Posted on 02/16/2003 8:23:16 AM PST by dark_lord
It was a cold day in Arkansas. The forecast had rain and sleet on the way, and I was on my way to interview the Senate majority - oops, now minority - leader. Tom Daschle was in Little Rock to do his bit for fellow Democrat Blanche Lincoln, who was announcing her bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate.
I had hunted up the speech Daschle had given when he voted for the congressional resolution authorizing the war looming ahead. And I had noted his statements since showed less, well, resolve.
"We do know," he had said back in October, "that Iraq has weaponized thousands of gallons of anthrax and other deadly biological agents. We know that Iraq maintains stockpiles of some of the world's deadliest chemical weapons, including VX, sarin and mustard gas. We know that Iraq is developing deadlier ways to deliver these horrible weapons, including unmanned drones and long-range ballistic missiles. And we know that Saddam Hussein is committed to one day possessing nuclear weapons. If that should happen, instead of simply bullying the gulf region, he could dominate it. Instead of threatening only his neighbors, he would become a grave threat to U.S. security and to global security. The threat posed by Saddam Hussein may not be imminent. But it is real. It is growing. And it cannot be ignored."
That was last October - almost four months ago, and the danger hasn't lessened. So how come Daschle had been sniping away at the administration's position ever since? Just one example: "Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said, 'We have yet to see any evidence that Saddam still has weapons of mass destruction.'æ" - The Associated Press, Jan. 25.
Just where does he stand? I asked him. Oh, the senator assured me, he still believes Hussein is dangerous and shouldn't be allowed to get away with his game indefinitely. So how long is indefinitely? Oh, not more than a few weeks, he said. I checked the date on my watch. Until March 1? I asked. Yeah, he said. Glad we got all that cleared up, and even a date certain - which is the one thing you won't find in all those murky resolutions out of the United Nations. Hussein better beware the ides of March.
...
If I spot Tom Daschle sniping away at the administration's Iraq policy again, I will know he was just putting this country editor on. The trust will be dead.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailyherald.com ...
No, Mr. Greenberg..........What you got a healthy dose of from the esteemed Senator Dashle is colloquially referred to as "a steaming pile of bulls**t".
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