John Kerry in Reuters

On War & Peace: I'd vote to authorize war, but with allies

On the Iraq war, the Bush campaign has been pressuring Kerry to say whether he would have still voted for the war given the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were found. Bush maintains the world is still better off without Saddam Hussein in power. Kerry on Monday said he would have voted to give the president authorization to use force against Iraq "but I would have used that authority effectively."

Bush and his aides said that was evidence of Kerry flip-flopping from an anti-war stance. "Now, almost two years after he voted for the war in Iraq, and almost 220 days after switching positions to declare himself the anti-war candidate, my opponent has found a new nuance. He now agrees it was the right decision to go into Iraq."

Kerry's campaign national security adviser responded, "The issue has never been whether we were right to hold Saddam accountable, the issue is that we went to war without our allies, without properly equipping our troops and without a plan to win the peace."

Source: Steve Holland, Reuters Aug 10, 2004

On War & Peace: Wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time

I said this from the beginning. I said, Mr. President don't rush to war, take the time to build a legitimate coalition and have a plan to win the peace. You've about 500 troops here, 500 troops there and it's American troops that are 90 percent of the combat casualties and it's American taxpayers that are paying 90 percent of the cost of the war. It's the wrong war, in the wrong place at the wrong time." Source: Patricia Wilson, Reuters Sep 5, 2004

The above quotations are from Media coverage of political races in Reuters News Service. Click here for other excerpts from Media coverage of political races in Reuters News Service. Click here for other excerpts by John Kerry. Click here for a profile of John Kerry.
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org (We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Sep 29, 2024