Reply #20: Kerry Would Have Gone To War

[DrFunkenstein]

If Saddam Hussein refused to grant unfettered inspections to ensure disarmament. He said it was a huge mistake for Bush to muddy the waters by blustering about invasion and regime change, which spooked our allies (rightly). Regime change was an absolute last option. He also said very clearly before the vote that a Iraq did not pose an imminent threat. And, finally, Kerry said that the US should thoroughly prepare for winning the peace, including a realistic exit strategy.

Kerry has been stating the same exact position since at least 1997, which is what Dean echoed earlier this year. I say earlier this year, because I have yet to see an example of Dean calling for disarmament before mid-February. Apparently, he was too busy building himself up as THE anti-war candidate. By February, he had established himself as a contender and could lurch to the center. In the words of FAIR's Norman Soloman:

"Dean is already sending a message to his announced supporters among peace and social-justice advocates: Thanks, suckers."

----

“Saddam Hussein cannot be permitted to go unobserved and unimpeded toward his horrific objective of amassing a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. This is not a matter about which there should be any debate whatsoever in the Security Council, or, certainly, in this Nation.” -Sen. John Kerry 11/9/97

“While we should always seek to take significant international actions on a multilateral rather than a unilateral basis whenever that is possible, if in the final analysis we face what we truly believe to be a grave threat to the well-being of our Nation or the entire world and it cannot be removed peacefully, we must have the courage to do what we believe is right and wise.” -Sen. John Kerry 11/9/97

----

However difficult the Iraq vote was for Kerry, he has been absolutely consistent in his proposed course of action for the last six years. Where other candidates focus almost solely on criticism, Kerry has been proposing solutions.