Hillary Should Have Listened

He was just a State Senator from Illinois at the time. If only some of our leaders in the Congress and the Senate had listened to his words.

Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.... The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors...and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.

I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.

I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.

Why the Anti-Hilary Venom?

Her speech explaining her vote for Senate Resolution S.J. 45 indicates to me very sound, conscientious reasoning on her part based on the information available at the time. Read it for yourself. Yes she voted for the resoultion, but she clearly calls for the use of force as a last resort and urges action through the U.N. . It now seems obvious that she, Congress, and Americans put too much faith and trust in the hands of the bumbling, semi-literate stooge that happens to be the 43rd President of the United States. She also makes the point that Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator that had murdered thousands of innocent people in Iraq and Iran, which I believe justified his removal from power.

As far as I can tell, she has been fairly consistent on the issue, more so than the current administration, and like most American citizens, believes it is time for the President to own up to the fiasco and focus on the War on Terror rather than pursue this dubious war in Iraq.