"Saddam's belligerence was one of the main reasons we had kept U.S. troops in Saudia Arabia, which had fueled Bin Laden's propanganda. . . . . Saddam seemed emboldened by a decade of UN and American acquiescense."-Don Rumsfeld

 --I have been reading Donald Rumsfeld book: Known and Unknown. For me, since reading this book, he was one of our nations very good leaders. Many lies were told in the Media during his years serving, as usual. And many Americans ate up, and still do eat up, the Media's propaganda as usual. But to read the true account of 9/11 and listen to this man has been an eye-opener for me.

Here's an excerpt:

"In the aftermath of 9/11 and our changed global environment, I wanted updated thinking about U.S. interests and options. . . . . When is it reasonable to conclude that all means short of war have been tried and have failed? Is preemptive action to forestall the threat then justified? . . . . The Bush doctrine of preemption,... could not be seen as a license for an American president to exercise unchecked military power on a whim. After all, the Founding Fathers saw unchecked power as the greatest danger to human liberty. Our Constitution created a system of checks and balances in the hope of ensuring that no president, legislative body, or court could accrue enough power to overwhelm the others. . . . . 

In our system of governance, U.S. presidents, even when invoking preemption, are still accountable to the American people and subject to the internal checks inherent in the American political system. . . . . . 

I supported military action against al-Qaida and the Taliban because they had left us no alternative. Saddam, to my mind, was different. I thought we might be able to find other ways of bringing about regime change in Iraq. 
     On September 12, 2001, I wrote myself a note. "At the right moment," I stated, "we may want to give Saddam Hussein a way out for his family to live in comfort." I thought an aggressive diplomatic effort, coupled by a threat of military force, just might convince Saddam and those around him to seek exile. By 2002, the Iraq regime had seen what we were able to do in Afghanistan. If there were enough rational individuals around Saddam, they might be convinced that George W. Bush was not bluffing and was committed to the disarmament of Saddam Hussein. I hoped the world could stand united in that message. That hope was doomed to disappointment."-Donald Rumsfeld ('Known and Unknown', A Memoir)

(As President Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Rumsfeld met with Saddam Hussein during a visit to Baghdad in December 1983, during the Iran–Iraq War)

*I actually met Donald Rumsfeld in St. Micheal's on the eastern Shore of Maryland, when I was on vacation last summer. I was taking an early morning bike ride from the Inn I was staying at, and i saw him riding his bike on a side street. I rode over and we had a short chat. A very nice man I thought.