Kerry Faults Bush's Rush to War in Iraq

July 21, 2003
Kerry Faults Bush's Rush to War in Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:02 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Monday that President Bush
circumvented portions of the congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq by failing to
exhaust all diplomatic options before attacking Baghdad.

The Massachusetts senator has stood by his vote last fall for the Iraq resolution in the face of
criticism from anti-war Democrats and rival Howard Dean, a former Vermont governor who opposed
the U.S.-led war. Kerry qualified his support Monday, saying it was the correct vote ``based on
the information that we were given.''

``The president promised to build the international coalition, to do this as a matter of last
resort, to go through the United Nations process and respect it,'' he said. ``And in the end, it
is clear now that he didn't do that sufficiently. And I think in that regard, the American
people were let down.''

Kerry said he voted for the resolution with the understanding that the administration would
build an international coalition before attacking Saddam Hussein's forces.

``It seems quite clear to me that the president circumvented that process, shortchanged it and
did not give full meaning to the words 'last resort,''' Kerry said in a 20-minute conference
call with reporters.

The White House had no immediate comment on Kerry's criticism.

Kerry repeated his call for an investigation into the intelligence used to justify war with
Iraq, but he said his most urgent concern is the safety of troops still stationed there. He said
the Bush administration should go to the United Nations and seek an international coalition to
share the burden for peacekeeping.

Bush on Monday urged allies to act under U.N. authority to help rebuild Iraq.

``The more people involved in Iraq, the better off we will be,'' the president told reporters in
Texas. ``A free Iraq is a crucial part of winning the war on terror.''

Kerry said the administration is acting out of ``a sort of either ideological or other kind of
restraint'' that is keeping them from getting support for U.S troops, who make up roughly
147,000 of the 160,000 force in Iraq.

``Half the Vietnam Wall dates from the time that that kind of pride began to cloud the decisions
in Vietnam and I refuse to believe that the morale of the troops or the safety of the troops is
helped by inserting hubris into this process now,'' said Kerry, a decorated veteran of the
Vietnam War.

^------

On the Net:

http://www.johnkerry.com

>July 21, 2003
>Kerry Faults Bush's Rush to War in Iraq
>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
>Filed at 5:02 p.m. ET
>
>WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Monday that President Bush
>circumvented portions of the congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq by failing to
>exhaust all diplomatic options before attacking Baghdad.


Well let us look at the record - the facts:


Kerry Said If You Don’t Believe In The U.N. ... Or You Don’t Believe
Saddam Hussein Is A Threat With Nuclear Weapons, Then You Shouldn’t
Vote For Me. (Ronald Brownstein,On Iraq, Kerry Appears Either Torn Or
Shrewd, Los Angeles Times, 1/31/03)

Kerry Said Leaving Saddam Hussein Unfettered With Nuclear Weapons Or
Weapons Of Mass Destruction Is Unacceptable. (Jill Lawrence, “War
Issue Challenges Democratic Candidates, USA Today, 2/12/03)

Kerry Defended Vote In Support Of Use Of Force In Iraq.I think Saddam
Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction are a threat, and that’s why I
voted to hold him accountable and to make certain that we disarm him.
I think we need to, but it’s not September 11th, folks, and the fact
is that what we’ve learned is that the war on terror is much more of
an intelligence operation and a law enforcement operation. (Sen. John
Kerry As Quoted On NPR’s All Things Considered, 3/19/03)

2002

Kerry Said We Owe It To US Troops To Be Informed Of Saddam Hussein’s
WMD Arsenal. We owe it to America’s parents and our country’s troops
to have our decision on going to war with Iraq informed by the latest
threat assessment that cross-analyzes agency intelligence about Saddam
Hussein’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. (Faye Bowers,
Iraq’s Pursuit Of Nuclear Weapons Called ‘Unrelenting’, Deseret News,
9/18/02)

Kerry Said Threat Of Saddam Hussein’s WMD Is Real. “The threat of
Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but as I
said, it is not new. It has been with us since the end of that war,
and particularly in the last 4 years we know after Operation Desert
Fox failed to force him to reaccept them, that he has continued to
build those weapons. He has had a free hand for 4 years to
reconstitute these weapons, allowing the world, during the interval,
to lose the focus we had on weapons of mass destruction and the issue
of proliferation. (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p.
S10171)

Kerry Said Saddam’s Arsenal Of WMD Is Cause Of War. As bad as he is,
Saddam Hussein, the dictator, is not the cause of war. Saddam Hussein
sitting in Baghdad with an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction is a
different matter. (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p.
S10173)

Kerry Wished For Resolution More Focused On The Removal Of Iraq’s WMD.
The President said: Saddam Hussein must disarm himself, or, for the
sake of peace, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. This statement
left no doubt that the casus belli for the United States will be
Iraq’s failure to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction. I would
have preferred that the President agree to the approach drafted by
Senators Biden and Lugar because that resolution would authorize the
use of force for the explicit purpose of disarming Iraq and countering
the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. (Sen. John
Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p. S10173)

