http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1072896/posts Kerry Flashback: REMARKS BY SENATOR JOHN KERRY (on Iraq, 12/16/98) - Strike Now!
Federal News Service - Public Domain | DECEMBER 16, 1998, WEDNESDAY
Posted on 02/06/2004 1:47:42 PM EST by jmstein7
REMARKS BY SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D-MA)
TOPIC: IRAQ
THE CAPITOL, SENATE RADIO/TV GALLERY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
SEN. KERRY: I believe that everybody who has been involved with the issue of Iraq understands that a day of reckoning has been a long time coming for Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein's objective is to maintain his weapons program, the program for building weapons of mass destruction. He has never been willing to open fully for inspection. For eight years he has avoided his responsibilities to the international community. He has toyed with the United Nations, with the United States, with UNSCOM, and with our allies. And I believe he has been given more opportunity to comply than he deserves.
I believe also that it is important for the United States and our allies to hold him accountable by using military force. I'm confident that every reasonable person who has followed this issue and who cares about the American interests in that region will understand the legitimacy of this moment.
This is not contrived, and it has nothing to do with impeachment. No one should question that once again -- once too many times -- it is Saddam Hussein who has brought this on himself. He has lied. He fails to comply with his own promises and his own obligations that he has accepted. He is a threat to the region and to its stability, and he is a threat to our international efforts for proliferation.
While I respect that many people have differing opinions about whether or not military action may accomplish all of our goals, it is clear to me that absent military action, with additional strategies, we will not hold Saddam Hussein accountable.
I support action at this time, but I also remain deeply concerned that there are larger issues of our long-term strategy that need to be answered still. And the American people need to understand precisely what will be entailed in order to achieve our longer-term objectives in the region. I believe the administration needs to share that strategy with us in the Senate, with our House colleagues, as well as with the American people. We must understand precisely what it will entail to achieve our goals and precisely what will be expected of the American people over that period of time.
Q Sir, if I could just ask a quick question. The chairman of the Rules Committee in the House is essentially saying, "Here we go again; the president is trying anything to get the issue off his hands." I know you've addressed that in your statement. But when you have a respected member of the House saying that on a day like today, what do you make of that?
SEN. KERRY: I think that the reason I wanted to make this statement today is that I think Americans need to really understand the gravity and legitimacy of what is happening with Saddam Hussein. He has been given every opportunity in the world to comply.
The president does not control the schedule of UNSCOM. The president did not withdraw the UNSCOM inspectors. And the president did not, obviously, cut a deal with Saddam Hussein to do this at this moment.
Saddam Hussein has not complied. Saddam Hussein is pursuing a program to build weapons of mass destruction.
That is his overriding goal, because that's part of his long-term strategy in the region. I believe anybody who has responsibly followed this issue and cares about the larger interests of the United States should not, in keeping with that responsibility, cloud this issue with anything to do with impeachment.
It seems to me that it is even more perilous for a president who is facing impeachment to consider at this time trumping up some kind of use of the armed forces. If ever there might be something to invite impeachment, that would be it. So I believe that Americans ought to come together, understanding the larger interests that are at stake in the Gulf.
Now, again, I repeat, there is a bigger job yet to do of explaining to the American people what it will take for us to achieve our long-term goals in the region, and that strategy has not yet been thoroughly spelled out either to the Congress or to the American people.
Q Just one more question. Do you mean to tell me that you have -- have you ever seen a situation that's gotten as weird as this -- (off mike) -- (laughter) -- don't even have the words to describe it --
SEN. KERRY: Well, I was not a member of the United States Congress, but I was here a lot in the early 1970s when we were trying to end a war and I saw a lot of weirdness then, so -- we're seeing a repeat of a very strange time and certainly, I think, most Americans are feeling incensed and somewhat confused and perhaps even a little let down by the president and by the process. And there are a lot questions, no question about it.
I think that all of us here, however, have a wonderful opportunity to help people understand how the Constitution can really work effectively and how we could cross party lines to work together in a responsible way that would make sense to everybody and I think they're just waiting for people here to prove that they're capable of doing that rather than these terrible divisions along party lines that are really potentially going to have a long-term negative impact on our politics and on our country.
Thank you. I appreciate it.