President Bush Is Not A Liar, But Sen. Clinton Is

I try to ignore most of the rantings of college-age liberals and those who buy into conspiracy theories or who are ignorant of history, but when a United States Senator, who is a presidential candidate, makes false statements like this, I have to say something. It is totally dishonest for her and for others to pretend that the Iraq War is something that President Bush cooked up with no justification and with no history or vital U.S. interests involved. It is despicable that they keep throwing this mud hoping some of it will stick.

“Clinton 44’s war amnesia

From Sen. Hillary Clinton’s speech on the Senate floor on Oct. 10, 2002:

“I believe the authority to use force to enforce that mandate is inherent in the original 1991 UN resolution, as President Clinton recognized when he launched Operation Desert Fox in 1998.

“If we get the resolution that President Bush seeks, and if Saddam complies, disarmament can proceed and the threat can be eliminated. Regime change will, of course, take longer but we must still work for it, nurturing all reasonable forces of opposition.

“If we get the resolution and Saddam does not comply, then we can attack him with far more support and legitimacy than we would have otherwise.”

Bush got the Ultimatum Resolution from the UN Security Council on Nov. 8, 2002, and now, 4 years later, comes the story from New Hampshire that she never said any of that.

John Ditaso, senior political reporter for the Union-Leader, filed a report today: “Hillary: I didn’t vote for ‘pre-emptive war’ ”

“I have taken responsibility for that vote. It was based on the best assessment that I could make at the time, and it was clearly intended to demonstrate support for going to the United Nations to put inspectors into Iraq.

“When I set forth my reasons for giving the President that authority, I said that it was not a vote for pre-emptive war,” the former first lady said.

The hell she did. Pre-emptive is not in that 2002 floor speech; she did not say it was not a vote for pre-emptive war. Far from that. Here is how she ended that speech:
“And finally, on another personal note, I come to this decision from the perspective of a Senator from New York who has seen all too closely the consequences of last year’s terrible attacks on our nation. In balancing the risks of action versus inaction, I think New Yorkers who have gone through the fires of hell may be more attuned to the risk of not acting. I know that I am.

“So it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interests of our nation. A vote for it is not a vote to rush to war; it is a vote that puts awesome responsibility in the hands of our President and we say to him - use these powers wisely and as a last resort. And it is a vote that says clearly to Saddam Hussein - this is your last chance - disarm or be disarmed.”

Hussein did not avail himself of that last chance.”