Iraq war could have been averted for $1 Billion.

The Iraq war could have been averted in the months prior to the invasion if Sadam's request to go into exile for $1 Billion was agreed upon. Instead, we have thousands dead, and many more billions spent.

Saddam Hussein offered to step down and go into exile one month before the invasion of Iraq, it was claimed last night.

Fearing defeat, Saddam was prepared to go peacefully in return for £500million ($1billion).

The extraordinary offer was revealed yesterday in a transcript of talks in February 2003 between George Bush and the then Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar at the President's Texas ranch.

The White House refused to comment on the report last night.

But, if verified, it is certain to raise questions in Washington and London over whether the costly four-year war could have been averted.

Could war have been averted?

[edit on 27-9-2007 by sensfan]

So basically you want to bribe a mass murdering dictator who probably wouldn't have really gone into exile anyway? I'm guessing he still would have been running the country only from a distance. He'd be the puppetmaster in the shadows.

Granted, it would have been nice if the war would have never happened, but to pay that loser that kind of money? What???

I find the report suspect on many levels.

But even if this is true, and we did this, it wouldn't really have made much of a difference. If all of Saddam's henchmen left, you'd be left with anarchy in Iraq with terrorists moving in just the same.

Originally posted by sensfan
The Iraq war could have been averted in the months prior to the invasion if Sadam's request to go into exile for $1 Billion was agreed upon. Instead, we have thousands dead, and many more billions spent.

The Iraq war could have been averted if the administration didn't fabricate intelligence and mislead the public.

Even if this deal wasn't on the table there shouldn't have been an invasion.

Originally posted by djohnsto77
I find the report suspect on many levels.

But even if this is true, and we did this, it wouldn't really have made much of a difference. If all of Saddam's henchmen left, you'd be left with anarchy in Iraq with terrorists moving in just the same.

What if instead of exiling him we bribed Saddam to stay on in a position of power in the new democratic Iraqi state.