Formaldehyde Fred
30-09-2004, 01:52
1.
ON TODAY'S Good Morning America, John Kerry defended his "I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it," comment: "It just was a very inarticulate way of saying something, and I had one of those inarticulate moments late in the evening when I was dead tired in the primaries and I didn't say something very clearly."
The problem: According to the March 17 Washington Post, Kerry made the comment at a noontime appearance at Marshall University, two weeks after the Democratic primary contest had ended.
The irony: The Bush campaign had already done all the damage it could with this particular comment of Kerry's. Kerry's inability simply to smile about his inept formulation and move on, and his attempt instead to offer a (false) excuse, is perhaps more telling than the original statement
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/700yvdar.asp
2.
"It was a mistake to do what he did, but we have to succeed now that we've done … I mean, look, we have to succeed," Kerry said. "But I would not have gone to war knowing that there was no imminent threat, there were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection of Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein. The president misled the American people, plain and simple — bottom line."
-John Kerry, ABC, 9/29/04
"Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it's the right authority for a president to have.”
-John Kerry, 8/9/2004, on if he would have voted for the authority with the knowledge we have know about Saddam Hussein and his capabilities.
"We should not have gone to war knowing the information we know today.”
-John Kerry
3.
"With respect to Saddam Hussein and the threat he presents, we must ask ourselves a simple question: Why? Why is Saddam Hussein pursuing weapons that most nations have agreed to limit or give up? Why is Saddam Hussein guilty of breaking his own cease-fire agreement with the international community? Why is Saddam Hussein attempting to develop nuclear weapons when most nations don't even try, and responsible nations that have them attempt to limit their potential for disaster? Why did Saddam Hussein threaten and provoke? Why does he develop missiles that exceed allowable limits? Why did Saddam Hussein lie and deceive the inspection teams previously? Why did Saddam Hussein not account for all of the weapons of mass destruction which UNSCOM identified? Why is he seeking to develop unmanned airborne vehicles for delivery of biological agents?
Does he do all of these things because he wants to live by international standards of behavior? Because he respects international law? Because he is a nice guy underneath it all and the world should trust him?
It would be naive to the point of grave danger not to believe that, left to his own devices, Saddam Hussein will provoke, misjudge, or stumble into a future, more dangerous confrontation with the civilized world. He has as much as promised it. He has already created a stunning track record of miscalculation. He miscalculated an 8-year war with Iran. He miscalculated the invasion of Kuwait. He miscalculated America's responses to it. He miscalculated the result of setting oil rigs on fire. He miscalculated the impact of sending Scuds into Israel. He miscalculated his own military might. He miscalculated the Arab world's response to his plight. He miscalculated in attempting an assassination of a former President of the United States. And he is miscalculating now America's judgments about his miscalculations."
"When I vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat, and a grave threat, to our security and that of our allies in the Persian Gulf region. I will vote yes because I believe it is the best way to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. And the administration, I believe, is now committed to a recognition that war must be the last option to address this threat, not the first, and that we must act in concert with allies around the globe to make the world's case against Saddam Hussein."
"It was a mistake to do what he did, but we have to succeed now that we've done … I mean, look, we have to succeed," Kerry said. "But I would not have gone to war knowing that there was no imminent threat, there were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection of Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein. The president misled the American people, plain and simple — bottom line."
4. 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 …" (NPR’s "All Things Considered," 3/19/03)
"It was a mistake to do what he did, but we have to succeed now that we've done … I mean, look, we have to succeed," Kerry said. "But I would not have gone to war knowing that there was no imminent threat, there were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection of Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein. The president misled the American people, plain and simple — bottom line."
5. "We now know that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and posed no imminent threat to our security." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At New York University, New York, NY, 9/20/04)
Kerry Said, "If 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)
In Response To President's Question About How He Would Have Voted If He Knew Then What He Knows Now, Kerry Confirmed That He Would Still Have Voted For Use Of Force Resolution. SEN. JOHN KERRY: "Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it's the right authority for a president to have. But I would have used that authority as I have said throughout this campaign, effectively. I would have done this very differently from the way President Bush has." (CNN's "Inside Politics," 8/9/04)
6. Iraq War Took "Attention And Resources" Away From Afghanistan. "The President's policy in Iraq took our attention and resources away from other, more serious threats to America. Threats like ... the increasing instability in Afghanistan." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At New York University, New York, NY, 9/20/04)
Kerry Said War On Terror "Doesn't End With Afghanistan" And Suggested U.S. Move On To Addressing Menace Of Saddam Huseein. KERRY: "I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. And I think the president has made that clear. I think we have made that clear. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue, for instance, Saddam Hussein." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 12/14/01)
ON TODAY'S Good Morning America, John Kerry defended his "I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it," comment: "It just was a very inarticulate way of saying something, and I had one of those inarticulate moments late in the evening when I was dead tired in the primaries and I didn't say something very clearly."
