"I think the proposition of going to Baghdad is fallacious." Cheney 1991

[madfloridian]

Flip flop.

http://www.blogforamerica.com/archives/005132.html

SNIP..."It was Dick Cheney, but not as you know him. Thirteen years ago, Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney gave the keynote address at the Washington Insitute's Soref Symposium. The speech was titled "The Gulf War: A First Assessment" and you're not going to believe some of what he said.

SNIp.."Should we have gone in to Baghdad? Did we leave the job in some respects unfinished? I think the answer is a resounding "no."
"I think the proposition of going to Baghdad is fallacious. I think if we were going to remove Saddam Hussein we would have had to go all the way to Baghdad, and once we'd done that we'd have to put another government in its place."

"It is vitally important for a President to know when not to commit U.S. military force. How many casualties should the United States accept in (the) effort to try to create clarity and stability in a situation that is inherently unstable?"

"It's my view that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq."

SNIP..."Saddam Hussein's offensive military capability, his capacity to threaten his neighbors, has been virtually eliminated. This is a very significant development..."

"This is the man who makes hopes to win an election by portraying Senator Kerry as a "flip-flopper." Read the entire transcript from the Washington Institute....."
Posted by Mike Yedinak at 09:15 PM

Here is the link to the speech:
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/pubs/soref/cheney.htm

[codegreen]

1. oh crap! someone make this an ad or a talking point or something!!

[madfloridian]

2. "capacity to threaten his neighbors, has been virtually eliminated."

Saddam Hussein's offensive military capability, his capacity to threaten his neighbors, has been virtually eliminated. This is a very significant development.

Oh, really, Mr. Cheney. You area really flip-flopping.

[bvar22]

3. You can add this one from Poppy Bush:

“Trying to eliminate Saddam... would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible... we would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq... there was no viable 'exit strategy' we could see, violating another of our principles... Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."---George HW Bush

or

"...the sanctions exist -- not for the purpose of hurting the Iraqi people, but for the purpose of keeping in check Saddam Hussein's ambitions toward developing weapons of mass destruction. We should constantly be reviewing our policies, constantly be looking at those sanctions to make sure that they are directed toward that purpose. That purpose is every bit as important now as it was ten years ago when we began it. And frankly they have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors."---Collin Powell,24 February 2001

[madfloridian]

4. Dean read Daddy Bush's quote on Fox one Sunday.

I believe it was the first Chris Wallace show. He was not a happy camper when Dean read that.

[Karenina]

5. Kick!

:kick: