Kerry on Iraq: 'Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time'

[Stu Pidasso]

CANONSBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry on Monday called the invasion of Iraq "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time" and said his goal was to withdraw U.S. troops in a first White House term.

further into the article (http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/381249|top|09-06-2004::16:06|reuters.html)

"After voting for the war but against funding it, after saying he would have voted for the war even knowing everything we know today, my opponent woke up this morning with new campaign advisers and yet another new position. Suddenly he's against it again," Bush said in remarks prepared for delivery at a campaign rally in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

comments anyone?


Stu

[GWB]

This guy is getting more kooky:

A new Kerry 'U-turn' (http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040907-122640-4199r.htm)

Kerry quote:

"It's the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time," Mr. Kerry said, adding that the 40 countries that have helped liberate Iraq constitute a coalition that is "the phoniest thing I ever heard."

a quote from a sensible person:[b]

"I've got news for Senator Kerry," Mr. Cheney said. "As General Tommy Franks said, 'Every contribution from every nation is important.' Demeaning our allies is an interesting approach for someone seeking the office of the presidency. When it comes to diplomacy, it looks like John Kerry should stick to windsurfing."

[jokerswild]

Kerry has been very consistant in his position. He voted to give the President authority to act. This means that the War Powers Act was averted. He never agreed that he would have done things the same way that the chicken hawks have done. The inspections in Iraq were working to prove that the Bush Administration lied in its intelligence reports. Bush couldn't permit this, so he invaded. You know this. Bush knows this. The Bush campaign believes that if it continues to lie again and again, then people will believe the lies to be true.

[ddollevoet]

[ QUOTE ]
Kerry has been very consistant in his position.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ummmmm.... Do you mean John Kerry? Inconsistency has been his only consistency.

[benfranklin]

The "wrong war" line came from Howard Dean during the Democratic primaries. I believe that during the primary debates, Kerry said that Dean was wrong on that issue, defending his own vote to authorize the war.

[cjromero]

This statement is ludicrous. Kerry's position on Iraq has changed so many times that it is almost laughable. Don't get me wrong. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with changing/evolving your position on a particular issue over time. My problem with Kerry is that he has repeatedly changed his position out of pure political expediency.

Kerry had access to much of the same intelligence that the Bush Administration (which was the same intelligence possessed by the Clinton Administration, and to an extent the first Bush Administration) concerning Iraq and WMDs.

He voted to authorize the President to use force if necessary for one of two reasons (or perhaps a combination of both): (1) he truly believed that Hussein represented a threat that needed to be dealt with, or (2) he was afraid to vote against President Bush at a time when his approval ratings were very high because he was afraid of being painted as a typical pacifist liberal at a time when he was preparing to run for president.

Then, as events in Iraq began to deteriorate, Kerry voted against the $87 billion in funding for the troops. He did so (as did John Edwards) solely because Howard Dean was the Democratic primary frontrunner and Kerry wanted to make sure he joined the anti-war bandwagon if it continued to gain steam. Dean was able to make huge hay out of the fact that he was the only prominent figure running for president (except for Kucinich) who was against invading Iraq from the very beginning. The whole explanation about Kerry and Edwards wanting to send a message to Bush that they didn't like the direction of the war was a convenient one. However, many of Kerry's colleagues in the Senate (on both sides of the aisle) and some of his close advisers admitted after the vote on the $87 billion that Kerry voted against it because of the Dean factor.

Continuing with his anti-war theme, Kerry repeatedly said that Bush "misled the country" into war and said that, if elected president, he would do everything possible to bring the troops home from Iraq during the first six months of his term.

Then, fearing that he was being viewed as too soft on terrorism and too anti-military, Kerry said in August that, even knowing what he knows now about the faulty intelligence and the lack of WMDs, that he would still have voted in favor of giving Bush the authority to go to war.

Now, after being quiet on Iraq for much of August, Kerry wakes up and finds himself behind in the polls on Labor Day Weekend from anywhere from 3-11 points depending on the poll. In his midnight speech on Thursday, Kerry renews his belief that Bush "misled" the country into war. Then he steps up the attacks on Monday following weekend meetings with President Clinton and his new campaign advisers. Now, Kerry has committed to withdrawing troops from Iraq during his "first term."

Sure sounds consistent.

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

The inspections in Iraq were working to prove that the Bush Administration lied in its intelligence reports. Bush couldn't permit this, so he invaded.

[/ QUOTE ]

You can't intentionally get more illogical than this.