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What is John Kerry's position on the Iraq war?

Madine

Join Date 04/2003

What is John Kerry's position on the Iraq war?

Your guess is as good as mine

Kerryoniraq.com

There are many political ads around these days. They have their black and white photos and ominious announcers. The important part of this ad though is the words John Kerry himself said on national TV and other venues. I urge everyone who plans to vote in the election to watch this.

Here is the important message of the ad:

1. In the late 1990s during the confrontation with Iraq relating to inspections, John Kerry supported strong military action against Iraq, including ground troops.

2. In the year leading up to the invasion in 2003, John Kerry supported the war in Iraq.

3. In 2003, the campaign for the Democratic nomination started. John Kerry was a candiate

4. Another candiate, Howard Dean, became the frontrunner. He had a strong anti-war position.

5. Kerry voted against the 87 billion dollars, backed away from his pro-war position, and won the Democratic nomination.

6. Today, Kerry criticizes the way President Bush handled the war, but doesn't have a clear position about whether the war was a mistake or whether it was the right thing to do.

Here are some quotes from the ad:

KERRY: "He is and has acted like a terrorist, and he has engaged in activities that are unacceptable." (Fox News’ "The O’Reilly Factor," 12/11/01)

KERRY: "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)

MSNBC’S CHRIS MATTHEWS: "Do you think that the problem we have with Iraq is real and it can be reduced to a diplomatic problem? Can-can we get this guy to accept inspections of those weapons of mass destruction potentially and get past a possible war with him?" (MSNBC’s "Hardball," 2/5/02)

KERRY: "Outside chance, Chris. Could it be done? The answer is yes. But he would view himself only as buying time and playing a game, in my judgment. Do we have to go through that process? The answer is yes. We’re precisely doing that. And I think that’s what Colin Powell did today." (MSNBC’s "Hardball," 2/5/02)

CHYRON: "If Saddam Hussein is unwilling to bend to the international community's already existing order, then he will have invited enforcement ..." - Sen. John Kerry, Op-Ed The New York Times 9/6/02 (Sen. John Kerry, Op-Ed, "We Still Have A Choice On Iraq," The New York Times, 9/6/02)

»»»»

CHYRON: "...even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act." - Sen. John Kerry, Op-Ed The New York Times 9/6/02 (Sen. John Kerry, Op-Ed, "We Still Have A Choice On Iraq," The New York Times, 9/6/02)

KERRY: "I would disagree with John McCain that it’s the actual weapons of mass destruction he may use against us, it’s what he may do in another invasion of Kuwait or in a miscalculation about the Kurds or a miscalculation about Iran or particularly Israel. Those are the things that - that I think present the greatest danger. He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat." (CBS’ "Face The Nation," 9/15/02)

KERRY: "So clearly the allies may not like it, and I think that’s our great concern - where’s the backbone of Russia, where’s the backbone of France, where are they in expressing their condemnation of such clearly illegal activity, but in a sense, they’re now climbing into a box and they will have enormous difficulty not following up on this if there is not compliance by Iraq." (CNN’s "Crossfire," 11/12/97)

KERRY: "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. ... [T]hen 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." (ABC’s "This Week," 2/22/98)

ABC’S COKIE ROBERTS: "And does that mean ground troops in Iraq?" (ABC’s "This Week," 2/22/98)

KERRY: "I am personally prepared, if that’s what it meant." (ABC’s "This Week," 2/22/98)

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