JOHN EDWARDS: The Right Way in Iraq

Washington Post ^ | 11/13/5 | John Edwards

[SmithL]

I was wrong.

Almost three years ago we went into Iraq to remove what we were told -- and what many of us believed and argued -- was a threat to America. But in fact we now know that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction when our forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda.

It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake. It has been hard to say these words because those who didn't make a mistake -- the men and women of our armed forces and their families -- have performed heroically and paid a dear price.

The world desperately needs moral leadership from America, and the foundation for moral leadership is telling the truth.

While we can't change the past, we need to accept responsibility, because a key part of restoring America's moral leadership is acknowledging when we've made mistakes or been proven wrong -- and showing that we have the creativity and guts to make it right.

The argument for going to war with Iraq was based on intelligence that we now know was inaccurate. The information the American people were hearing from the president -- and that I was being given by our intelligence community -- wasn't the whole story. Had I known this at the time, I never would have voted for this war.

George Bush won't accept responsibility for his mistakes. Along with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, he has made horrible mistakes at almost every step: failed diplomacy; not going in with enough troops; not giving our forces the equipment they need; not having a plan for peace.

[SmithL]

You're still wrong!

But as luck would have it, you weren't elected.

[West Coast Conservative]

Looks like he's running in 2008.

[Hexenhammer]

Someone needs to tell that historical footnote that no one cares what he thinks. He should just go back to hustling money from gullible juries.

[This Just In]

"Good night, John Boy." "Good night, Mary Ellen............"

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[Carling]

I'm not even sure he's footnote.

[Jeff Chandler]

Good night Chet. Good night David.

[raisincane]

Ok you ambulance chaser, John. Tell us exactly, to the point, what and how intellegence was manipulated. I'm sick of you dims saying this without backing up your outrageous claims.

[FlashBack]

I'd say he's Two-Ply.

[pawdoggie]

...not having a plan for peace.

Is that anything like "run away, run away", or do we have to formally surrender to Bin Laden and Zarqawi?

[Just Lori]

The world desperately needs moral leadership from America, and the foundation for moral leadership is telling the truth.

Well that leaves you and 95% of your party out of the picture!

[Jim Robinson]

Saddam was the threat. And the last time I looked, he's been removed. Hurrah for President Bush!!

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

John Edwards. Who's he?

[RandallFlagg]

Oh go and brush your hair, Johnny.

The grown ups are in charge of things now.

[Tempest]

How's his hair doing nowadays? Does it still have that bounce and nice glowing sheen to it?

[Richard Axtell]

" The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda."

There is NO evidence that the intelligence was manipulated, unless you want to talk about the "Able Danger" intelligence and the "Caravan to Syria" photos, which are being surpressed by Clintonite elemements in the CIA, Pentagon, and the State Dept. Electing a feeb like Edwards to be our Commander and Chief would be like putting a gun to our heads, and pulling the trigger.

[Auntie Dem]

"...not having a plan for peace."

And YOUR plan is......?

(crickets chirping)

[CheyennePress]

But he'd have great hair!

[Berlin_Freeper]

Edwards is the Amazing No-Bounce-Man.

His opinions are meaningless.

[rdcorso]

This little fag is a pathetic excuse for a man.He has a lot of nerve saying that our brave soldiers are dying for a mistake when he voted in favor of sending them to this war.The United States would be more wealthy and a stronger country if liberal democrats were expelled from the country and sent to France.

[Old Seadog]

[Crim]

Uh...jonhboy...you're still wrong...

---

Experts: Saddam's Uranium Enough for One Nuke

Though President Bush didn't mention it in his speech yesterday rebutting critics of his administration's use of intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, experts say that Saddam Hussein had stockpiled enough partially enriched uranium to produce at least one full-fledged nuclear bomb.

Commenting on Saddam's enriched uranium stash after the U.S. Energy Department removed it to Oak Ridge, Tenn., in June 2004, top physicist Ivan Oelrich told the Associated Press:

"[Saddam's] 1.95 tons of low-enriched uranium could be used to produce enough highly enriched uranium to make a single nuclear bomb."

Oelrich, a leading member of the Federation of American Scientists, is not alone in that assessment.

Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, told the New York Times that Saddam's partially enriched uranium "could have been further enriched to make it useful in a weapon."

After the U.S. removed Saddam's nuke fuel stockpile, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi confirmed that it posed a great danger to the region's security interests.

"These materials, which are potential weapons of mass murder, are not welcome in our country and their production is unacceptable," Allawi told Agence France Press.

Even Saddam's 500-ton un-enriched uranium stockpile, which he stored at the same nuclear weapons research facility where inspectors found his partially enriched stash, posed a potential threat.

In a March 2003 op-ed piece for London's Evening Standard, Norman Dombey, professor of theoretical physics at the University of Sussex, calculated that Saddam's yellowcake could have yielded a staggering nuclear arsenal.

"You have a warehouse containing 500 tons of natural uranium," Dombey wrote. "You need 25 kilograms of U235 to build one weapon. How many nuclear weapons can you build?

"The answer is 142 [nuclear bombs]," he said.

[This Just In]

"The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda."

Hey! Wasn't THAT the reason why Kerry and Edwards lost the presidential race?!!!

[indianrightwinger]

Couldn't agree more about the move to France. :-)

This loser almost became a VP. Thankfully, Ohio voters saved it. The fact that the election was even close against these lo$ers is making me angry.

Wow, why did he not admit it before the election? What more information was revealed since then to draw this pathetic conclusion? Simply, none.

[Crim]

OMG..I almost forgot....clinton defense play #38

"Mistakes were made....the problems have been rectified...it will never happen again"

ROFL

[nopardons]

Exactly!

