist. But i think that would be a small minority. Especially if there was pressure from the west.


Again i have to say im stunned with the answers, because i think that this is the biggest deception that Bush has done so far.

 

[soze]

he was laughably tried as a war criminal in a illegal war, he may have been a sick fuck but these double standards are why radical groups have so much support.
so what if he dissapears to buy "a villa in spain"


what exactly are you basing that on?, he had no wmd's when he was running the country what makes you think he will spend all his own money to go buy them afterwards?

Im not basing it on anything you cant prove he would have taken that money and gone and lived in peace and not bothered any one i cant prove he would have purchased WMD and blown up the world.

Saying giving him £1bn and no one would have died is assuming he did not get together with Bin Laden and suddenly have the funds to buy russian nukes. You think it all would be fine i think it might not have been.

 

[Chronictank]

Im not basing it on anything you cant prove he would have taken that money and gone and lived in peace and not bothered any one i cant prove he would have purchased WMD and blown up the world.

Saying giving him £1bn and no one would have died is assuming he did not get together with Bin Laden and suddenly have the funds to buy russian nukes. You think it all would be fine i think it might not have been.

I cant proove he wouldn't build a giant house out of jelly either, should i assume that was what he had in mind?

 

[soze]

I cant proove he wouldn't build a giant house out of jelly either, should i assume that was what he had in mind?

If thats what makes you happy fill your boots

 

[Jeremiah]

And give radicals less ammo to bring people to their cause as well as the countless people in Iraq who are now in such a shit situation they see joining such groups as the only way out, etc, etc etc...

They could have simply said to sadaam, resign publicly (effectively go into exile) and declare the state a democracy with elections to decide the new regime or even a phased approach with the payment based on pre-determined goals being achieved

I suspect that those radicals fighting the US and UK just now would have no problem switching targets to UN soilders. After all, the marjority of their claims is that they dont believe a foriegn power should be on their soil. Yes, some have a hatred of the US, but it wouldnt be hard to swing that hatred to a hatred of "the West", and then hatred of "the UN" who they werent exatly friendly with in the beginning. I dont really think they care who they are fighting against.

And I dont think Iraq would have been ready for a democracy. Take now for example, the two major parties refuse to work together, and take turns on storming out their parliment. We shouldnt think everyone believes democracy is the pinnicle form of Government, especially in an Islamic state where the Law favours the needs of many over the needs of the few. In our democracy, it tends to be the other way around (but are we really living in a democracy Oo?)

 

[Lamp]

Not only is this story over a week old, Saddam's dead.

Breaking news ! William Shakespeare had a glass of wine once.
More breaking news ! Beethoven is dead.
Even more breaking news ! World War II has ended.
Late news ! Britain defeats Argentina in War over Falklands.
Late breaking news ! Man with head goes to post office to buy stamp !
Even more late breaking news ! My dog has no nose. How does it smell ? Bloody awful.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Even more breaking news ! World War II has ended.

Between England and Finland it isn't

 

[Lamp]

Between England and Finland it isn't

There's a related tale. How long did the Crimean War last ?
Obvious Answer = 3 years (1853-1856)
Actual Answer = 113 years (1853-1966)

Under the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Henry VII of England and James IV of Scotland in 1502 (just 11 years before the Scottish army and nobility was destroyed by the English at the Battle of Flodden) Berwick Upon Tweed was given a special status as being "of" the Kingdom of England but not "in" it. As a result the town thereafter needed special mention in royal proclamations.

This had one odd effect. When Queen Victoria signed the declaration of war on Russia in 1853, she did so in the name of "Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, Berwick-upon-Tweed and the British Dominions beyond the sea." But Berwick was not mentioned in the Treaty of Paris that concluded the Crimean War in 1856, leaving the town technically still at war with Russia.

A peace treaty was only finally signed by a Russian diplomat and the the Mayor of Berwick in 1966. As the mayor said at the time: "You can tell the Russian people that they can now sleep peacefully in their beds".

 

[Bugz]

And what exactly would he do with that information?

And what do you think he intended to do then?

Ignorance? ;o

Then why would he take the information?

You don't take information of a limitless amount for weapons of mass destruction unless you plan to sell on the information, use or it what-have-you.

That's not ignorance - just common sense.

 

[Bahumat]

Saddam could have then bought the russian army and still had change

 

[Solo]

He wanted it to build a Space Mountain in his theme park.

You actually trust him to take the $1bn and walk away...

 

[Gorbachioo]

He wanted it to build a Space Mountain in his theme park.

You actually trust him to take the $1bn and walk away...

If Saddam ever intended to get wmds/attack the west in some way then he would have done it while in power.

What can you do with 1 billion? Other than live a very very good life somewhere.


My point is. If he had gone to exile he would have been harmless. Yes 1 billion is alot of money but if you start a war with that against the most powerful nation in the world you will just get yourself killed.



Im not saying that this would have been a magical cure for everything. Ofcourse there would still be problems, but things would be ALOT better than what they are now. And i dont think anyone can say that they wouldnt be.