Dear Al,
Posted on 08/29/2002 8:39:36 PM PDT by zapiks44
By SANDRA SOBIERAJ, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) told Iraqi opposition leaders Monday that Saddam Hussein stands in the way of Middle East peace and ``must be removed from power.''
``I believe that there can be no peace for the Iraqi people and a genuine peace for the people of the Middle East so long as Saddam is in a position to brutalize his people and threaten his neighbors,'' Gore told representatives of forces trying to topple the Iraqi president.
The Democratic presidential candidate was showcasing his foreign policy responsibilities as vice president Monday - experience his campaign says makes him better prepared to be president than his Republican opponent, Texas Gov. George W. Bush (news - web sites).
Immediately after meeting with the Iraqis, Gore shifted gears for talks and an official dinner with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, whom Gore saluted for showing ``true statesmanship in reaching out to the people of Azerbaijan.'' The two nations have a lingering dispute over independence claims by Nagorno-Karabakh, which is controlled by Armenia but is located within Azerbaijan.
Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress, was among the nine Iraqi opposition figures seated with Gore around a circular conference table at the State Department. Other groups represented at the session, which was open to reporters only for a quick photo and Gore's introductory remarks, included the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Constitutional Monarchist Movement.
The United States ``will not flag in supporting your efforts,'' Gore said, and will continue to enforce the ``no-fly zones'' over southern and northern Iraq that Americans and their allies have patrolled to prevent Saddam from threatening citizens - particularly the Kurds - in these regions.
``In the interests of regional peace and for the sake of human decency,
(Saddam) must be removed from power. That is the policy of this administration. It is the policy I support. It is the policy I am personally committed to,'' Gore said.
A senior State Department official said after the half-hour meeting that, because it was not a campaign event, Gore did not speak ``in terms of a Gore presidency.''
The meeting made good on Gore's promise to American Jewish activists on May 23 that he would encourage Iraqi opposition leaders to unite in their efforts.
In March, Chalabi's group received $265,000 in economic support funds, marking the United States' first direct grant to aid Saddam's overthrow. Congress appropriated $8 million late last year for this purpose, plus $97 million in surplus Pentagon equipment provided under the Iraqi Liberation Act signed by President Clinton. The United States also has accepted 145 Iraqis for non-military training, including field medicine, transport and communications, under the legislation.
Saddam and U.S. concerns that he will build weapons of mass destruction are a leftover problem from George Bush's presidency and the Persian Gulf War. Gore is constrained from making Iraq much of an issue in the presidential campaign against Bush's son because the Clinton-Gore administration has little to show for its own efforts against Saddam.
The administration launched punishing air raids on Baghdad in December 1998 but failed to force Saddam to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors, who have yet to return to Iraq.
Getting the inspectors back in was not discussed Monday because it fell ``outside the scope of this discussion,'' the State Department official said on condition that he not be identified. As to whether Saddam's ouster was any closer to realization now than last year, this official said: ``We're certainly a year closer. No one has a deadline.''
U.N. sanctions imposed for Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait aren't to be lifted until U.N. inspectors certify Iraq no longer has or can produce weapons of mass destruction.
Also Monday, the Gore campaign said it hired Nashville, Tenn., businesswoman Cindy Wall to direct outreach to women voters. Polls have shown Gore having trouble among women, who came out for the 1996 Clinton-Gore ticket in decisive numbers. Last week, Gore's vice presidential office brought on Alvin Brown to help with outreach to black voters.
Only one question: who is Gore?
Dear Al,
It wouldn't bother me at all to see Saddam Hussein get vaporized by a nuke.
But I haven't seen any evidence that would warrant such an attack.
If they merely want to oust a tyranous dicatator, we should practice on Fidel Castro and liberate Cuba. It's closer to home and should be easier to accomplish on our own.
Hey if numbnuts wants to go it alone fine then. Strap a nuke to his @ss and send him over, win/win situation.
A senior State Department official said after the half-hour meeting that, because it was not a campaign event, Gore did not speak ``in terms of a Gore presidency.''
Gore Presidency??? That would be a sad, sad day for America.
The administration launched punishing air raids on Baghdad in December 1998 but failed to force Saddam to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors, who have yet to return to Iraq.
But it did help cover up that Cuban incident of Bubba Clinton's (Down Monica!)
Never mind that this dictator has a military force that wouldn't even stand up to the Ohio National Guard, let alone the U.S. military. Just get rid of him.
Back during Desert Storm, let us never forget that Al Gore bartered for television face time. He would support the war if he got a lot of face time. He would oppose the war otherwise. He used THAT to decide which way he would vote. Our troops were nothing but pawns for his political ambitions. The higher purpose of national sovereignty and world stability meant nothing to him. It was all him. Scary to think he was so close to being elected president.
Freegards....
Did you get lost on your way to DU again, dear? You really should bookmark it ya know...
I'll call it a perfect summary.
Cheney gave a dissertation on Saddam the other day...The Press "Anal ysts" went nuts as to whether he was speaking for the President...It's kinda like a duh in this administration as this President is daily At his desk talking with his staff, not under his desk...
The press sure has its agenda layed out!!
Thank God for Fox!!
Sac
Which one?
Alpha male?
Formal (empty) suit and tie?
Business casual?
Clean-shaven?
Goatee-adorned?
With airbrushed "enhancements"?
pfehhhh......
If sugar and tobacco got better mileage than gasoline, Castro would have been toast in 1961.
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