For the Record

For years we have heard from those who vehemently oppose the war. About how there were no nukes found in Iraq and Bush single handedly led us into a misguided war. To hear the story now, one would assume Bush acted alone without congressional support and the only reason was to get rid of the nukes or that Sadaam was involved in 9/11. This is revisionist history and untrue. The rationale presented for the war by the Bush administration in every formal government statement about the war was the removal of Sadaam Hussein. It was not the destruction of WMDs, or the removal of nuclear weapons, or to get the 911 terrorists, or to kill Bin Laden.

I have followed all this over the years and remember that our goal was regime change, the removal of Sadaam Hussein. I’ll bet many Americans remember it as well. The removal of Sadaam was in accordance with the long standing US policy signed into law by President Clinton, viz the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. That law stated US policy was the removal of Sadaam Hussein. this was long before 9/11 occurred. Clinton did not take action on the law that he created. Bush did.

"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option."

President Bush
State of the Union address
January 28, 2003

In the following quotes, there is no mention of removing nuclear weapons. It was universally understood at the time that Saadam was “trying to develop nuclear weapons”, but didn’t have them. We knew he had chemical and biological weapons and we found lots of them when we went into Iraq. Not one of the following quotes states that we need to find and remove nukes.

I would have much greater respect for these politicians if they stood by their decisions and acknowledge that removing Sadaam was the reason we went to war and that was a good decision. Instead, they blame “faulty intelligence”. We did find a lot of WMD’s in Iraq, both chemical and biological, but no nukes. But now what they say is that intelligence was faulty about nuclear weapons. They want us to believe that if they knew there were no nukes, they would not have supported the decision to go to war. Others state that no WMD’s were found at all. This is bullshit.

The notable exception is Barack Obama. He has opposed the war from the beginning. At least he is consistent. But I disagree with him. I stand by all the other Democrats in supporting the decision to remove Sadaam.

Bill Clinton, December 16, 1998 "The hard fact is that so long as Saddam remains in power, he threatens the well-being of his people, the peace of his region, the security of the world.”--- Oval Office Speech

Hillary Clinton, October 10, 2002 "In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security." –

John Edwards, October 10, 2002 "Saddam Hussein's regime represents a grave threat to America and our allies, including our vital ally, Israel. For more than two decades, Saddam Hussein has sought weapons of mass destruction through every available means. We know that he has chemical and biological weapons. He has already used them against his neighbors and his own people, and is trying to build more. We know that he is doing everything he can to build nuclear weapons, and we know that each day he gets closer to achieving that goal."

Barack Obama October 2002 “Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.... The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors...and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.”

Ted Kennedy, September 27, 2002 "There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein's regime is a serious danger, that he is a tyrant, and that his pursuit of lethal weapons of mass destruction cannot be tolerated. He must be disarmed."

Nancy Pelosi, October 10, 2002 "I come to this debate, Mr. Speaker, as one at the end of 10 years in office on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was one of my top priorities. I applaud the President on focusing on this issue and on taking the lead to disarm Saddam Hussein. ... Others have talked about this threat that is posed by Saddam Hussein. Yes, he has chemical weapons, he has biological weapons, he is trying to get nuclear weapons."

Harry Reid, October 9, 2002 "We stopped the fighting [in 1991] on an agreement that Iraq would take steps to assure the world that it would not engage in further aggression and that it would destroy its weapons of mass destruction. It has refused to take those steps. That refusal constitutes a breach of the armistice which renders it void and justifies resumption of the armed conflict."

Al Gore, September 23, 2002 "Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power. We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

John Kerry, March 17, 2003 "It is the duty of any president, in the final analysis, to defend this nation and dispel the security threat. Saddam Hussein has brought military action upon himself by refusing for 12 years to comply with the mandates of the United Nations. The brave and capable men and women of our armed forces and those who are with us will quickly, I know, remove him once and for all as a threat to his neighbors, to the world, and to his own people, and I support their doing so."

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