Scott Tibbs
blog post
September 5th, 2004

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Kerry flip-flops again on Iraq war

How many positions on the War in Iraq can Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry take? He told Reuters that the war in Iraq was "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time", saying that he planned to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq in his first term. But Kerry has also said that "he would have voted to give Bush the authority to use force if necessary against Iraq even if he had known at the time that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction", according to Reuters.

If Kerry had reservations against the war in Iraq, he should not have given the President authority to invade. Kerry cannot on one hand give President Bush a blank check to go to war and then whine when Bush uses that authority.

Kerry's promise to withdraw troops from Iraq in his first term is foolish and dangerous. With a set timetable for pulling the troops, the forces of terror need only bide their time until American troops leave, and then proceed to turn Iraq into a staging ground for international terrorism.

Simply put, we cannot withdraw from Iraq until our job is complete. Pulling out early would create an unstable situation that we will have to intervene in later, in addition to creating a power vacuum that Iran would be more than happy to step into.


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The New York Times is rapidly losing credibility as the Presidential campaign progresses.

The Times argues that "people who are unhappy with the way Iraq is going may be frustrated by Mr. Kerry, but they should direct their real anger at Mr. Bush."

John F. Kerry not only voted for the resolution allowing the use of force, but he said he would have voted for it even if he had known Weapons of Mass Destruction would not be found. Kerry cannot hide from his responsibility in this matter.

I also find it unfortunate that the Congress (including Kerry) abdicated their Constitutional authority to the president in authorizing the use of force. If we were going to go to war with Iraq, Congress should have made it clear by actually declaring war. Authorizing the President to use force makes a mockery of the Constitution. But it also allows flip-floppers like Kerry to vote for the war without actually voting for it.