BLAME AMERICA FIRST? ON THE EVE OF WAR, DASCHLE TRIES TO GAIN PARTISAN ADVANTAGE

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BLAME AMERICA FIRST? ON THE EVE OF WAR, DASCHLE TRIES TO GAIN PARTISAN ADVANTAGE

With American Troops Poised To Fight, Daschle Blames Potential War Casualties On President Bush

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SENATOR TOM DASCHLE: “I’m Saddened, Saddened That This President Failed So Miserably At Diplomacy That We’re Now Forced To War. Saddened That We Have To Give Up One Life Because This President Couldn’t Create The Kind Of Diplomatic Effort That Was So Critical For Our Country.” (Senator Tom Daschle, Remarks At International Association Of Firefighters Conference, 3/17/03)

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BEFORE LAST NOVEMBER’S ELECTION, DASCHLE SUPPORTED USE OF FORCE IN IRAQ AND RECOILED AT POLITICIZING DEBATE

Senator Daschle Voted For The Resolution “To Authorize The Use Of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq” Last October. (H. J. Res. 114, Roll Call #237: Passed 77-23: R 48-1; D 29-21; I 0-1, 10/11/02, With Daschle Voting Yea.)

Last Fall, Daschle Decried “Accusations” Over “National Security.” “We ought not politicize this war. We ought not politicize the rhetoric about war and life and death. … We have to rise to a higher level. … [I]t is not too late to forget the pollsters . . . the campaign fundraisers . . . [the] accusations about how interested in national security,” different parties are. (Senator Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, 9/25/02)

Daschle Said “Never Once” Did He Politicize The War In Iraq In 1991-92, And Hoped We Would Have the “Same Level Of Debate This Time.” “I can recall in 1991 and 1992 … when President Bush made the decision he did. I can recall several of my staff coming to me, suggesting that we say this or that. But never once did I have someone on my staff … refer to the politics of the war with Iraq. … We need that same level of debate this time …” (Senator Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, 9/25/02)

IN 1998, DASCHLE SUPPORTED USE OF FORCE IN IRAQ AND CALLED FOR BIPARTISANSHIP

Daschle Recognized That “Saddam Hussein Leaves Us Little Choice” But “The Use Of Force.” “[C]learly the intransigence on the part of the Iraqi government and Saddam Hussein leaves us little choice at this point … So I would think that, if nothing changes, the use of force at some point would be inevitable.” (William Neikirk, “Congress Talks Tough On Iraq,” Chicago Tribune, 2/5/98)

Daschle Wanted A “United” And “Bipartisan” Message That “Iraq Must Comply.” “Iraq must comply. There is no choice. We stand united in our determination to do whatever is necessary … The United States has the resolve to ensure that compliance and we stand united today in an effort to articulate that very clear message as loudly, as unequivocally, and in as much of a bipartisan way as we can.” (Senator Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, 2/12/98)

Daschle Called For “Immediate Iraqi Compliance” Or “Threat By Force” Would Be “Required.” “[A]bsent immediate Iraqi compliance … the security threat doesn’t simply persist – it worsens. Saddam Hussein must understand that the United States has the resolve to reverse that threat by force, if force is required.” (Senator Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, 2/12/98)

Amazing -- AOL has picked up on this!

Daschle: Bush Diplomacy Fails 'Miserably'

By KEN GUGGENHEIM
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said Monday that President Bush failed ``miserably'' at diplomacy, forcing the United States to go to war with Iraq.

Daschle's comments were denounced by Republican National Chairman Marc Racicot as ``divisive and brazen political posturing.''

Daschle, of South Dakota, supported a congressional resolution last year authorizing Bush to use force in Iraq, but he has criticized the president for failing to win the support of the U.N. Security Council.

``I'm saddened, saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war,'' Daschle said in a speech to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. ``Saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country.''

Racicot said ``it is disheartening and shameful for Senator Daschle, who has previously advocated and authorized the use of force in Iraq, to now blame America first.''

Daschle spokesman Jay Carson replied that it was ``brazen and political'' for a party chairman to be responding to a national security issue with ``with such divisive and political language.''

At the White House, Bush briefed about a dozen top members of the House and Senate before his speech. Vice President Dick Cheney continued the briefing after the president left to prepare for his remarks.

There was no talk of how much the war will cost, but White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Cheney promised a supplemental appropriations request would be sent to Capitol Hill as soon as final costs were estimated.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he hoped that after hearing Bush's speech, ``the Congress - Democrats and Republicans - will close ranks behind the president and our foreign policy will leave the shore with one voice.''

Many Democratic lawmakers Monday lamented Bush's failure to win a new Security Council resolution on Iraq, but said now is the time to unite as war appears inevitable.

``Those of us who have questioned the administration's approach, including this senator, will now be rallying behind the men and women of our armed forces to give them the full support that they deserve as it now seems certain we will soon be at war,'' Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor.

Levin and other Democrats said the lack of U.N. support could result in less international assistance in the fight against terrorism, trigger more terrorist attacks, and make it more difficult to win international contributions for rebuilding Iraq after a war.

``The path to a safer world and a more secure America has rarely come from a go it alone approach,'' Levin said.

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a presidential candidate, said U.N. Security Council members are partially to blame for world division because they did not enforce the resolution calling on Saddam to disarm. But he also faulted ``the Bush administration's unilateralist, divisive diplomacy, which has pushed a lot of the world away from us and this just and necessary cause.''

Republicans stood behind Bush. ``The president has shown great patience and given diplomacy every chance to work, but as he stated tonight - the time to act has arrived,'' said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois, chairman of the International Relations Committee, said America could either grant Saddam an indefinite reprieve or take action ``to prevent unnamed horrors to come.''

``We might postpone this decision at increasing risk to ourselves, but we cannot avoid the fact that the responsibility and the choice are ours,'' he said.

From Precedent? I'll Give You A Precedent

...At that time, there was no hue and cry from Democrats in Congress. They supported President Clinton throughout his ineffectual three days of bombing. The general sentiment was not doubt and hesitation, but action and righteousness. Why all the hand-wringing now? Who knows, but back in 1998, when Congress passed the “Iraq Liberation Act of 1998” and President Clinton signed it, everyone saw the wisdom of removing Saddam as soon as possible. After listing 11 brutal grievances against Saddam Hussein, including the butchering of 180,000 people, Congress advised, “it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.”...

This was HR 4655, which passed the House with less than 40 reps voting against it and passed the Senate with a UNANIMOUS voice vote.

More lies from Dasshole....

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