MATMA: What about locating the GAP between the 1-2 phrases AND the 3-4 ones? --- My analysis gets more focused in this GAP as: The first two phrases go in the same direction, are similar references & contents, and even begin with the same verb assertion: "We knew..." in the past tense, and both refer to Saddam Hussein's record. The 3rd phrase changes the verb to its present conjungation: "We know" and it does not mentions Saddam but the post 9/11 dangerous deadly world as a justification for "the need" to think differently than before (to take preempitive precautionary anticipatory militar action). The 4th phase reinforces and constitutes the CONCLUSION: That is why the U.S, had to invade and occupy Iraq "We must, and we will, confront threaths to America before is too late" (or as Condolice Rice and Dick Cheney said: We do not want to see a mushroom cloud on U.S. soil or a friendly Nation and then regret -with no remedy- having refrained from ousting Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and securing a regime change not fond of WMD and keeping operative links with terrorists (Collin Powell's words before the UN Security Council and the US decision makers and the public were on the line of: Saddam Hussein presents a clear and present/inmminent actual danger to International and National Security -after the 9/11 attacks presented an example catastropihic damage can be inflicted-, Saddam Hussein will felt encouraged to hit the U.S. by directly ussing WMD or giving them to terrorists)).

For a quite interesting fully detailed analysis I recommend reading: Chapter 8 of Matthews, Jeffrey J., COLLIN POWELL: Imperfect Patriot, University of Notre Dame Press, USA, 2019; Chapter V, of Hersh, Seymour M., CHAIN OF COMMAND. The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib, Harper Collins, USA, 2004, 203-248; and Chapter 5 of Dershowitz, Alan M., PREEMPTION. A Knife that Cuts both Ways, Norton & Company, NY, 2006, pp. 153-173. Dershowitz expands on precedents of preemptive actions and goes deep placing the decision making and action by the Bush Administration under the light of preemptive criteria allowing for the possibility of a serious legitimate concern in 2003 on the need for preemptive action (and not being the result of simple political maneuvering and living), despite the fact -he points out- Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell et al. were wrong on some of their key assumptions.

Source author: Eric Suzán Reed esuzan@sre.gob.mx