Who Said It?

Here are some quotes from the run-up to the Iraq War:

1. Saddam Hussein is a tyrant who has tortured and killed his own people, even his own family members, to maintain his iron grip on power[.] [...] He used chemical weapons on Iraqi Kurds and on Iranians, killing over 20,000 people.

2. It would be naive to the point of grave danger not to believe that, left to his own devices, Saddam Hussein will provoke, misjudge, or stumble into a future, more dangerous confrontation with the civilized world.

3. [Hussein] violated the cease-fire agreement. The reality is that we can’t allow him to continue on the track he is. And I also believe that we can’t be secure, and the region can’t be secure, as long as he’s still in power.

Bush, Cheney, and Blair, perhaps? Not quite! Try Sens. Clinton, Kerry, and Edwards. They, along with 23 other Democratic senators and 82 Democratic congressmen, supported the vote to go to war with these types of arguments.

We have not found weapons of mass destruction, and that was the main justification for war. Knowing what I know now, I would not have supported the war at the time; removing a tyrant and promoting democracy in the region simply are not worth the cost. But knowing what we knew – or thought we knew – then, it was a reasonable position, and one shared on both sides of the aisle. Could the Democrats kindly bear this in mind next time they try to act like the victims of a swindle for supporting the war?

Hat tip: Deroy Murdock.