Ummm---where was this two years ago???

Or four years ago, for that matter.

It's not enough to argue with the logistics or to argue about the details or the manner of the conflict's execution or the failures of competence, as great as they are. It is essential to acknowledge that the war itself was a mistake, to say the simple words that contain more truth than pride. We were misled. We were given evidence that was not true. It was wrong, and I was wrong to vote for that Iraqi resolution.

-- John Kerry, speaking at the Take Back America conference in Washington Tuesday.

In his use of the passive voice, "We were misled," Kerry misleads us, once again, by pretending that he was a part of us, rather than one of the misleaders. Which he surely was. He was in a better position than most, in 2002, to know that there was no solid evidence of Iraqi WMDs, and even less that Iraq posed any threat at all to the US, WMDs or not. Still, he echoed the Bushies' lies as he voted for their war:

With respect to Saddam Hussein and the threat he presents, we must ask ourselves a simple question: Why? Why is Saddam Hussein pursuing weapons that most nations have agreed to limit or give up? Why is Saddam Hussein guilty of breaking his own cease-fire agreement with the international community? Why is Saddam Hussein attempting to develop nuclear weapons when most nations don't even try, and responsible nations that have them attempt to limit their potential for disaster? Why did Saddam Hussein threaten and provoke? Why does he develop missiles that exceed allowable limits? Why did Saddam Hussein lie and deceive the inspection teams previously? Why did Saddam Hussein not account for all of the weapons of mass destruction which UNSCOM identified? Why is he seeking to develop unmanned airborne vehicles for delivery of biological agents?

And two years later, after the whole world, including the billion-dollar Iraq Survey Group, knew that Saddam had no WMDs nor was anywhere near obtaining them, Kerry STILL defended his vote. Only now, when the American public, after years of being misled by Bush AND Kerry, has finally seen the light, is Kerry willing to admit he was wrong.

But has he LEARNED anything? Of course not. Four years too late, he finally admits that the Bushies were lying--about Iraq. That doesn't mean he is about to question any of the lies they're telling now. Here's what he said a few minutes after the quote above:

We allow for the over-horizon capacity to be able to respond to Iran or other threats to our country. We're not stupid.

You're either stupid, insane, or just another damn liar, then, John.

Kerry knew he was lied to about Vietnam; he knew he was lied to about Iran-Contra; now he finally admits he was lied to about Iraq. Yet he STILL accepts the lies about Iran! The swift boat attacks on Kerry were obvious nonsense; no matter how chicken he might have been in Vietnam, it was a lot less chicken than Bush was. But flip-flopper? His picture could be used to illustrate the definition. And when he says that we were misled, he tries to hide the fact, quite successfully I would say, that he is one of our leaders (and could have been our LEADER if he had actually tried to lead).

AAAARRRGH! And I started writing this post to complain once again about Hillary, who won't even go as far as Kerry in admitting in the face of overwhelming evidence that the Iraq war was a "mistake" (as Kerry and Pelosi both put it, although "crime" is the correct word).