Evan Thomas: Iraq War Was to "Teach the Arabs a Lesson"

On last night's Hardball, Newsweek's Evan Thomas stated that he believed the primary reason for the war in Iraq was to "teach Arabs a lesson" after 9/11. Again, what liberal media? Thomas was on with Christopher Hitchens but because it was the end of the segment, Hitchens didn't have time to respond to this ridiculous comment--although, at the end of the clip, you can hear Hitchens mentioning the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act (you know, the one that made regime change official U.S. policy).

Video at The Political Pit Bull

Transcript:

THOMAS: I have never thought the WMD was the reason we went to war. They went to war for other reasons. It was an excuse to go to war. It was a convenient excuse. They sort of believed it, but it really wasn’t the reason that they did it.

MATTHEWS: Have you ever figured out what it was? Was it regime change?

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: After 9/11 they felt they had to teach the Arabs a lesson. It was a demonstration of American force. We wanted to show the world, particularly the Arabs, how tough we were. I think that’s why we went to war.

MATTHEWS: It had to be a big bang in response for 9/11.

THOMAS: And Afghanistan was not a big enough bang.

MATTHEWS: Thank you very much Evan Thomas. Thank you Christopher Hitchens.