Kerry Said U.S. Should Make Clear We Will Not Be Blackmailed By Iraq’s
WMD. I believe the Senate will make it clear, and the country will
make it clear, that we will not be blackmailed or extorted by these
weapons, and we will not permit the United Nations an institution we
have worked hard to nurture and create to simply be ignored by this
dictator. (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p. S10174)

Kerry Described Iraq’s WMD As A Real And Grave Threat To The United
States. Mr. Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran and potential 2004
presidential contender, said Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction posed
‘a real and grave threat’ to the United States. (Dave Boyer, “Key
Senators Of Both Parties Back Bush On Iraq War, The Washington Times,
10/10/02)

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 01:59:50 GMT, rfrego@satx.rr.com wrote:

>>July 21, 2003
>>Kerry Faults Bush's Rush to War in Iraq
>>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>>
>>Filed at 5:02 p.m. ET
>>
>>WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Monday that President Bush
>>circumvented portions of the congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq by failing to
>>exhaust all diplomatic options before attacking Baghdad.
>
>
>Well let us look at the record - the facts:
>
>
>Kerry Said If You Don’t Believe In The U.N. ... Or You Don’t Believe
>Saddam Hussein Is A Threat With Nuclear Weapons, Then You Shouldn’t
>Vote For Me. (Ronald Brownstein,On Iraq, Kerry Appears Either Torn Or
>Shrewd, Los Angeles Times, 1/31/03)
>
>Kerry Said Leaving Saddam Hussein Unfettered With Nuclear Weapons Or
>Weapons Of Mass Destruction Is Unacceptable. (Jill Lawrence, “War
>Issue Challenges Democratic Candidates, USA Today, 2/12/03)
>
>Kerry Defended Vote In Support Of Use Of Force In Iraq.I think Saddam
>Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction are a threat, and that’s why I
>voted to hold him accountable and to make certain that we disarm him.
>I think we need to, but it’s not September 11th, folks, and the fact
>is that what we’ve learned is that the war on terror is much more of
>an intelligence operation and a law enforcement operation. (Sen. John
>Kerry As Quoted On NPR’s All Things Considered, 3/19/03)
>
>2002
>
>Kerry Said We Owe It To US Troops To Be Informed Of Saddam Hussein’s
>WMD Arsenal. We owe it to America’s parents and our country’s troops
>to have our decision on going to war with Iraq informed by the latest
>threat assessment that cross-analyzes agency intelligence about Saddam
>Hussein’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. (Faye Bowers,
>Iraq’s Pursuit Of Nuclear Weapons Called ‘Unrelenting’, Deseret News,
>9/18/02)
>
>Kerry Said Threat Of Saddam Hussein’s WMD Is Real. “The threat of
>Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but as I
>said, it is not new. It has been with us since the end of that war,
>and particularly in the last 4 years we know after Operation Desert
>Fox failed to force him to reaccept them, that he has continued to
>build those weapons. He has had a free hand for 4 years to
>reconstitute these weapons, allowing the world, during the interval,
>to lose the focus we had on weapons of mass destruction and the issue
>of proliferation. (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p.
>S10171)
>
>Kerry Said Saddam’s Arsenal Of WMD Is Cause Of War. As bad as he is,
>Saddam Hussein, the dictator, is not the cause of war. Saddam Hussein
>sitting in Baghdad with an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction is a
>different matter. (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p.
>S10173)
>
>Kerry Wished For Resolution More Focused On The Removal Of Iraq’s WMD.
>The President said: Saddam Hussein must disarm himself, or, for the
>sake of peace, we will lead a coalition to disarm him. This statement
>left no doubt that the casus belli for the United States will be
>Iraq’s failure to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction. I would
>have preferred that the President agree to the approach drafted by
>Senators Biden and Lugar because that resolution would authorize the
>use of force for the explicit purpose of disarming Iraq and countering
>the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. (Sen. John
>Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p. S10173)
>
>Kerry Said U.S. Should Make Clear We Will Not Be Blackmailed By Iraq’s
>WMD. I believe the Senate will make it clear, and the country will
>make it clear, that we will not be blackmailed or extorted by these
>weapons, and we will not permit the United Nations an institution we
>have worked hard to nurture and create to simply be ignored by this
>dictator. (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p. S10174)
>
>Kerry Described Iraq’s WMD As A Real And Grave Threat To The United
>States. Mr. Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran and potential 2004
>presidential contender, said Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction posed
>‘a real and grave threat’ to the United States. (Dave Boyer, “Key
>Senators Of Both Parties Back Bush On Iraq War, The Washington Times,
>10/10/02)
>
Great Post.......
Jag F Kerry shows his true stupidity.
Ya gotta laugh when you see the idiot looking stupid
on TV.