http://www.evote.com/weekend_section/09292002/FTNReview.asp Mr. Schieffer: You are unabashedly seeking the Democratic presidential nomination… you have said at this point that the president has not yet made the case for war, and that nothing so far has justified a unilateral strike into Iraq. But Iraq now says over the weekend that it will not accept tougher rules for inspection. Doesn’t that make the case now for the administration?
Governor Dean: Not quite yet. There is no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat to the United States, and to our allies. The question is, is he an immediate threat? The President has not yet made the case for that. I think it very well may be, particularly with the news that we had over the weekend, that we are going to end up in Iraq. But I think it’s got to be gone about in a different way, it really is important to involve our allies, to bring other people into the coalition, to get a decent resolution out of the UN Security Council…
Ms. Borger: What exactly does the president have to prove to you?
Governor Dean: I don’t think he really has to prove anything, I think that most Americans, including, myself, will take the president’s word for it. But the president has never said that Saddam has the capability of striking the United States with atomic or biological weapons any time in the immediate future. My question is not that we may not have to go into Iraq, we may very well have to go into Iraq. What is the rush? Why can’t we take the time to get our allies on board? Why do we have to do everything in a unilateral way? It’s not good for the foreign policy of this country to be the big bully on the block and tell everybody we’re going to do what we want to do…
Mr. Schieffer: What in your mind would justify a strike on Iraq?
Governor Dean: First of all, a strike may be justified. What the president has got to say is that Saddam has atomic or biological weapons, and has the means to deliver them to ourselves and our allies. He has never said that to my knowledge, nor have any of his surrogates