But before that vote was taken, the President was characterizing it quite differently. He was taking great pains to explain that he needed to negotiate from a position of strength, and thus he needed this authorization, but that he was only going to go to war as a last resort, when all else had failed. It was not a vote "for the war" but a vote to give the President the bargaining chip he said he needed.
Yes. If Saddam Hussein had stepped down voluntarily, there would have been no war. But Saddam had convinced himself that the Americans would never invade. The latest Foreign Relations has a good article on Saddam's delusions.
However, everybody above the mental age of 10 knew what was meant at the time. I can claim no special expertise in foreign relations beyond paying attention, and I noticed from February of 2002 that Bush et. al. intended to effect regime change in Iraq, by invasion if necessary. If I could see it, I feel fairly sure that even members of the Senate could see it. Supposedly they have better information.
So, every time I heard Kerry give some explanation of "yes I voted for war but Bush pulled the ole bait'n'switch on me," what I really heard was "Vote for me, I'm a chump." It just didn't go, that explanation.
Beyond that, there were things that Kerry said consistently. He said that he wouldn't have made Bush's mistakes had he been in charge, and the "he had a plan" for fixing things once he was put in charge. What the plan was I never could figure out. Since then, all he has said is that we should give the Iraqis a timetable for when we are leaving, which is a dumb plan, as it would encourage the insurgents more than the government.
How exactly do you suppose it came about that this disparate group of men [Swiftvets] who had such great careers and busy lives got together to put their names on a ghost-written book in the first place? Was it just happenstance?
I see no reason to doubt the account given - that John O'Neill heard about Kerry's surging campaign while recuperating in the hospital from donating a kidney, got in touch with Ret. Adm. Schacte (sp?), and they took it from there. Asking how a bunch of guys who belong to a single organization (veterans of the same division) "got in touch" in this internet day and age, as if some sinister conspiracy had to have taken place, is pretty strange imo. All that is needed is motivation. They had plenty of that. Do you doubt they really hate Kerry? So why would they need Rove to get them moving? |
