I think there is a disconnect between the depth of the threat that Saddam Hussein presents to the world and what we are at the moment talking about doing. If indeed he is as significant a threat, as you heard him characterized by the president [Clinton], the secretary of state, the secretary of defense -- can threaten London, threaten the peace of the Middle East, that he is really a war criminal who is already at war with the civilized world -- then we have to be prepared to go the full distance, which is to do everything possible to disrupt his regime and to encourage the forces of democracy.
COKIE ROBERTS: And does that mean ground troops in Iraq?
Sen. JOHN KERRY: I am personally prepared, if that's what it meant. I don't think you have to start there. I think there are a number of other options. But. What I hear from the administration, thus far, is if he doesn't comply, then we will hit him.The obvious question is, after you've hit him, have you opened up your inspections?
Well, I think the answer is probably not, certainly not in the near term. After you've hit him, is he still in power, capable of building weapons again? Every bit of intelligence John and I have says within various periods of time, he can rebuild both chemical and biological. And every indication is, because of his deception and duplicity in the past, he will seek to do that. So we will not eliminate the problem for ourselves or for the rest of the world with a bombing attack.