To the editor:
The central, undeniable fact in the presidential campaign is that John McCain fully supported the Bush-Cheney leadership in starting an all-out war against Iraq for reasons now proven to have been false.
When a reporter, the late Tim Russert, asked McCain if he would have gone to war even knowing there were not WMD's, he answered "yes" without missing a beat (Ellen Goodman, Journal-World, July 26).
McCain and Bush showed a shocking lack of good judgment and leadership for which we are now paying the price in thousands of lives lost and even more thousands wounded and crippled, not to mention the trillions of dollars of debt that future generations will have to pay.
Meanwhile, the main culprits - the al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and their followers - seem stronger than ever. By contrast, Barack Obama had the foresight and good judgment to oppose the war in Iraq from the very beginning.
McCain, doubtless a strong personality, simply will not admit he was wrong in supporting Bush's war against Iraq, regardless of the horrific price we paid and are still paying and will continue to pay for many years to come. No wonder our economy is now in such chaos.
McCain resembles a firefighter who, after stopping the fire he had helped to start, brags about his superior wisdom based upon his many years of experience.
Harold Piehler,
Lawrence
Comments
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 9 years, 6 months ago
"they may have been mistaken, but not false."With logic like that.....
jaywalker 9 years, 6 months ago
That's the first time I've seen that happen to ya, logic! :)Don't sweat it, had days just like that, 'preciate the chuckle.
jaywalker 9 years, 6 months ago
The war was not started for reasons that were "false"; they may have been mistaken, but not false. A Democrat led investigation committee concluded that the Bush administration acted with the best information available, and every allied intelligence community had the same information. Bill Clinton, Hillary, Biden, Edwards, Reid, Pelosi and many more of the Dem leadership - all on TV saying 'there is no doubt they have WMD's" - and this during Bill's administration. Al-Qaeda is stronger than ever in the Afghan/Pak region for exactly the reasons Brent outlines, but elsewhere they remain fractured and scatterered due to their losses in Iraq.And I say again, who gives a rat's rear that Obama had the 'foresight and good judgement' to be against the war?!His opinion at the time was just as valuable as mine or anyone else reading this article, was as influential as someone that owns a TV criticizing Warren Buffett. I didn't want us to send troops into the Middle East ---- EVER! Should I get credit as well?
Paul R Getto 9 years, 6 months ago
Best line I've seen, from a Brit: "Of course Saddam has WMD. We know because we kept the receipts." Was Saddam crazy like a fox? Probably. Was Iraq a threat to the US? No.
JHOK32 9 years, 6 months ago
Ah golly gee, Sarah Palin will git'r dun when she gets elekted fer VP. Them thar terrerists won't have a fitin chanse. I'll bet she evin chews tobakki !
Brent Garner 9 years, 6 months ago
The absolutue truth about Saddam's WMDs may never ben known. It is without dispute that people were concerned they still existed. No less than Hans Blix, leader of the UN inspectors, working from Iraqi documents kept prodding Saddam to explain what he, Saddam, had done with a liquid ton of Sarin, a nerve gas agent. Saddam refused to answer Blix's question, thus creating the impression that, perhaps, the weapons still existed. Additionally, an FBI agent who spent the last 6 months of Saddam's life with him discloses in a book that Saddam told him that he, Saddam, ordered the destruction of the WMDs but would not disclose this fact because he, Saddam, was afraid Iran might attack. Assuming this report is accurate, then we could conclude that Saddam ran the BIG LIE and fooled everone: the US, our European allies, the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, and even his own military. Moral of the story: Saddam's lie led to the invasion. If Saddam had not lied, there would have been no invasion. Therefore, lying is bad.
jonas_opines 9 years, 6 months ago
"Now tell us exactly what happened to the rest of Saddam's WMD."Well, from what I remember of the Duelfer report, they were largely decommissioned some time after Desert Storm, leaving behind technology in case production needed to be started up again.
jaywalker 9 years, 6 months ago
The bozo's back and still has not a clue, hey la hey la, the bozo's back......
Left_handed 9 years, 6 months ago
Mr. Pielher's heroes Bill and Hillary Clinton, Edward Kennedy and John Kerry (to name a few) all said that Iraq was a threat from WMD long before "W" even started running for president. Please stop propagating the lie that the war was started on a "lie".
JohnBrown 9 years, 6 months ago
One lingering problem about invading Iraq: Iran.Before we invaded, Iran had its hands full dealing with Saddam. After we invaded, Iran found itself no longer threatened and able to increase its export of terror (including to Iraq) and increase expenditures on uranium enrichment.Not to mention, Al Qaida's attack on us was an economic attack. We went $3 trillion in debt to "get 'em!" and now our economy is in the tank. from here, it looks like Al Qaida is winning, regardless of what happens in Iraq.We are NOT safer now than we were; we are worse off because we took our eye off the ball, and because of incompetence by Bush.McCain has backed this incompetency 90% of the time.
notajayhawk 9 years, 6 months ago
Brent Garner 9 years, 6 months ago
Non-WMD reason for resuming war with Iraq:Violations of ceasefire ending first gulf war. Iraq complied with none of the conditions agreed to. It was only Clinton's ineptitude and refusal to address the issue that let Iraq slide. Before you blast me go look up the ceasefire agreement and read it. I have. So should you.Reason why the Taliban/Al Qaida are resurgent in Afghanistan. One word answer: sanctuary. Pakistan has created a default sanctuary for these people in Pakistan's NW tribal areas. From there, the Taliban/Al Qaida can launch attacks and then withdraw to lick their wounds. As long as that sanctuary is allowed, ending the Taliban / Al Qaida threat will be difficult.
bmwjhawk 9 years, 6 months ago
Ahh... then it WAS worth it!
uncleandyt 9 years, 6 months ago
OK, maybe I'm a moonbat, but, my friend ,restorereason, has been researching the whereabouts of the clearly illegal WMDs. Turns out they're in Virginia.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 9 years, 6 months ago
"I suspect you have seen quite a few mushroom clouds."And all this time, I thought shroom clouds were one of those special moments you share with Condi.
bad_dog 9 years, 6 months ago
On a related topic, here is an interesting article about the draft of a new National Intelligence Estimate questioning the long-term viability of "the surge" in Iraq. Both SOS Condi Rice and Gen. Petraeus seem rather concerned.Any bets whether the pertinent details will be released before 11/04/08?http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/53605.html
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 9 years, 6 months ago
"So when are you going to get around to telling us exactly what happened to Saddam's WMD."Didn't you hear? He attacked the US with all those weapons, and BushCo retaliated by invading and deposing him. You really should keep up. I honestly don't know how you could have missed the mushroom cloud.
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