"I am not making the case here that this is a 9-11 connection," Mr. Armitage said. But it is al-Qaeda's "thirst for the weapons of mass destruction – and our belief that if Saddam Hussein can pass them to people who will do us ill without being caught, he will do it – that gives us so much concern."< snip >
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said more of Iraq's weapons were destroyed by U.N. inspectors in the 1990s than by bombs dropped in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
"We should give the process a chance to work, and then we'll have a chance to develop the type of coalition we had in the first Gulf War," Mrs. Boxer said.
Mr. Armitage replied, "From our point of view, 12 years, two months and some days is about enough time."
Arms Inspector Meets With Saddam Hussein |
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Excerpt (see post #13):
"An asymmetric capability of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons gives an otherwise weak country the power to intimidate and blackmail. We risk sending a dangerous signal to other would-be proliferators if we do not respond decisively to Iraq's transgressions. Conversely, a firm response would enhance deterrence and go a long way toward protecting our citizens from the pernicious threat of proliferation. . . . Fateful decisions will be made in the days and weeks ahead. At issue is nothing less than the fundamental question of whether or not we can keep the most lethal weapons known to mankind out of the hands of an unreconstructed tyrant and aggressor who is in the same league as the most brutal dictators of this century" Senator Joseph Biden, D-DE [Congressional Record, 2/12/98].
But Sen. Kerry (D-Heinz) blasted Bush for dangerous unilateralism?
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is a "secular leader" who has oppressed fundamentalist Muslims in his country, Mr. Biden said. "Osama bin Laden would like to kill Saddam Hussein," he ventured.
What a simpleton.