Opposing the War in Iraq: A Retrospective Thread

[ellisonz]

This thread should remind us of how far we have come as a party from the days when 82 of 208 House Democrats and 29 of 50 Democratic Senators voted to authorize George W. Bush to employ military force against the regime of Saddam Hussein. It is not intended to be divisive but rather retrospective of a burgeoning and ever building movement against the War that was plotted in the Summer of 2002 and executed in March of 2003.

On October 21st, 2011, President Barack Obama in a statement before the assembled press declared that "as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over." What opposition was there to the invasion of Iraq? Why did America end it's military involvement in Iraq? Post Documents, Videos, and Photographs from the Opposition to the War in Iraq from both before and during the war.

Full Statement: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/21/remarks-president-ending-war-iraq

I'll start with then Illinois State Senator and University of Chicago Law Professor Barack Obama's October 2, 2002 speech in Chicago:

Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don't oppose all wars.

My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain. I don't oppose all wars.

After Sept. 11, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this administration's pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such tragedy from happening again. I don't oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism.

What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99591469

I think we could all use a good thread to remember why so many of us are here in the first place. :patriot:

[ellisonz]

1. Ted Kennedy - Iraq: A War of Choice September 27, 2002 | Johns Hopkins University

Let me close by recalling the events of an autumn of danger four decades ago. When missiles were discovered in Cuba - missiles more threatening to us than anything Saddam has today - some in the highest councils of government urged an immediate and unilateral strike. Instead the United States took its case to the United Nations, won the endorsement of the Organization of American States, and brought along even our most skeptical allies. We imposed a blockade, demanded inspection, and insisted on the removal of the missiles.

When an earlier President outlined that choice to the American people and the world, he spoke of it in realistic terms - not with a sense that the first step would necessarily be the final step, but with a resolve that it must be tried.

As he said then, "Action is required...and these actions may only be the beginning. We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of...war - but neither will we shrink from that risk at any time it must be faced."

In 2002, we too can and must be both resolute and measured. In that way, the United States prevailed without war in the greatest confrontation of the Cold War. Now, on Iraq, let us build international support, try the United Nations, and pursue disarmament before we turn to armed conflict.

http://tedkennedy.org/ownwords/event/sais_iraq