FLASHBACK: Barack Obama's Anti-Iraq War Speech (2002)

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Barack_Obama%27s_Iraq_Speech ^

[TigerClaws]

**

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

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. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.

He’s a bad guy. 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, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, 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 US 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.

[TigerClaws]

Some good quotes to toss at Zero now.

[econjack]

Shows what happens when you read a teleprompter without understanding what the words say.

[tsowellfan]

Libya:

WHAT WOULD REAGAN DO?

Under today’s circumstances...

Gadaffi = Iraq

Libyan Rebels (with Al Qaeda ties) = Iran

[IrishCatholic]

There is no way the mainstream press will hold their leader accountable.

[WPaCon]

This is something to keep in mind at all times when discussing Obama:

If Reagan were president instead of Obama, what would he be doing differently?

If Bin Laden were president instead of Obama, what would he be doing differently?

Who’s hypothetical presidency is Obama’s closer to if not exactly the same?

[Clairity]

Excellent! I’ve been looking for this. Thanks for posting it.

[Bon mots]

[BobP]

There is no way the mainstream press will hold their leader accountable.

--------------------------

The train wreck rolls on.

Zer0 is pulling for the brotherhood.

[reefdiver]

Toss them at ALL democrats. Get them all wet with this. The entire party has to be the party that is on the same page as AQ. They all back zer0 so they are all backing AQ. They same terrorist organization that took down the towers.

Al-Qaeda
Osama bin Laden’s Network of Terror and the democrats.
On the same page, fighting for the same thing. pees in a pod.

It’s why they are not Real Americans.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks TigerClaws.

That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics. 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. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity. He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.