Condoleezza Rice Should Have Quit Over Iraq War

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"Barack Obama has handled foreign policy and national security adeptly." What? I don't think so.

Larry Poke of AL 2:19PM November 08, 2011

May of AL

Bush got WMD idea from Democrats:

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."

--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."

--President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."

--Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."

--Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."

Letter to President Clinton, signed by:

-- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."

-Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."

-- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."

Letter to President Bush, Signed by:

-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."

-- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."

-- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."

-- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."

-- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."

-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."

-- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"

-- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."

-- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."

-- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."

-- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

http://www.davidstuff.com/political/wmdquotes.htm

Bill Hedges of MO 1:05AM November 07, 2011

Obama got Osama and Gaddafi. How? By letting Intel do their job an by letting the military do its job

But at least Bush saved us from invisible pink WMD! How'd he do it yuns? by think'un from the GUT!

May of AL 4:52PM November 06, 2011

Brad - can't fix stupid, might as well jump...

Hank of FL 10:14AM November 06, 2011

THE CREDIT BRAD THE PATHETIC GIVES SOLELY TO OBAMA ON HANDLING TERRORISM ACTUALLY GOES TO QUICK-ACTING ORDINARY PEOPLE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ON THE FRONT LINE IN TWO HIGH-PROFILE EXAMPLES...

Street vendors noticed a smoldering SUV and alerted local police who along with the fire department handled things from there without anyone getting hurt in the attempted 2010 Times Square car bombing by Pakistan-born Faisal Shahzad.

Outstanding passengers on flight 253 of Northwest Airlines jumped the Nigerian underwear bomber before his smoldering guchies could detonate as the plane was approaching Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. That was the incident where Janet Napolitano said, "The system worked..."

All of us -- including Punk Obama who hides behind a security detail at least 10,000 strong at all times -- dodged major mayhem in both cases.

We weren't so lucky in the Ft. Hood massacre, of which today (5 Nov. 2011) is the two year anniversary -- something Brad the Pathetic not-so-curiously missed noticing completely in lauding Punk Obama for keeping us all safe and snug.

Moving on to Iraq:

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) President Bush signed in Dec. 2008 with the Iraqi government provided a legal basis for the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq after the United Nations Security Council mandate for the occupation mission expired at the end of 2008.

SOFA required that all U.S. forces be gone from Iraq by January 1, 2012, unless the Iraqi government was willing to negotiate a new agreement that would extend their mandate. And the Iraqi government wasn't.

Credit the Iraqi government -- not Punk Obama -- with ending our military involvement there:

Iraq's Government, Not Obama, Called Time on the U.S. Troop Presence

http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/10/21/iraq-not-obama-called-time-on-the-u-s-troop-presence/

And about Libya:

The billion-plus Kinetic Punk Obama dropped so far on Libya was only the start. Now President Punk and Bag Lady Clinton will bang the drum for billions more in reconstruction aid.

The final upshot of Punk Obama's non-war Libyan war going into the 2012 election will be the question:

Who in the hell is Punk Obama president of and for, us here in the US or the Libyans?

Unless Punk Obama somehow extends dual citizenship to all the Libyan rebel-rebels so they can vote for him in 2012, stumble he will fall on Libya. And rightly so.

Ron Paul, 2012. He's the one who's got the complete package of fiscal prudence that encompasses both ending global-policing/nation-building (especially that Obama Af-Pak deal that Brad the Pathetic not-so-curiously also made no mention of), and ending domestic federal stimunots/bailouts.

For 2012, Paul is the middle ground you hear so much about.

dom youngross of OH 8:22PM November 05, 2011

"Condoleezza Rice"???

Barry Soetero is causing our country's total collapse with max corruption, including the swindled funding, and investigation thereof, of numerous "green company bankruptcies", the continuing massive collapse of the housing market, the increased costs of oil and fuel, printing money like there is no tomorrow causing out-of-control inflation, unemployment numbers matching that of the Great Depression but calling this massive economic downfall a "normalcy", unprecedended business closures, public services greatly curtailed, wants more taxes, wants to continue spending like a drunken sailor, etc., etc., etc......

...and Bannon writes about "Condoleezza Rice"????????

Typical Liberal/Progressive Democrat pattern of thinking, eh?

Harry Reasoner of MA 10:38AM November 05, 2011

Rice and Bush deserve great credit for faciliatating the Arab Spring. They said from the earliest times of the administration that the people of the Middle East deserved to live in a democracy free of the fear of tyrants. The downfall of Iraq and the strongman Hussein gave enormous impetus to the generation that then had access to the internet to realise that in fact, Bush and Rice were right - there was no good reason why they should live in a medieval feudal society when the benefits of the 21st century were all around them.

One day, soon I hope, history will understand fully the causal link between the policies of Bush and Rice and the freeing of the Middle East.

christine davitt of MT 3:01AM November 05, 2011

to cut through all the the rhetoric about our pull out from iraq.for people with short memories,it was former pres. bush who brokerd,and signed the agreement before he left office.so any criticism of such belongs to him,period.

then theres the matter that the iraqis no longer want us in their country.for us to remain any longer we would seen as occupiers,rather than liberators.our goal,we were told, was to free the iraqi people,thats been done,the rest is up to them.

bruce b of NV 2:23AM November 05, 2011

May-be Obama should quit over being stupid .

Hunter of WI 11:53PM November 04, 2011

I missed the part of her memoir where she said she was opposed to the Iraq war or that she thought the war was a mistake or that she was in favor of abandoning the war and bringing the troops home. What did she actually say that suggests that quitting would've helped accomplish somehting she wanted to accomplish. If your point was that Condi shouldn't be forgiven for her role in the Bush Adminstration's decisionmaking, because she stayed on, then I'd like to point out that she didn't ask for your forgiveness and woule likely chuckle at your presumption.

Jay of NC 4:26PM November 04, 2011

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Brad Bannon

Brad Bannon

Brad Bannon runs Bannon Communications Research, a political polling and consulting firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups, and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. Brad guest hosts Leslie Marshall’s nationally syndicated radio talk show and is a commentator on America’s Radio News Network. Follow him on Twitter @BradBannon.

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