The Kerry Line: John Kerry On Iraq

George W. Bush ^ | May 27, 2004

[RWR8189]

“In the course of his presidential campaign John Kerry voted for the Iraq War, and then declared himself an anti-war candidate; said it would be irresponsible to vote against funds for our troops in combat, and then voted against funds for our troops in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The only explanation he offered for this contradiction is that he actually voted for the 87 billion before he voted against it.”

-Nicolle Devenish, Bush-Cheney '04 Communications Director

John Kerry On Iraq: A Record Of Contradiction

May 2004: Kerry Claims "When Bill Clinton Left Office, Not One Young American Was Dying In War Anywhere In This World." (David Hammer, "Kerry Invokes Clinton's Name, Says Arkansas Can Be Won," The Associated Press, 5/13/04)

March 2004: Kerry Says "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." (Richard W. Stevenson and Adam Nagourney, "Bush's Campaign Emphasizes Role Of Leader In War," The New York Times, 3/17/04)

January 2004: After Voting For War And Trailing Candidate Howard Dean In The Democrat Primaries, Kerry Says He Is Anti-War Candidate. CHRIS MATTHEWS: "Do you think you belong to that category of candidates who more or less are unhappy with this war, the way it's been fought, along with General Clark, along with Howard Dean and not necessarily in companionship politically on the issue of the war with people like Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt? Are you one of the anti-war candidates?" KERRY: "I am -- Yes, in the sense that I don't believe the president took us to war as he should have, yes, absolutely." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 1/6/04)

January 2004: On January 26th, The Day Before The New Hampshire Primary, Kerry Admitted He Viewed His War Vote Politically. KERRY: "I thought about that as if I were president, because I knew I was running for president. And I knew I had to be accountable to a standard." (Fox News' "Special Report With Brit Hume," 2/23/04)

October 2003: Kerry Voted Against Senate Passage Of Iraq/Afghanistan Supplemental Funding. The bill provided "approximately $65.6 billion for military operations and maintenance and $1.3 billion for veterans medical care."

September 2003: Kerry Said Voting Against The $87 Billion Supplemental Would Be "Irresponsible." Doyle McManus (LA Times): "If that amendment does not pass, will you then vote against the $87 billion?" Kerry: "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to – to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible." (CBS's "Face the Nation," 9/14/03)

September 2003: Kerry Claimed Vote Was To "Threaten The Use Of Force," Not Actually Use It. "I voted to threaten the use of force to make Saddam Hussein comply with the resolutions of the United Nations. I believe that was right, but it was wrong to rush to war without building a true international coalition and with no plan to win the peace." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Announcement Of Candidacy, Patriot's Point, SC, 9/2/03)

June 2003: Three Days Later, Kerry Said President Bush Misled On WMD. "Kerry said Wednesday that President Bush broke his promise to build an international coalition against Iraq's Saddam Hussein and then waged a war based on questionable intelligence. 'He misled every one of us,' Kerry said." (Ron Fournier, "Kerry Says Bush Misled Americans On War," The Associated Press, 6/18/03)

June 2003: Kerry Said "It Would Be Irresponsible" To Suggest President Misled On WMD. ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "I know you said you're agnostic about whether or not he misled the public on weapons of mass destruction. But do you have a hunch on whether you think they hyped the intelligence?" SEN. JOHN KERRY: "George, again, I think it would be irresponsible of me at this point to draw conclusions prior to all the evidence being on the table." (ABC's "This Week," 6/15/03)

May 2003: In First Dem Debate, Kerry Strongly Supported President's Action In Iraq. SEN. JOHN KERRY: "I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him." (ABC News, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Columbia, SC, 5/3/03)

April 2003: As Troops Approached Baghdad, Kerry Called For "Regime Change" In The United States. (Glen Johnson, "Kerry Says Us Needs Its Own 'Regime Change," The Boston Globe, 4/3/03)

