Dereliction of Duty: How Clinton and McCain disqualified themselves

There were troubling aspects to this 90-page document. While slanted toward the conclusion that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction stored or produced at 550 sites, it contained vigorous dissents on key parts of the information, especially by the departments of State and Energy. Particular skepticism was raised about aluminum tubes that were offered as evidence Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program. As to Hussein’s will to use whatever weapons he might have, the estimate indicated he would not do so unless he was first attacked.

That’s what Senator Bob Graham, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2002 wrote his Washington Post OpEd regarding the classified 90-page National Intelligence Estimate on Saddam’s Iraq that was presented by Bush administration’s CIA as evidential basis for a war with Iraq:

What I Knew Before the Invasion

By Bob Graham

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Furthermore,

Sen. Bob Graham begged his colleagues on the floor of the Senate to read the 90 page classified NIE on WMD (as opposed to the 25 pages of declassified materials).

“Friends, I encourage you to read the classified intelligence reports which are much sharper than what is available in declassified form,” Sen. Graham reports stating on the floor of the Senate in October 2002.

Link

Despite being implored by the chair of the intelligence committee, Hillary Clinton and John McCain did not read the 90-page NIE before committing US troops by voting to authorize a preemptive war that:

1. killed and maimed thousands of US troops

2. killed and maimed millions of Iraqi civilians

3. has cost the tax payer and the economy trillions of dollars

4. has compromised the reputation of the United States around the world.

With that dereliction of duty and recklessness (of not reading the NIE before committing the troops), both John McCain and Hillary Clinton disqualified themselves for the role of Commander-in-Chief.

Here is a look at their war voting record. Hillary Clinton and John McCain:

1. did not read the 90-page NIE

2. voted against Levin’s amendment which was a multilateral approach to the situation in Iraq (see this detailed explanation by Sen. Levin regarding his amendment)

3. voted for Lieberman’s blank check war resolution IWR/AUMF giving Bush the authority to wage the war

4. voted against protecting civilian lives from unexploded cluster munitions. See also here.

5. voted for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on Iran which does not explicitly rule out a war authorization

These eight videos present the pro-war actions and stances of Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

Clinton Video links:

1. HRC’s IWR floor speech, 2002

2. HRC on Iraq in March 2003

3. On HRC and her Kyl-Lieberman vote

McCain video links:

1. John McCain Says More Wars

2. McCain: ‘Make it 100!

3. McCain: I Would Have Started Iraq War Regardless Of WMD

4. McCain laughs, Sings Bomb Iran

5. McCain on Charlie Rose: September 24, 2002

Hillary Clinton gives the excuse that she voted only to get the UN inspectors back in to Iraq. That excuse does not hold scrutiny because when the inspectors did get in, and were in fact reporting that no WMD could be found, she didn’t tell Bush not to invade. Instead, she was cheerleading Bush towards an invasion:

UN inspectors said:

March 7, 2003

Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, IAEA: After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapon program in Iraq.

Dr. Hans Blix, Chief U.N. weapons inspector: How much time would it take to resolve the key remaining disarmament tasks? While cooperation can — cooperation can and is to be immediate, disarmament, and at any rate verification of it, cannot be instant. Even with a proactive Iraqi attitude induced by continued outside pressure, it will still take some time to verify sites and items, analyze documents, interview relevant persons and draw conclusions. It will not take years, nor weeks, but months.

Hillary Clinton’s press release:

March 17, 2003

Statement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on the President’s Remarks to the Nation

When the President of the United States addresses the nation about possible military action, it is a solemn occasion for every American. Tonight, the President gave Saddam Hussein one last chance to avoid war, and the world hopes that Saddam Hussein will finally hear this ultimatum, understand the severity of those words, and act accordingly. While we wish there were more international support for the effort to disarm Saddam Hussein, at this critical juncture it is important for all of us to come together in support of our troops and pray that, if war does occur, this mission is accomplished swiftly and decisively with minimum loss of life and civilian casualties. I have had the honor of meeting and speaking with many of our brave men and women in uniform. They are the best trained, equipped, and motivated military in the entire world, we support them fully and we are grateful for their courageous service in these difficult times.

