House Majority Leader warns against unprovoked attack on Iraq

Drudge | 08/08/02 | Drudge

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

House Majority Leader warns against unprovoked attack on Iraq Thurs Aug 8 2002 16:30:05 ET

House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) addressed an Iowa crowd on Thursday and raised questions about whether he would support an American war against Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

"My own view would be to let [Saddam] bluster, let him rant and rave all he wants and let that be a matter between he and his own country. As long as he behaves himself within his own borders, we should not be addressing any attack or resources against him.'

"If we try to act against Saddam Hussein, as obnoxious as he is, with proper provocation, we will not have the support of other nation states who might do so."

"He has a right to hold dominion within his own national boundaries, as obnoxious as he is and as comical as he can be."

Developing...

[Real Cynic No More]

This is Armey's first step in declaring for a Presidential run in 2004. He's still the idiot he always has been.

[wallcrawlr]

He isnt running again is he?
Is he trying to distance himself from Bush? Whats the reasoning here?

[ProudAmerican2]

He's still the idiot he always has been.

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Attacking countries without provocation is wrong and foolish.

[Ed_NYC]

Please let him build all the ICBMs and produce all the Chemical weapons he wants. He is not hurting anyone, yet.

[Barnacle]

Is this guy a Bozo or what?

[TheDon]

Yeah, Armey, go ahead and help out our mortal enemies.

[wallcrawlr]

If we know someone is going to bomb us next Tuesday, I say we bomb them this Tuesday.

No more waiting around to get kicked in the nuts for me.

[caddie]

This is so strange.

Why would Armey be fragging Bush on this issue?

Are he and others really fed up with W, and does this mean that the House Republicans want to challenge him on his poorly-differentiated plans for the middle east invasion (if, in fact, he really intends to go at all?)

I don't get it.

This ain't no way to run a railroad.

[Real Cynic No More]

"Attacking countries without provocation is wrong and foolish."

Well, I certainly agree with that statement. But, something tells me we will disagree on what constitutes provocation.

[dmeara]

"If we try to act against Saddam Hussein, as obnoxious as he is, with proper provocation, we will not have the support of other nation states who might do so."

Yes, let's wait until we are attacked again and thousands more Americans are murdered. That's the ticket.

A nuclear Saddam is a nuclear Al Qaeda.

[ElkGroveDan]

I still think that right around the time the bombs start falling we'll see a whole bunch of documentation of how complicit Saddam was in 9/11 and/or the subsequent anthrax attacks.

[Jennikins]

E; Your post #4. I agree. What about retaliation to us? That will be a certainty if we do begin bombing in Iraq. I don't like the idea of being the world's bully.

[Dog Gone]

What was he doing in Iowa, if not running for President?

[Diddle E. Squat]

Maybe we should take Armey at his word. This will get widely reported by the idiot media(as any perceived GOP split is jumped on), and hopefully some of these dunces will immediately expound on what a great statesman Armey has become(easier to praise since he's leaving).

Then when the time comes, Bush prevents evidence of why we are going into Iraq, Armey can come out and say even a skeptic like himself was convinced by Bush's evidence. We'll see.

[TheDon]

"I don't like the idea of being the world's bully."

I love the idea myself.

[Domestic Church]

"A nuclear Saddam is a nuclear Al Qaeda."

Agreed. The House Majority leader needs to pull his head out of the sand before someone mistakes his butt for a golfball.

[Domestic Church]

"I don't like the idea of being the world's bully."

I don't think we are the world's bully. I think if anything we are going to save the world from another mega nutcase.

[rightwing2]

Once again, Dick Armey proves that he is a visionary conservative, something that George Dubya Bush never has been and in all probability never will be. It would be wrong to attack Iraq unprovoked. It would be in blatant violation of the Just War Theory so eloquently stated by St. Thomas Acquinas. Iraq is not a threat. North Korea and Iran are if we are to invade a country, Bush would do well to at least invade a country that actually poses a threat to the US. An invasion of Iran would be a just war for example because Iran has been conclusively linked to the 9-11 Al Queda suicide bombers.