Best speech against war

[ProSense]

Works for me. This is from two months before the war. The link to the entire speech is in the "Empowerment" thread. This is vision, no spin on reality needed.

I believe the Bush Administration's blustering unilateralism is wrong, and even dangerous, for our country. In practice, it has meant alienating our long-time friends and allies, alarming potential foes and spreading anti-Americanism around the world.

As I said last summer in New York, for Democrats to win America's confidence we must first convince Americans we will keep them safe. You can't do that by avoiding the subjects of national security, foreign policy and military preparedness. Nor can we let our national security agenda be defined by those who reflexively oppose any U.S. military intervention anywhere...who see U.S. power as mostly a malignant force in world politics...who place a higher value on achieving multilateral consensus than necessarily protecting our vital interests. Americans deserve better than a false choice between force without diplomacy and diplomacy without force. I believe they deserve a principled diplomacy...backed by undoubted military might...based on enlightened self-interest, not the zero-sum logic of power politics...a diplomacy that commits America to lead the world toward liberty and prosperity. A bold, progressive internationalism that focuses not just on the immediate and the imminent but insidious dangers that can mount over the next years and decades, dangers that span the spectrum from the denial of democracy, to destructive weapons, endemic poverty and epidemic disease.

In U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, the United Nations has now affirmed that Saddam Hussein must disarm or face the most serious consequences. Let me make it clear that the burden is resoundingly on Saddam Hussein to live up to the ceasefire agreement he signed and make clear to the world how he disposed of weapons he previously admitted to possessing. But the burden is also clearly on the Bush Administration to do the hard work of building a broad coalition at the U.N. and the necessary work of educating America about the rationale for war. As I have said frequently and repeat here today, the United States should never go to war because it wants to, the United States should go to war because we have to. And we don't have to until we have exhausted the remedies available, built legitimacy and earned the consent of the American people, absent, of course, an imminent threat requiring urgent action.

The Administration must pass this test. I believe they must take the time to do the hard work of diplomacy. They must do a better job of making their case to the American people and to the world.

I have no doubt of the outcome of war itself should it be necessary. We will win. But what matters is not just what we win but what we lose. We need to make certain that we have not unnecessarily twisted so many arms, created so many reluctant partners, abused the trust of Congress, or strained so many relations, that the longer term and more immediate vital war on terror is made more difficult. And we should be particularly concerned that we do not go alone or essentially alone if we can avoid it, because the complications and costs of post-war Iraq would be far better managed and shared with United Nation's participation. And, while American security must never be ceded to any institution or to another institution's decision, I say to the President, show respect for the process of international diplomacy because it is not only right, it can make America stronger - and show the world some appropriate patience in building a genuine coalition. Mr. President, do not rush to war.

This Administration's approach to the menace of loose nuclear materials is strong on rhetoric, but short on execution. It relies primarily and unwisely on the threat of military preemption against terrorist organizations, which can be defeated if they are found, but will not be deterred by our military might.

[TayTay]

1. Was that the NYU speech in late Sept?

I happened to be home that day for some reason and caught it live on TV. I adored that speech. I kept yelling at the TV, 'Hit that bastard Bush again John, do it again, for me.' I friggin loved that speech. (Loved it, I had a cigarette after it. Damn that good.)

[ProSense]

2. No it's from January 2003

I read the recent three (NYU, Path Foward, Real Security), this one is very long, but friggin brilliant:

Kerry speech on national security -- Georgetown University Thursday, January 23, 2003

[TayTay]

3. He really is quite bright.

I am very proud of being from a State that recognizes bright people and tries to put them in the Senate. (Now, if only we grew a better crop for our local StateHouse. Sigh!)

That speech back in Dec of '05 was also incredible. It was, hands down, the best summary of the overall picture in the Middle East and the Islamic world that I have seen. (From the point of view of what US foreign policy should be doing.) That speech, taken with the speech at Georgetown in late Oct. were the most comprehensive statements on Iraq that have been given since Nov. '04. Bar none. They were seriously well-thought out, took into account more than just the US point of view and offered a short and long-term agenda for actually helping that area.

Wow! Somebody has some serious candlepower.

[ProSense]

4. True. What impressed me about this one

is that it was given before the dynamics of the war. I posted an article in GD-P about the Afghan religious convert sentenced to death. The issue in each is one thing, but the common issue is Bush's failed foreign policy. The Afghanistan situation is similar to what happened with the Hamas elections, Bush completely divorced himself from the diplomatic process and reality, promoting the notion that elections amount to foreign policy.

[TayTay]

5. This is a very scary time.

Sen. Kerry, in his Oct speech at Georgetown, said that we were entering a 'make or break six month period' in Iraq. That time encompassed the Dec. elections and the upcoming April 15th vote on whether or not to ratify the new Constitution. So far, Bush has blown every opportunity and squandered every chance to get the Iraqis to come to the table and deal with each other seriously.

We are nearing the end of that six month period. Tick tock, Mr. Bush, tick, tock.

[ProSense]

6. The clock is running out.

And Bush is delusional.

President Bush, who visited Afghanistan on March 1 and praised progress there, on Wednesday called the case "deeply troubling."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-23-afghan-us-pressure_x.htm

UN council presses Afghanistan to rein in Taliban
Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:22 PM GMT

By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council, alarmed by rising violence in Afghanistan, pressed the government on Thursday to counter a growing threat from the Taliban and other illegal armed groups.

Snip....

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a progress report submitted to the council earlier this month, said a sharp rise in suicide bombings and attacks on schools in Afghanistan underscored the challenge facing the Kabul government as it struggled to become a viable democratic state.

Taliban guerrillas have been fighting the government since their regime was ousted from power after the September 11 attacks,

But Annan's report said attacks by anti-government fighters had soared since mid-2005 and continued unabated throughout the winter, in contrast to previous years, when they tapered off during the harsh cold season.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-23T202104Z_01_N23297187_RTRUKOC_0_UK-AFGHAN-UN.xml&archived=False