2008 MA Senate Debate: on War & Peace


Jeff Beatty: Kerry failed to read vital intelligence reports pre-Iraq war

Beatty accused Kerry of having “blood on his hands” over his vote to send U.S. troops into Iraq during a fiery televised debate last night. A combative Beatty launched a vicious verbal assault after Kerry snorted at Beatty’s claim that he failed to read vital intelligence reports before voting for the war. “Don’t laugh. It’s not a joke,” fumed Beatty, a counterterrorism consultant and former CIA agent. “You knew. You knew when you voted for that war that we didn’t have what we needed for the war... and you didn’t care because it was always about getting elected president. You have got blood on your hands.“

Kerry branded Beatty’s attack ”insulting and frankly disgusting.“ He said his vote was based on intelligence reports presented to him by forme CIA director George Tenet and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The candidates agreed the United States should withdraw from Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan, while working to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.

Source: 2008 MA Senate Debate reported in the Boston Herald Oct 20, 2008

John Kerry: Based vote for Iraq war on CIA’s intelligence reports

Beatty accused Kerry of having “blood on his hands” over his vote to send U.S. troops into Iraq during a fiery televised debate last night. A combative Beatty launched a vicious verbal assault after Kerry snorted at Beatty’s claim that he failed to read vital intelligence reports before voting for the war. “Don’t laugh. It’s not a joke,” fumed Beatty, a counterterrorism consultant and former CIA agent. “You knew. You knew when you voted for that war that we didn’t have what we needed for the war... and you didn’t care because it was always about getting elected president. You have got blood on your hands.“

Kerry branded Beatty’s attack ”insulting and frankly disgusting.“ He said his vote was based on intelligence reports presented to him by forme CIA director George Tenet and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The candidates agreed the United States should withdraw from Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan, while working to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.

Source: 2008 MA Senate Debate reported in the Boston Herald Oct 20, 2008

Jeff Beatty: Evidence for WMD in Iraq was not credible

Beatty sees Kerry’s vote to go to war as a decision based on “personal gain”--for example, in preparation for running for President--instead of national interests. Beatty said his CIA experience makes him believe the evidence for weapons of mass destruction was not credible. As a veteran himself and a friend to families of soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq, he thinks the decision to go to war did not consider the impact on families of the men and women who had to implement that decision.
Source: Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle on 2008 MA Senate Debate Aug 13, 2008

Jeff Beatty: Iraq invasion was a mistake, but we can’t leave now

Q: You said you would not have voted as the Senate did six years ago to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Do you still hold that opinion?

A: Absolutely. I think it was a mistake, I thought it was a mistake at the time. I don’t have to say with hindsight,

Source: Dedham Times Interview on 2008 MA Senate Debate Jul 16, 2008

Jeff Beatty: Leave Iraq with success, by any path

We can’t just turn around and leave [Iraq] because they will recruit like crazy. They will be able to say, ‘We defeated the Americans’. They will bring people to their side. The consequences for us will be severe if we do not leave Iraq with some sort of success.

There’s more than one way to get a success. I’ll support any path that I believe allows us to leave with a success. You almost define success as anything that the terrorists would define as not a success for them.

Source: Dedham Times Interview on 2008 MA Senate Debate Jul 16, 2008

  • The above quotations are from 2008 Massachusetts Senate Debate between John Kerry and Jeff Beatty.
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Candidates and political leaders on War & Peace:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018