The problem: According to the March 17 Washington Post, Kerry made the comment at a noontime appearance at Marshall University, two weeks after the Democratic primary contest had ended.
The irony: The Bush campaign had already done all the damage it could with this particular comment of Kerry's. Kerry's inability simply to smile about his inept formulation and move on, and his attempt instead to offer a (false) excuse, is perhaps more telling than the original statement
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/700yvdar.asp
2.
"It was a mistake to do what he did, but we have to succeed now that we've done … I mean, look, we have to succeed," Kerry said. "But I would not have gone to war knowing that there was no imminent threat, there were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection of Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein. The president misled the American people, plain and simple — bottom line."
-John Kerry, ABC, 9/29/04
"Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it's the right authority for a president to have.”
-John Kerry, 8/9/2004, on if he would have voted for the authority with the knowledge we have know about Saddam Hussein and his capabilities.
"We should not have gone to war knowing the information we know today.”
-John Kerry
3.
"With respect to Saddam Hussein and the threat he presents, we must ask ourselves a simple question: Why? Why is Saddam Hussein pursuing weapons that most nations have agreed to limit or give up? Why is Saddam Hussein guilty of breaking his own cease-fire agreement with the international community? Why is Saddam Hussein attempting to develop nuclear weapons when most nations don't even try, and responsible nations that have them attempt to limit their potential for disaster? Why did Saddam Hussein threaten and provoke? Why does he develop missiles that exceed allowable limits? Why did Saddam Hussein lie and deceive the inspection teams previously? Why did Saddam Hussein not account for all of the weapons of mass destruction which UNSCOM identified? Why is he seeking to develop unmanned airborne vehicles for delivery of biological agents?
Does he do all of these things because he wants to live by international standards of behavior? Because he respects international law? Because he is a nice guy underneath it all and the world should trust him?
It would be naive to the point of grave danger not to believe that, left to his own devices, Saddam Hussein will provoke, misjudge, or stumble into a future, more dangerous confrontation with the civilized world. He has as much as promised it. He has already created a stunning track record of miscalculation. He miscalculated an 8-year war with Iran. He miscalculated the invasion of Kuwait. He miscalculated America's responses to it. He miscalculated the result of setting oil rigs on fire. He miscalculated the impact of sending Scuds into Israel. He miscalculated his own military might. He miscalculated the Arab world's response to his plight. He miscalculated in attempting an assassination of a former President of the United States. And he is miscalculating now America's judgments about his miscalculations."
"When I vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat, and a grave threat, to our security and that of our allies in the Persian Gulf region. I will vote yes because I believe it is the best way to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. And the administration, I believe, is now committed to a recognition that war must be the last option to address this threat, not the first, and that we must act in concert with allies around the globe to make the world's case against Saddam Hussein."
"It was a mistake to do what he did, but we have to succeed now that we've done … I mean, look, we have to succeed," Kerry said. "But I would not have gone to war knowing that there was no imminent threat, there were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection of Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein. The president misled the American people, plain and simple — bottom line."
4. 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 …" (NPR’s "All Things Considered," 3/19/03)
"It was a mistake to do what he did, but we have to succeed now that we've done … I mean, look, we have to succeed," Kerry said. "But I would not have gone to war knowing that there was no imminent threat, there were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no connection of Al Qaeda to Saddam Hussein. The president misled the American people, plain and simple — bottom line."
5. "We now know that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction and posed no imminent threat to our security." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At New York University, New York, NY, 9/20/04)
Kerry Said, "If 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)
In Response To President's Question About How He Would Have Voted If He Knew Then What He Knows Now, Kerry Confirmed That He Would Still Have Voted For Use Of Force Resolution. SEN. JOHN KERRY: "Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it's the right authority for a president to have. But I would have used that authority as I have said throughout this campaign, effectively. I would have done this very differently from the way President Bush has." (CNN's "Inside Politics," 8/9/04)
6. Iraq War Took "Attention And Resources" Away From Afghanistan. "The President's policy in Iraq took our attention and resources away from other, more serious threats to America. Threats like ... the increasing instability in Afghanistan." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At New York University, New York, NY, 9/20/04)
Kerry Said War On Terror "Doesn't End With Afghanistan" And Suggested U.S. Move On To Addressing Menace Of Saddam Huseein. KERRY: "I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. And I think the president has made that clear. I think we have made that clear. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue, for instance, Saddam Hussein." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 12/14/01)