A Dishonest War: By Sen. Edward Kennedy (must read)

[La_Serpiente]

By Edward M. Kennedy
Sunday, January 18, 2004; Page B07


Of the many issues competing for attention in this new and defining year, one is of a unique order of magnitude: President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. The facts demonstrate how dishonest that decision was. As former Treasury secretary Paul H. O'Neill recently confirmed, the debate over military action began as soon as President Bush took office. Some felt Saddam Hussein could be contained without war. A month after the inauguration, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said: "We have kept him contained, kept him in his box." The next day, he said tellingly that Hussein "has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction."

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, gave advocates of war the opening they needed. They tried immediately to tie Hussein to al Qaeda and the terrorist attacks. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld created an Office of Special Plans in the Pentagon to analyze the intelligence for war and bypass the traditional screening process. Vice President Cheney relied on intelligence from Iraqi exiles and put pressure on intelligence agencies to produce the desired result.

The war in Afghanistan began in October with overwhelming support in Congress and the country. But the focus on Iraq continued behind the scenes, and President Bush went along. In the Rose Garden on Nov. 26, he said: "Afghanistan is still just the beginning."

Three days later, Cheney publicly began to send signals about attacking Iraq. On Nov. 29 he said: "I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that this guy is clearly . . . a significant potential problem for the region, for the United States, for everybody with interests in the area." On Dec. 12 he raised the temperature: "If I were Saddam Hussein, I'd be thinking very carefully about the future, and I'd be looking very closely to see what happened to the Taliban in Afghanistan."

more...

A Dishonest War

I have a feeling that he will be a lot more active on the campaign trail this year.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Yeah, he really gave a hell of a speach a few days ago

His anti-Iraq war speech from Jan. 14.

I don't have a link to it, but I have the text in an email. It's really long, or I'd post it here.

Here's some:

The administration is breathtakingly arrogant. Its leaders are
convinced they know what is in America's interest, but they refuse to
debate it honestly. After repeatedly linking Saddam Hussein to
al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden in his justification for war, the
president now admits there was no such link. Paul Wolfowitz admitted
in an interview that the administration settled for "bureaucratic
reasons" on weapons of mass destruction because it was "the one reason everyone could agree on."

The administration is vindictive and mean-spirited. When Ambassador
Joseph Wilson publicly challenged the administration for wrongly
claiming that Iraq had purchased uranium from Niger for its nuclear
weapons program, the administration retaliated against his wife,
potentially endangering her life and her career.

---- snip to the final three paragraphs ----

No president of the United States should employ misguided ideology and distortion of the truth to take the nation to war. In doing so, the president broke the basic bond of trust between government and the people. If Congress and the American people had known the whole truth, America would never have gone to war.

To remain silent when we feel so strongly would be irresponsible. It
would betray the fundamental ideals for which our troops are
sacrificing their lives on battlefields half a world away. No
president who does that to this land we love deserves to be reelected.

At our best, America is a great and generous country, ever looking
forward, ever seeking a better nation for our people and a better
world for peoples everywhere. I'm optimistic that these high ideals
will be respected and reaffirmed by the American people in November.
The election cannot come too soon.

[coda]

2. The link to Kennedy's speech

From his website

http://kennedy.senate.gov/~kennedy/statements/04/01/2004114558.html

but it's far more impressive to watch. C-SPAN has it as the most watched video right now. It's right near the top of their page.


http://www.c-span.org

[La_Serpiente]

3. kick

:kick:

[fjc]

4. That article outlines the basic strategy for the Democrats

to take this issue to the people this fall. No matter who is the nominee, they will very likely be employing this approach to the issues. It is not just an issue for this campaign. It is the issue defining this generation, and I hope whoever the nominee is that they approach it in terms of that magnitude.