 |
 |
 |
|
|
Why did Kerry vote yes on the resolution to authorize the use of force in Iraq?
The
resolution of October 11, 2002 authorized the President to use force if
necessary; it did not direct the President to go
to war. Kerry voted for the resolution in order to strengthen
the President's hand in dealing with Saddam Hussein and the U.N. It was
not a vote on the question "Should we attack Iraq?" Nothing
in the resolution required or recommended that the President take the
nation into war when alternatives were available. That decision was made
by President Bush.
On October 9, 2002, two days before the vote on the resolution, Kerry gave a speech on the Senate floor in which he spelled out his reasons for voting yes and made it crystal-clear that he was not advocating a hasty invasion of Iraq. He cited assurances that the President had given: that force would be used only as a last resort and that every effort would be made to work with allies rather than to act alone. Kerry stressed the need to use diplomacy and means other than military force to resolve the conflict, and made it clear that the reason he was voting yes was to give the President bargaining power. Use of force was to be the LAST resort, not the first.
As the President made clear earlier this week, "Approving this resolution does not mean that military action is imminent or unavoidable." It means, "America speaks with one voice." — John Kerry, Senate Floor, October 9, 2002
Instead of skillfully using diplomacy and a variety of means to boost the pressure on Saddam Hussein, George Bush rushed the nation to war. John Kerry criticized Bush's urgent push for war from the outset. Kerry's statement on the floor of the Senate and numerous public statements in the following months made his position clear again and again: the key to handling Saddam Hussein was to work with allies to put serious pressure on him and resume inspections, while reserving military force as a last resort. Kerry also insisted that a go-it-alone approach should be used only if there was no alternative.
Key Dates:
- October 11, 2002 — Joint Resolution Authorizing the Use of Force Against Iraq passes the Senate
- March 19, 2003 — The United States initiates military action against Iraq
- May 1, 2003 — President Bush declares "Mission Accomplished"; 139 American troops have died in Iraq by this time
- October 17, 2003 --The Senate passes a bill providing an additional $87 billion for the Iraq war and reconstruction in Iraq
- September 16, 2004 — 1030th American death in Iraq (891st since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished")
Kerry's Consistent Position: Build alliances to put the pressure on, proceed carefully, don't rush to war.
| 2002 | Sep | "I think that what Senator Daschle and all of us are in favor of is putting before the Congress something that could get a 100-to-nothing vote, something that says to the United Nations, 'Look, we are really serious about this, and we're all behind the effort to try to seek a consensus on dealing with Saddam Hussein.'" — John Kerry, CBS Face the Nation, September 15, 2002. |
| Oct | "If we do wind up going to war with Iraq, it is imperative that we do so with others in the international community, unless there is a showing of a grave, imminent — and I emphasize 'imminent' — threat to this country which requires the President to respond in a way that protects our immediate national security needs." — John Kerry, Senate Floor, October 9, 2002 | |
| 2003 | Jan | "They are really breaking a bond with the American people by proceeding so hell-bent-for-leather, we've-got-to-go, no matter what," he said, "rather than doing the proper kind of diplomatic background of education that gives them legitimacy."… Kerry argued that the Bush administration must try harder to build a consensus among world leaders before trying to topple the Iraqi regime. He said Bush also should bolster any case for war by telling Americans why the threat from Hussein is urgent. "I believe Saddam Hussein is a threat," the senator said. "I do not want to tolerate this man, unfettered, unrestricted, developing weapons of mass destruction. But I do not believe the threat is so imminent today that we have to rush to war." — Chicago Tribune, January 24, 2003 |
| Mar | "All of us know that just days from now our country may be at war with Iraq. If war comes then we must and will unite behind the brave young Americans who are risking their lives. I firmly believe that Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator who must be disarmed. But I also believe that a heavy-handed approach will leave us to carry the burden almost alone." — John Kerry, Speech to the California State Democratic Convention, March 14, 2003 | |
| "We could have moved from a position of strength, in my judgment, and I think it represents a failure of diplomacy of a massive order, and that is what war is: War is the failure of diplomacy." — John Kerry quoted in Boston Globe, March 19, 2003 | ||
| Aug | "I believed, as Joe Biden believed, as Hillary Clinton believed, as Tom Harkin believed, and many thoughtful people, that by voting the way we did, we were getting the United Nations and the inspections in place and we could — and the president made his word to us that they would build that coalition and do it properly. The president, in my judgment, broke his word to us and to the American people." — John Kerry, NBC Meet the Press, August 31, 2003 |
Links
- Address to the Senate, John Kerry October 9, 2002
- Kerry
Is Consistent on Iraq…Mostly, AP article August 13, 2004
(What do they mean by Mostly?) - Which One is the Real Flip-flopper? Gene Lyons August 4, 2004 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- Meet the Press, August 31, 2003
- California State Democratic Conversation, March 14, 2003