posted on April 30, 2004 08:28:48 AM new
Kerry Concedes 'We May Yet Find' WMDs Just Weeks After Saying Bush 'Misled' About Them
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
April 30, 2004
SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- Likely Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry, who has been labeled a "flip-flopper" on a wide variety of issues, has now done so regarding the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Kerry, who in the late 1990s talked about WMDs being present in Iraq and then changed his mind once he began running for president, has been especially adamant in his criticism of President George W. Bush's assertion that WMDs will still be found in Iraq.
"George Bush sold us on going to war with Iraq based on the threat of weapons of mass destruction. But we still haven't found them," Kerry said in a speech earlier this month.
He added at the time, "We were misled about weapons of mass destruction."
In addition, former Democratic presidential candidate and Kerry supporter Howard Dean said the lack of WMDs in Iraq is a scandal for the Bush administration.
"There were no weapons of mass destruction," the former Vermont governor told CNN recently. "This is Bushgate, which is far more serious than Watergate."
However, speaking on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" on Tuesday, Kerry decided to back away from his previous strong stance against WMDs being found.
"It appears, as they peel away the weapons of mass destruction issue -- and we may yet find them," Kerry admitted.
He continued, "Look, I want to make it clear. Who knows if a month from now, three months from now, you find some weapons? You may."
This pronouncement by Kerry came one day after Jordan announced an al Qaeda plan to carry out an attack in Amman with WMDs from Syria using a terrorist trained in Iraq.
It also followed news that a likely WMD plant in Baghdad under the auspices of being a perfume factory suddenly exploded earlier this week when two American troops were investigating.
But in an April 5, 2004 press release posted on the Kerry campaign web site, Kerry asserts that "the President continued to mislead the public about the war in Iraq."
Similarly, in an April 6, 2004 press release posted on the Kerry campaign web site, Kerry claims that Bush "misled the public" about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"The Secret Service has announced it is doubling its protection for John Kerry. You can understand why — with two positions on every issue, he has twice as many people mad at him." —Jay Leno
posted on April 30, 2004 11:12:02 AM new
Yep, he's got to cover himself on all sides....
[i]Kerry acknowledges that WMD may yet be found. This admission destroys the left's critique of the war and months of "Bush lied!" rantings from the MoveOn.org swamp.
Kerry knows what everyone with a memory knows: which is that Saddam had WMD and the world agreed he had them. Perhaps they were destroyed, perhaps hidden, perhaps trucked to Syria, but he had them. Thank you, Mr. Kerry, for your only contribution to the public's understanding of the war to date.
No sooner does he admit that the entire attack on Bush's credibility is a contrived, election-year stunt, then he goes on to fumble the issue by suggesting that only WMD in artillery shells matter to us, and that artillery was the only means available to Saddam to deliver WMD.
Two points, minor and major.
The minor point is that Saddam attack the Kurds in 1988 using chemical weapons delivered from planes. Kerry's statement that "artillery was the way they had previously delivered and it was the only way they knew they could deliver" is flat wrong. It is also easy to spot, and easy for the public to understand since they remember SCUDs hitting Israel in 1991[/i].
The major point is that WMDs alarm us not only or even primarily when they are in artillery shells but when they are in the hands of terrorists. Had Chris Matthews been interested in actually asking a question that would have obliged the senator to show some thought, he would have inquired as to how much ricin is too much, or how great a biological threat has to exist in the lab before we take action.
[i]Kerry's answer tells us that he fails to grasp the crucial issue of this campaign: the threat to America has changed, and our response has to change with it. Sure, he gave up a huge issue by admitting that WMD may yet be found in a transparent attempt to position himself against the possibility of their discovery before November, but more important than that admission is Kerry's display of what can only be called ignorance of the threat.
We should not be surprised. In his long career, Kerry has misjudged the threats posed by the Vietcong, the Soviets, the Sandinistas, and just about every other enemy the United States has faced. Now he has misjudged the threat posed by WMDs.
Is America going to elect a "hear no evil, see no evil" president in the middle of a war that could go on for years to come?
