Iraq war started in 2002. Who knew?

["Eli Stephens" <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The NY Times has finally discovered what every single person on this list
already knew: "U.S. Attacked Iraqi Defenses Starting in 2002"

Full:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/20/international/20MILI.html?ex=1059650248&ei=1&en=9c604e7e13df3a0b

"American air war commanders carried out a comprehensive  plan to disrupt
Iraq's military command and control system before the Iraq war, according to
an internal briefing on the conflict by the senior allied air war
commander."

Naturally, the NY Times excuses its own previous ignorance:

"While there were indications at the time that the United States was trying
to weaken Iraqi air defenses in anticipation of a possible war, the scope
and detailed planning that lay behind the effort were not generally known."

Right. All of us just thought there were "indications." The truth, of
course, is that the "scope" was obvious to any reader of the news, and that
assuming that "detailed planning" was behind it rather than "random chance"
is rather elementary. Although evidently too difficult a conclusion for the
esteemed NY Times to have drawn.

There is at least one VERY interesting bit in this article and this report:

"Air war commanders were required to obtain the approval of Defense
Secretary Donald L. Rumsfeld if any planned airstrike was thought likely to
result in deaths of more than 30 civilians.  More than 50 such strikes were
proposed, and all of them were approved."

Isn't this a prima facie admission of war crimes? Sure sounds like it to me.

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