Compilation of statements on Iraq by Democrats et al

One of the most dismaying aspects of the Democrats' cynical use of the Iraq mission against President Bush has been the wilfully false premise that the responsibility for OIF belongs entirely to President Bush, as though it was a conspiracy entirely hatched within the Bush administration after 9/11. In fact, Democrats and President Bush were of a mind on Iraq; the more accurate characterization is that President Bush inherited, adopted, and furthered his predecessor's and, by extension, the Democrats' agenda on Iraq.

Since 2003, I've used several well-known President Clinton statements to remind people that OIF has non-partisan historical roots. Examples:

President Bill Clinton, December 12, 1998 (Operation Desert Fox):

"The hard fact is that so long as Saddam remains in power, he threatens the well-being of his people, the peace of his region, the security of the world.”

”The best way to end that threat once and for all is with a new Iraqi government -- a government ready to live in peace with its neighbors, a government that respects the rights of its people. Bringing change in Baghdad will take time and effort."

President Bill Clinton, October 31, 1998 (Iraq Liberation Act):

"The United States wants Iraq to rejoin the family of nations as a freedom-loving and law-abiding member. This is in our interest and that of our allies within the region.”

”The United States favors an Iraq that offers its people freedom at home. I categorically reject arguments that this is unattainable due to Iraq's history or its ethnic or sectarian make-up. Iraqis deserve and desire freedom like everyone else.”

”The United States looks forward to a democratically supported regime that would permit us to enter into a dialogue leading to the reintegration of Iraq into normal international life."

Former President Bill Clinton, July 22, 2003 (CNN with Larry King):

"Let me tell you what I know. When I left office, there was a substantial amount of biological and chemical material unaccounted for. That is, at the end of the first Gulf War, we knew what he had. We knew what was destroyed in all the inspection processes and that was a lot. And then we bombed with the British for four days in 1998. We might have gotten it all; we might have gotten half of it; we might have gotten none of it. But we didn't know. So I thought it was prudent for the president to go to the U.N. and for the U.N. to say you got to let these inspectors in, and this time if you don't cooperate the penalty could be regime change, not just continued sanctions."

"It is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted for stocks of biological and chemical weapons. We might have destroyed them in '98. We tried to, but we sure as heck didn't know it because we never got to go back in there. And what I think -- again, I would say the most important thing is we should focus on: What's the best way to build Iraq as a democracy?"

"We should be pulling for America on this. We should be pulling for the people of Iraq."

For more, see this impressive compilation of statements by Democrats and others favoring intervention in Iraq. It was recommended to me by commenter bg at Belmont Club.

Eric