What was that Bush ultimatum that Clinton refers to? It’s this: Saddam Hussein Must Leave Iraq Within 48 Hours.

In other words, despite the UN inspector reports, Hillary Clinton was cheerleading the war. That establishes her excuse about UN inspectors as being invalid.

Barack Obama can’t be called a pacifist. His philosophy is that it is important to distinguish between necessary and unnecessary wars and to not employ our military might recklessly. He opposed the Iraq war on the basis of the fact that Saddam Hussein was not an imminent threat.

I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income – to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

Now let me be clear – I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.

He’s a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.

But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.

— Barack Obama, October 2002.

Video link: Obama on Iraq

In the days leading up to the war in March 2003, Obama continued his opposition to the invasion:

MAR 2003: Obama Challenged Other Candidates To Take A Position On Iraq War. The AP wrote, “Barack Obama is criticizing the idea of war against Iraq and challenging his Democratic opponents in the U.S. Senate race to take a stand on the question…Issuing the challenge at a weekend speech in Champaign, Obama said he does not oppose war if it’s necessary. But he believes Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein poses no immediate threat and that, with Iraq’s economy in shambles, he can be “contained” until internal pressures force him out…Obama said candidates wishing to unseat Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald in 2004 should speak up now as the Bush administration moves closer to using military force against Iraq. `What’s tempting is to take the path of least resistance and keep quiet on the issue, knowing that maybe in two or three or six months, at least the fighting will be over and you can see how it plays itself out,’ said Obama, a state senator from Chicago.” (AP, 3/3/2003)

MAR 2003: Obama Said It’s Not Too Late To Stop The War. “State Sen. Barack Obama (D-Chicago) told the crowd, `It’s not too late’ to stop the war.” (Chicago Sun- Times, 3/17/03)

Link

Clearly, Obama strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq.

Obama also recognizes that once we went in and wrecked Iraq’s capacity to fend for itself, we need to leave Iraq more responsibly than we were in invading Iraq, in the interests of ensuring a sustainable Iraq, the stability of the region and not allowing Al Queda that has settled into Iraq following the invasion (and has setup a base of operations in Iraq as he surmised it would in his October 2002 speech) to succeed.

Here are Obama’s thoughts on and his plan to ending the war in Iraq responsibly.

Barack Obama’s Plan for Iraq”

Plan pdf version

Judgment You Can Trust

As a candidate for the United States Senate in 2002, Obama put his political career on the line to oppose going to war in Iraq, and warned of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” Obama has been a consistent, principled and vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.

   * In 2003 and 2004, he spoke out against the war on the campaign trail;

   * In 2005, he called for a phased withdrawal of our troops;

   * In 2006, he called for a timetable to remove our troops, a political solution within Iraq, and aggressive diplomacy with all of Iraq’s neighbors;

   * In January 2007, he introduced legislation in the Senate to remove all of our combat troops from Iraq by March 2008.

   * In September 2007, he laid out a detailed plan for how he will end the war as president.

Bringing Our Troops Home

Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.

Press Iraq’s Leaders to Reconcile

The best way to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq’s Constitution and governance. The United Nations will play a central role in this convention, which should not adjourn until a new national accord is reached addressing tough questions like federalism and oil revenue-sharing.

Regional Diplomacy

Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq’s neighbors – including Iran and Syria. This compact will aim to secure Iraq’s borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq’s sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq’s reconstruction.

Humanitarian Initiative

Obama believes that America has a moral and security responsibility to confront Iraq’s humanitarian crisis – two million Iraqis are refugees; two million more are displaced inside their own country. Obama will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find a safe-haven.

In the 2008 presidential election, just peace has its best chance with Barack Obama.

If you agree, please forward the URL for this post (or this tiny URL: tinyurl.com/yvykq8 ) to as many people as possible and get involved at Obama’s campaign’s Action Center to help elect Barack Obama as our next President.

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Crossposted from the new Dumb Wars blog.