January 2003: Kerry Decried "Rush To War." "[W]hile American security must never be ceded to any institution or to another institution's decision, I say to the President, show respect for the process of international diplomacy because it is not only right, it can make America stronger – and show the world some appropriate patience in building a genuine coalition. Mr. President, do not rush to war." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 1/23/03)

October 2002: Kerry Cited WMD As Reason For His Vote, Calling Them An "Unacceptable Threat": "The Iraqi regime's record over the decade leaves little doubt that Saddam Hussein wants to retain his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and to expand it to include nuclear weapons. We cannot allow him to prevail in that quest. The weapons are an unacceptable threat." (Remarks of Senator John Kerry on Iraq, U.S. Senate, 10/9/02)

December 2001: Kerry Ready To Include Saddam Hussein In War On Terror. KERRY: "Oh, I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. And I think the president has made that clear. I think we have made that clear. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue, for instance, Saddam Hussein." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 12/14/01)

September 2001: Kerry Cited Evidence Of Saddam's "Efforts To Try To Secure" And Test WMD. KERRY: "…Saddam Hussein has used weapons of mass destruction against his own people, and there is some evidence of their efforts to try to secure these kinds of weapons and even test them. That's why it's so vital that we get the global community to be part of this effort to begin to make their lives miserable …" (CBS' "Face The Nation," 9/23/01)

October 31, 1998: Iraq Suspends Cooperation With UN Inspectors.

November 1998: Kerry Backs Regime Change In Iraq. FOX'S TONY SNOW: "Senator Kerry, should it be official U.S. policy that we want to see Saddam Hussein removed from power, not necessarily assassinated, but removed from power?" SEN. JOHN KERRY: "I believe yes. I believe I've been arguing for that for some time within the Intelligence committee and elsewhere." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 11/15/98)

November 1997: United Nations Has Obligation To Prevent Saddam From Continuing WMD Program. "We must recognize that there is no indication that Saddam Hussein has any intention of relenting. So we have an obligation of enormous consequence, an obligation to guarantee that Saddam Hussein cannot ignore the United Nations. He cannot be permitted to go unobserved and unimpeded toward his horrific objective of amassing a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. This is not a matter about which there should be any debate whatsoever in the Security Council, or, certainly, in this Nation. If he remains obdurate, I believe that the United Nations must take, and should authorize immediately, whatever steps are necessary to force him to relent--and that the United States should support and participate in those steps." (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, p. S12255)

November 1997: Kerry Believed Iraq Was Such "A Grave Threat To The Well-Being Of Our Nation" That We Must Use Force, Unilaterally If Necessary. "As the world's only current superpower, we have the enormous responsibility not to exhibit arrogance, not to take any unwitting or unnecessary risks, and not to employ armed force casually. But at the same time it is our responsibility not to shy away from those confrontations that really matter in the long run. And this matters in the long run. While our actions should be thoughtfully and carefully determined and structured, while we should always seek to use peaceful and diplomatic means to resolve serious problems before resorting to force, and while we should always seek to take significant international actions on a multilateral rather than a unilateral basis whenever that is possible, if in the final analysis we face what we truly believe to be a grave threat to the well-being of our Nation or the entire world and it cannot be removed peacefully, we must have the courage to do what we believe is right and wise. I believe this is such a situation, Mr. President. It is a time for resolve." (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, p. S12256)

[cogentconservative]

Kare bear's back at it again.
I support, I oppose
I'm certain I suppose
hey what...who really knows?
When Kerry comes to a fork in the road he doesn't go straight. He picks it up, puts it in his pocket, and thinks...
I might have a pragmatic use for this some day.

[Izzy Dunne]

A man of unparalleled flexibility.

[antenna]

May 2004: Kerry Believes He is entitled to "Have His Cake and Eat it Too".

[jveritas]

It is time to put all these fatal flip flops in effective TV ads. The Bush campaign must destroy Kerry now. This joke must end.

[samtheman]

With great Humpty Dumpty Fortitude his words mean exactly what he wants them to mean, something new each and every time he says them.

[JasonC]

Or, since he always keeps two positions going, perhaps of inflexible parallelism?