Posted on 02/22/2004 2:23:21 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Maybe I've been living in a time warp -- a Rip Van Winkle who fell asleep and missed the past four years.
The Democratic candidates running to replace President George W. Bush, including the front runner, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., claim Saddam Hussein never had weapons of mass destruction -- that Iraq was Bush's war and that he got us into it for purely personal political purposes. Saddam was never a threat to the United States.
Did I misread or misunderstand what Democrats said prior to the current campaign for the White House? Note the following pronouncements and the people who uttered them:
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." -- President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
"I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." -- Kerry, Oct. 9, 2002
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology, which is a threat to countries in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." -- Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, Dec. 16, 1998
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." -- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." -- Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., Sept. 27, 2002
"We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." -- Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, Kerry and others, Oct. 9, 1998
"The last U.N. weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." -- Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.), Oct. 3, 2002
"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant U.N. resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do." -- Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, Oct. 10, 2002
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaida members. ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, Oct. 10, 2002
''Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real." -- Kerry, Jan. 23. 2003
So now these Democrats say President Bush lied about Iraq and about Saddam having weapons of mass destruction, that there never were any such weapons and that he took us to war for his own political interests?
In the two years since Sept. 11, President Bush has liberated two countries, crippled the Taliban and al-Qaida, forced Libya to open its doors to inspectors without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people at a cost of 600 American lives, while preventing another 9-11 terrorist attack here in the United States.
Now who's credible and who's not? The record speaks for itself.
--- David W. Fleming is chairman of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley.
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