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[[Image:Richard-perle.jpg|right|frame]]

[[Image:Richard-perle.jpg|right|frame]]

'''Richard Norman Perle''' (born September 16, 1941 in New York) is a former aide to [[Democratic Party]] senator [[Henry Jackson]], former Undersecretary of Defense in the [[Reagan administration]], and later as civilian advisor to [[The Pentagon]] as a member of the [[ Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee]].  He remains registered as a Democrat out of "nostalgia [and] respect for [[Scoop Jackson]]"<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/4corners/content/2003/20030310_american_dreamers/int_perle.htm</ref>.  Outside of the public realm, Richard Perle served on Hollinger International Incorporated's board of directors along with [[Henry Kissinger]].  He was nicknamed "the Prince of Darkness" for his hard-line position against the [[Soviet Union]].  He is a prominent [[neoconservative]].   

'''Richard Norman Perle''' (born September 16, 1941 in New York) is a former aide to [[Democratic Party]] senator [[Henry Jackson]], former Undersecretary of Defense in the [[Reagan administration]], and later as civilian advisor to [[The Pentagon]] as a member of the [[Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee]].  He remains registered as a Democrat out of "nostalgia [and] respect for [[Scoop Jackson]]"<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/4corners/content/2003/20030310_american_dreamers/int_perle.htm</ref>.  Outside of the public realm, Richard Perle served on Hollinger International Incorporated's board of directors along with [[Henry Kissinger]].  He was nicknamed "the Prince of Darkness" for his hard-line position against the [[Soviet Union]].  He is a prominent [[neoconservative]].   

== Education ==

== Education ==

Perle has a longstanding interest in the problem of [[Iraq]] and Saddam Hussein.  In 1998, he co-signed a letter from [[PNAC]] to then-President [[Bill Clinton]]; it called on the President to "implement[] a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power" and noted that "[t]his will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts."<ref name="PNAC">[http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm Letter to Bill Clinton from the Project for the New American Century]</ref>  The letter also argued that [[Saddam Hussein]]'s development of WMDs  would result in grave risk to [[Israel]], American troops in the region, moderate Arab states, and the world's oil supply.

Perle has a longstanding interest in the problem of [[Iraq]] and Saddam Hussein.  In 1998, he co-signed a letter from [[PNAC]] to then-President [[Bill Clinton]]; it called on the President to "implement[] a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power" and noted that "[t]his will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts."<ref name="PNAC">[http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm Letter to Bill Clinton from the Project for the New American Century]</ref>  The letter also argued that [[Saddam Hussein]]'s development of WMDs  would result in grave risk to [[Israel]], American troops in the region, moderate Arab states, and the world's oil supply.

After [[9/11]], Perle continued to press for action against Saddam Hussein and Iraq.  He maintained that Iraq was involved in terrorism, that there were documentable ties between [[Saddam Hussein]] and [[Osama bin Laden]], and that a primary goal of the [[war on terror]] should be to topple Saddam.  He said that terrorists should be pursued "even if we cannot prove to the standards that we enjoy in our own civil society"--presumably, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, as is done in criminal trials--"that they were involved." <ref name="CNN916">[http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/16/en.00.html CNN interview with Richard Perle on 9/16/2001]</ref>

Shortly after [[9/11]], Perle pressed for action against Saddam Hussein and Iraq.  He maintained that Iraq was involved in terrorism, that there were documentable ties between [[Saddam Hussein]] and [[Osama bin Laden]], and that a primary goal of the [[war on terror]] should be to topple Saddam.  He said that terrorists should be pursued "even if we cannot prove to the standards that we enjoy in our own civil society"--presumably proof beyond a reasonable doubt, as is done in criminal trials--"that they were involved." <ref name="CNN916">[http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/16/en.00.html CNN interview with Richard Perle on 9/16/2001]</ref>

 

Throughout 2001, 2002, and 2003, Perle continued to advocate war with Iraq as Chairman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee.  According to one report, he claimed that only 40,000 troops would be required for the invasion, which in his view would involve taking control of the north and south, thus cutting Saddam off from the oil fields.  He is also quoted as saying that "[t]he Army guys," who had been calling for far more troops, "don't know anything."<ref name="AlterNet">[http://www.alternet.org/story/13098/ AlterNet article on Richard Perle]</ref>  Perle later stated that his view on this had been "distorted" and referred to "a different strategy in which we were working with the opposition."<ref name="PBS">[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/truth/interviews/perle.html Frontline Interview with Richard Perle]</ref>