[che_shirecat]

What did the US foreign policy establishment know about Afghanistan and Iraq than you or I do? Last I heard from reliable sources, Iraq had WMD's and were a clear and present danger? Why not just preempt China's nuclear capability too by nuking them?

[triceratops]

> What did the US foreign policy establishment know about Afghanistan

That Osama was hiding there. Which he was, at the time. And that he had carried out 9/11. Which he did.

The Irag and Afghanistan wars were not the same. Practically everyone supported the US in Afghanistan. Practically no one followed the US into Iraq.

[bee_rider]

I think you are just making a rhetorical flourish, but we should be clear that Iraq didn’t have WMDs, wasn’t an urgent danger, and any sources that said they did should not be treated as reliable.

[JumpCrisscross]

> any sources that said they did should not be treated as reliable.

American GEOINT, MASINT, SIGINT and TECHINT are likely the best in the world. American HUMINT, OSINT and--somewhat paradoxically--FININT are atrocious. Unfortunately, we frequently ascribe confidence intervals to our clandestine services based on experience with e.g. the NRO.

[yonaguska]

They might be the best in the world- but it doesn't matter because they don't answer to citizens. I trust that they have good information- I don't trust that good information gets to us, our politicians, etc.