On the campaign trail last week, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry accused President Bush of breaking his promise to put together an international coalition to wage war against Saddam Hussein. He also declared that Bush “misled every one of us” concerning the intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Kerry’s anti-Bush rhetoric was duly and widely reported in the media, but few reporters bothered to point out Kerry’s breathtaking hypocrisy. Matt Drudge did, however, and posted on the Drudge Report some interesting statements Kerry made just six years ago.
(If any reader still harbors doubts about liberal bias in the media, just try to imagine the loud and sustained outcry from the Dan Rathers and Joe Lelyvelds of the world were a Republican presidential contender – any Republican, actually – to prove himself as shame lessly two-faced as Sen. Kerry.)
Here, then, hung by his own words, the honorable gentleman from Massachusetts:
Danger of WMD in Saddam Hussein’s hands: “It is not possible to overstate the ominous implications for the Middle East if Saddam were to develop and successfully militarize and deploy potent biological weapons. We can all imagine the consequences. Extremely small quantities of several known biological weapons have the capability to exterminate the entire population of cities the size of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.
“These could be delivered by ballistic missile, but they also could be delivered by much more pedestrian means; aerosol applicators on commercial trucks easily could suffice. If Saddam were to develop and then deploy usable atomic weapons, the same holds true.” (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, pp. S12254-S12255.)
Use of force to stymie WMD production: “[Saddam Hussein] cannot be permitted to go unobserved and unimpeded toward his horrific objective of amassing a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. This is not a matter about which there should be any debate whatsoever in the Security Council, or, certainly, in this Nation.” (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, pp. S12254-S12255.)
Military action against suspected WMD: “In my judgment, the Security Council should authorize a strong U.N. military response that will materially damage, if not totally destroy, as much as possible of the suspected infrastructure for developing and manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, as well as key military command and control nodes.
“Saddam Hussein should pay a grave price, in a currency that he understands and values, for his unacceptable behavior. This should not be a strike consisting only of a handful of cruise missiles hitting isolated targets primarily of presumed symbolic value.” (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, pp. S12254-S12255.)
Unilateral Action Against Hussein: “Were its willingness to serve in these respects to diminish or vanish because of the ability of Saddam to brandish these weapons, then the ability of the United Nations or remnants of the gulf war coalition, or even the United States acting alone, to confront and halt Iraqi aggression would be gravely damaged.” (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, pp. S12254-S12255.)
Ultimately, it’s up to America to act alone if need be: “[W]hile we should always seek to take significant international actions on a multilateral rather than a unilateral basis whenever that is possible, if in the final analysis we face what we truly believe to be a grave threat to the well-being of our nation or the entire world and it cannot be removed peacefully, we must have the courage to do what we believe is right and wise.” (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, pp. S12254-S12255.)
* * *
Note To Readers: In the spirit of past reader-participation projects such as our ‘Enemies’ List of anti-Israel media types and ‘Friends’ List of their pro-Israel counterparts, the Monitor will be compiling a listing of readers’ favorite websites and blogs (if you’re wondering what a blog is, this poll probably isn’t for you.) Please e-mail all responses and comments by July 31.
Jason Maoz can be reached at [email protected].