It's going to be a VERY crowded Dem field, unless some of these nitwits wind up in Fort Marcy Park.

[RandallFlagg]

"The UN inspections detailed that Saddam admitted to having eighteen thousand litres of botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin is the deadliest substance known.

One gram, ONE TEASPOONFULL is enough to kill one million people.

Saddam has enough of this stuff to kill the entire current human population of the planet....THREE times." --Rush Limbaugh (I'm paraphrasing, but it IS accurate)

[endthematrix]

The IAEA has declared that Iraq currently has the capabilities to produce chem/bio terror weapons.

[endthematrix]

"While we can't change the past, we need to accept responsibility, because a key part of restoring America's moral leadership is acknowledging when we've made mistakes or been proven wrong -- and showing that we have the creativity and guts to make it right."

Hey John-boy speak out on Able Danger will ya?

[This Just In]

These guys read out of the same playbook.

Sandy Berger defensive move #006 1/4:

Trouser Hide And Sneak

[Slings and Arrows]

[Aetius]

I can understand opposing the war from the get go. I can understand turning against it after having supported it.

But what makes John Edwards so despicable is that in seeing how unpopular the war has become, he claims that he never would have supported it had Bush and Rumsfeld not lied to him. Its a safe bet that if the US were suffering no casualties, or if it were rapidly drawing down its troop level after final victory and the establishment of a stable Iraq, then Edwards would be singing a different tune.

He's such a phony.

[Just Lori]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, This Just In! You're a one year old Freeper!

[mowowie]

"(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ..."

NO THANKS

[This Just In]

I must be getting old. I completely forgot about my birthday.

So, do I get a Red Rider BB Gun? I promise I won't shoot my eye out.

[Aetius]

He is definitely running, but its hard to see him going far. I mean, anything is possible, and you can't count out someone with a proven abilty to fool voters into thinking he's a moderate (though the inept 1998 reelection campaign of Lauch Faircloth deserves some blame), but its hard to imagine him beating Hillary for the nomination, and if Hillary should stumble, then the smart bet would be on someone like Gov Warner of Va filling the void. I can't see Edwards accepting the VP slot again, and frankly I can't see anyone offering it to him seeing as how his presence on the ticket did nothing for Kerry other than reduce Bush's margin in NC from 13 points in 2000 to 12 points in 2004. He most likely would have lost to now-Senator Burr had he ran for reelection.

Like Gore, its unlikely he could even carry his home state. To be fair, if he were at the top of the ticket then many North Carolinians who voted against Kerry might decide to go with a fellow NCian, but unless things are really bad in 2008 I still can't see him winning the state. And if he couldn't win his own state, then its unlikely he could win any other Southern state.

[Just Lori]

Sorry. Just sold out. But John Edwards is sending you a beautiful new lamp. One of a kind! You'll be the envy of the neighborhood.

[Proud_USA_Republican]

I hope soo. Can't wait for the debates where he and Kerry start taking cheap shots at each other again.

[This Just In]

Is it breakable? I'm quite confident that a certain loved one would be more than happy to break it over John's crown.

In that case, I'll gladly accept the leg.....I mean....lamp.

[advance_copy]

The argument for going to war with Iraq was based on intelligence that we now know was inaccurate.

No, the argument for going to war was that Saddam Hussein did not live up to the agreement he made in 1991 to save his regime. Had he done so, there would have been no question as to whether or not he possessed chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.

And the argument for going to war was also that Saddam Hussein sponsored and harbored terrorists. Who got sanctuary from Saddam? Abu Nidal, Abdul Rahman Yasin (first WTC attack), Zarqawi, etc. etc.

"Iraq's record of providing support, safe haven, training, logistical assistance and financial aid to terrorist groups like the Abu Nidal organization is why Iraq is listed as a state supporter of terrorism." -- U.S. State Department 4/19/02

After 9/11/01, no President could allow the Saddam Hussein regime to stand. And John Edwards is a putz. He should stay in Chapel Hill and keep his stupid mouth shut.

[Blind Eye Jones]

This is a beauty -- some of the posts here are priceless!

[Proud_USA_Republican]

Hillary will be desperate to land a southern democrat VP candidate who could win a state like Florida or someo ther with major electoral votes. Hillary is doomed worse than Kerry without one. Name the last time a north east liberal democrat won the presidency.

She plans on getting the northeast locked up and will use Bill to pander to the south.

[Steve_Stifler]

Not a footnote, just a future Trivial Pursuit answer.

[blondee123]

Looks like he's running in 2008.

Someone should tell him not to waste his time or money, to crawl in a hole with Kerry & disappear!

[kublia khan]

Would everyone please be quite for just a moment....I believe John Kerry's hemorrhoid is trying to say something.

[blondee123]

I think Hillary should use John boy as her running mate, then he can be a TWO TIME LOSER!

[Fresh Wind]

Hey, Silky, here's a suggestion-why don't you file a lawsuit against Bush?

[Aetius]

I think Edwards' inability to do anything for Kerry in NC (though to be fair, I guess w/o Edwards on the tickt Bush may have won NC by an even larger margin) makes him damaged goods for Hillary. My guess is that she will try to get Warner to saddle up with her.

[BillCompton]

Ok, let me get this straight:
    1) You were WRONG, but ....
    2) Bush LIED.

EDWARDS LIED!!!!!

Just how many exclamation points is authentic when doing a "Bush lied"?

geez!

[dubyawhoiluv]

the dems keep repeating these lies, I want to see how they will recruit other nations to assist in a illegal, unjust war since they are the party esp. kerry who can do just that; shameful talk from a man who did not even carry his own state like another loser al gore in this past election

[Arrowhead1952]

John Edwards, I have a message for you.