The U.S. role in the Iraq War (invasion & occupation) has stumbled to its end. The American referee has departed, and the Shia and Sunni are at it once again. The waste of our lives and treasure was essentially for naught.
It is easy to blame the team of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, et al., for their fixation on nonexistent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction:
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on Sept. 8, 2002: “We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud.”
Vice President Dick Cheney on March 16, 2003: “We believe [Saddam Hussein] has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.”
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, when asked about weapons of mass destruction on March 30, 2003: “We know where they are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.”
But then there was Democratic Sen. John Kerry on Jan. 23, 2003: “And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real.”
1,500 years of hatred continues in the Middle East.
MinnPost welcomes original letters from readers on current topics of general interest. Interested in joining the conversation? Submit your letter to the editor.
The choice of letters for publication is at the discretion of MinnPost editors; they will not be able to respond to individual inquiries about letters.
the full quote from Kerry
(quote)
….Second, without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. We all know the litany of his offenses.
He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. He miscalculated an eight-year war with Iran. He miscalculated the invasion of Kuwait. He miscalculated America’s response to that act of naked aggression. He miscalculated the result of setting oil rigs on fire. He miscalculated the impact of sending scuds into Israel and trying to assassinate an American President. He miscalculated his own military strength. He miscalculated the Arab world’s response to his misconduct. And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction.
That is why the world, through the United Nations Security Council, has spoken with one voice, demanding that Iraq disclose its weapons programs and disarm.
So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but it is not new. It has been with us since the end of the Persian Gulf War. Regrettably the current Administration failed to take the opportunity to bring this issue to the United Nations two years ago or immediately after September 11th, when we had such unity of spirit with our allies. When it finally did speak, it was with hasty war talk instead of a coherent call for Iraqi disarmament. And that made it possible for other Arab regimes to shift their focus to the perils of war for themselves rather than keeping the focus on the perils posed by Saddam’s deadly arsenal. Indeed, for a time, the Administration’s unilateralism, in effect, elevated Saddam in the eyes of his neighbors to a level he never would have achieved on his own, undermining America’s standing with most of the coalition partners which had joined us in repelling the invasion of Kuwait a decade ago.
In U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, the United Nations has now affirmed that Saddam Hussein must disarm or face the most serious consequences. Let me make it clear that the burden is resoundingly on Saddam Hussein to live up to the ceasefire agreement he signed and make clear to the world how he disposed of weapons he previously admitted to possessing. But the burden is also clearly on the Bush Administration to do the hard work of building a broad coalition at the U.N. and the necessary work of educating America about the rationale for war.
As I have said frequently and repeat here today, the United States should never go to war because it wants to, the United States should go to war because we have to. And we don’t have to until we have exhausted the remedies available, built legitimacy and earned the consent of the American people, absent, of course, an imminent threat requiring urgent action.
The Administration must pass this test. I believe they must take the time to do the hard work of diplomacy. They must do a better job of making their case to the American people and to the world.
I have no doubt of the outcome of war itself should it be necessary. We will win. But what matters is not just what we win but what we lose. We need to make certain that we have not unnecessarily twisted so many arms, created so many reluctant partners, abused the trust of Congress, or strained so many relations, that the longer term and more immediate vital war on terror is made more difficult. And we should be particularly concerned that we do not go alone or essentially alone if we can avoid it, because the complications and costs of post-war Iraq would be far better managed and shared with United Nation’s participation. And, while American security must never be ceded to any institution or to another institution’s decision, I say to the President, show respect for the process of international diplomacy because it is not only right, it can make America stronger – and show the world some appropriate patience in building a genuine coalition. Mr. President, do not rush to war….
http://web.archive.org/web/20040204225854/www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2003_0123.html
(end quote)
Truncated quotes via Glen Beck rarely stand up to inspection.
My point
was that while the Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld gang was responsible for the Iraq invasion, the Democrats didn’t do much to stop it. Lengthy speeches like this, which covered Kerry for all options, didn’t do much either.
Once the trumpets sound and the war drums roll, it takes a lot courage and sense to stand up and say an unequivocal no.