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John Kerry Against John Kerry
by Jason Roth
John Kerry on the meaning of a war resolution:
"[Kerry] also rejected the argument that supporting [H.W.] Bush's resolution would give the administration leverage to force Hussein out of Kuwait... 'That thinking is dangerous and flawed,' Kerry said, "This is not a vote about sending a message. It is a vote about war."
(John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography by the Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best)
John Kerry: Against the Gulf War before he was for it:
"After the successful launch of Operation Desert Storm, Kerry's position became so nuanced that his office at one point mistakenly mailed letters to constituents that positioned him on both sides of the debate. On January 22, 1991, Kerry's office sent a letter to one man, thanking him for expressing opposition to the deployment of additional U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. 'I share your concerns,' Kerry wrote, noting that on January 11, he had voted against a resolution giving the president immediate authority to go to war.
"On January 31, the same constituent received a letter stating, 'From the outset of the invasion, I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush's response to the crisis and the policy goals he has established with our military deployment in the Persian Gulf.' Kerry blamed the mix-up on a computer error and subsequently wrote in defense of his position on the Gulf War: 'The debate in the Senate was not about whether we should or should not have used force, but when force should be used.'
(John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography by the Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best)
John Kerry, defending his vote in favor of the second Iraq war resolution, speaking of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein:
"[Saddam Hussein] has supported and harbored terrorist groups, particularly radical Palestinian groups such as Abu Nidal, and he has given money to families of suicide bombers in Israel."
"In 1991, the world collectively made a judgement that this man [Saddam Hussein] should not have weapons of mass destruction. And we are here today in the year 2002 with an uninspected 4-year interval during which time we know through intelligence he not only has kept them, but he continues to grow them."
"It is clear that in the 4 years since the UNSCOM inspectors were forced out, Saddam Hussein has continued his quest for weapons of mass destruction. According to intelligence, Iraq has chemical and biological weapons as well as missiles with ranges in excess of the 150 kilometer restriction imposed by the United Nations in the ceasefire resolution. Although Iraq's chemical weapons capability was reduced during the UNSCOM inspections, Iraq has maintained its chemical weapons effort over the last 4 years. Evidence suggests that it has begun renewed production of chemical warfare agents, probably including mustard gas, sarin, cyclosarin, and VX. Intelligence reports show that Iraq has invested more heavily in its biological weapons programs over the 4 years, with the result that all key aspect of this program--R&D, production and weaponization--are active. Iraq has some lethal and incapacitating agents and is capable of quickly producing and weaponizing a variety of such agents, including anthrax, for delivery on a range of vehicles such as bombs, missiles, aerial sprayers, and convert operatives which could bring them to the United States homeland."
"The Iraq regime's record over the decade leaves little doubt that Saddam Hussein wants to retain his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and, obviously, as we have said, grow it. These weapons represent an unacceptable threat."
(John Kerry's statement on Iraq before the second Iraq war, October 9, 2002)
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