Reality Check: Wellstone's Iraq Predictions

Thanks to Demrock6 for originally posting this in the Minnesota forum.

I'm off to hit the hay, night :hi:

Someone was very afraid of him.

Senator Wellstone's accident was way too timely and convenient for some people grasping for power. Coincidental?

I have never bought the idea that Senator Wellstone's death was an accident. Never.

That it was Norm Coleman who got the seat that rightfully belonged to Wellstone was a adding a stinging insult to injury. The world was a better place with Paul Wellstone in it.

He said this in October of 2002, and plenty more:

"But if we have learned anything from history, it is that wars are unpredictable. They can trigger consequences that none of us would intend or expect. Is it fair to the American people, who have become accustomed to wars waged from 30,000 feet lasting a few weeks with few casualties, that we not discuss what else could happen? We could be involved in urban warfare where large numbers of our troops are killed.

And what of the critical issue of rebuilding a post-Saddam Iraq, about which the Administration has said virtually nothing? As I have said over and over again, it is one thing to topple a regime, but it is equally important, and sometimes far more difficult, to rebuild a country to prevent it from becoming engulfed by factional fighting.

If these nations cannot successfully rebuild, then they will once again become havens for terrorists. To ensure that does not happen, does the Administration foresee basing thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq after the war, and if so, for how many years and for how many billions of dollars? Are the American people prepared to spend what it will take to rebuild Iraq even when the Administration is failing to budget what is needed to rebuild Afghanistan? Or to budget what is needed here at home for homeland defense, drought aid for farmers, and other domestic priorities, for that matter.

And who will replace Saddam Hussein? The leading coalition of opposition groups, the Iraqi National Congress, is divided, has questionable support among the Iraqi people, and has made little headway in overthrowing Saddam. While Iraq has a strong civil society, in the chaos of a post-Saddam Iraq another dictator could rise to the top or the country could splinter along ethnic or religious lines."

I loved Paul Wellstone, but he was not, by a longshot, the only dem legislator speaking out in blunt terms.

My Senator, Carl Levin, also spoke against the war--in fact, both of my Senators voted against the authorization to go to war. But, if you recall, the balance of power in the Senate was up for grabs in 2002 and theoretically hung on one or two elections. Early on, it appeared that Coleman was winning but Wellstone began mounting a furious comeback at the time of his plane crash. That is why I used the word convenient.

Who is your Senator? Was he running in 2002? If so, was it a close election?

Forgot to mention that my Senator is Leahy, and no he wasn't running, and he'll never be in a close election. Not to mention that he was sent antrax by an unknown party.

http://www.counterpunch.org/madsen1025.html

Not saying that this means they had him "taken out" but it is curious that Jr. settled a few scores from Daddies past. I personally would never assume that there was no foul play.

and I don't believe that those who opposed him wanted to take any chances. Will it ever be anything more substantial than a theory? No. But I believe it strongly.

and he is, of course, missed.

that year that was speaking out so forcefully - the only one up for reelection to vote against the IWR. And, he was running against Normie Coleman, Bush's hand picked toady for the job. Wellstone surged in the polls after his vote agains the Iraq War and Minnesota has paper ballots, making it harder to steal the election. Had Wellstone lived one or two more days (can't remember which), his name would have stayed on the ballot, as it was the DFL was left scrambling to find a replacement candidate.

Also, the day of his death, Wellstone's original schedule (changed so he could attend a funeral) was to fly to Duluth after a day of campaigning in Twin Cities with Ted Kennedy. Kennedy was also scheduled to attend the Duluth rally. Rumor has it they were going to fly up north together. It is not impossible they were both targets. And, for those who aren't familiar with Minnesota, Duluth is on the shore of Lake Superior - a convenient spot to ditch an airplane.

Finally, Karl Rove was on the phone to the Secretary of State, Mary Kiffmeyer (defeated this year) before it was public that Wellstone was dead, telling her how the absentee ballots should be handled. It is strongly suspected that the opinion issued by the SOS's office was written by the White House. That opinion was out within two days of the crash which means someone in Washington became familiar with Minnesota election law awfully damn fast.

I think he was destined to run for President.

Wellstone always said he never intended to run for President, but who knows ...

The senator told a story of once being asked by the press if the country was ready for a Jewish president. "That's not the right question. The right question is: Is the country ready for a short, liberal Jewish president."

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/record/archives/vol25/19/2519_Wellstone_Speaks_CU.html