You dont learn, do you?
They met as early as FEB 14, 2001, 3 weeks after inauguration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/cheney_energy_task_force.html
Let me know HOW was this to "protect the country", unless they already knew they were going into Iraq some 7 months before 9-11....hmmmmmm.
As early as September of 2000 presidential candidate George Bush was beginning to discuss the need to revise US policy vis-à-vis Saddam Hussein and oil. In his "A Vision for America" Bush discussed Iraq and oil.
As U.S. influence in the Gulf has waned, Iraq's relative influence as an oil supplier to U.S. and world markets has increased. & Iraq is now the fastest growing oil supplier to the United States... as spare production capacity becomes tighter, Iraq is moving into a position to become an important "swing producer," with an ability to single handedly impact and manipulate global markets... Perhaps most ominously, Saddam Hussein is threatening to cut back production.
Within ten days of taking office, Bush set up a presidential task force under the direction of Vice President Dick Cheney to look into the energy situation. The exact details of who participated in the meetings and what was discussed have been shrouded in mystery. The White House fought a protracted legal battle to keep the information secret, but we know that representatives of major energy and oil interests participated, and we know that Iraq was a chief topic of conversation. Cheney's Energy Task Force authored a variety of documents, many relating to the oil industries of Iraq, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
In documents acquired through the FOIA, it is obvious that a post-Saddam Iraq was considered a forgone conclusion by the Cheney Task Force. One entitled "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts," dated March 5, 2001, includes a table listing 30 countries which have interests in Iraq's oil industry, including the names of companies, the oil fields with which they are associated, as well as the status of those interests. Another titled "Map of Iraq's oil fields" shows markings for "supergiant" oil fields of 5 billion barrels or more, other smaller oilfields, fields "earmarked for production sharing," oil pipelines, operational refineries, and tanker terminals.
http://downingstreetmemo.com/warforoil.html
Now.....chapter, verse, article, and section of the CONSTITUTION. What gave them the authority and then to blow BILLIONS in the process not to mention the lives lost?
So keep playing in your Solyndra poop. You will be embarrassed every time.