The 'imminence' spin
Jonah Goldberg
is a nationally syndicated columnist
Jimmy Carter never used the word "malaise" in his "malaise speech." Abraham Lincoln never said, "God must have loved the common people, he made so many of them."
And George W. Bush never said that the threat from Iraq was "imminent." Not once.
In fact, in the State of the Union Address last January, Bush said the opposite:
"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words and all recriminations would come too late."
This is important because the favorite talking point of Democrats and liberal pundits right now is that the President "lied" when he said that Iraq posed an "imminent threat."
Just the other day, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W. Va.) said on Fox News Sunday: "What I keep having to remind myself is that we went to war in Iraq based upon an imminent threat which was being caused by weapons of mass destruction."
Ted Kennedy offered the most infamous summary: "There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership, that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud."
To be sure, administration sources often suggested imminence. In Cincinnati on Oct. 7, 2002, Bush said, "Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists." Bush reiterated the claim from British Intelligence that Saddam could launch a chemical missile attack within 45 minutes. Various Cabinet members referred to this or that threat as "immediate" and "gathering." There was talk of "reconstituted nuclear programs" and even "mushroom clouds."
Some of these quotes seem damning; others don't. But none supports the case that Bush lied or perpetrated a fraud. They might help the case that Bush was wrong about the extent of the Iraqi threat (though even that door isn't completely closed yet). But these statements don't prove deception. Nor do they have much to do with dispelling the case for war.
Numerous Democrats, including Sens. Kennedy and John Kerry, originally opposed the resolution authorizing the use of force precisely because it wasn't hinged on an imminent threat (Kerry ultimately flip-flopped and voted for the resolution anyway). Sen. Robert Byrd (D., Va.) even offered an amendment requiring that imminence become the standard for war. After a debate, he lost.
In other words, Kennedy & Co. objected to the war because Bush wouldn't say the threat was imminent and now they're peeved because Bush "lied" when he said the threat was imminent.
This spin probably won't stick. After all, as Abraham Lincoln once said, "You cannot fool all the people all the time."
Oh, wait. Lincoln never said that either.
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