As much as I support Sen. Barack Obama, I find myself growing tired of listening to him and his surrogates hammering Sen. Hillary Clinton for her vote to authorize the war in Iraq. Yes, I understand that Obama opposed the war from Day One. Hindsight and experience have certainly proven him to be correct, for which I applaud him. Nonetheless, many Americans supported the war initially and unreservedly. I suspect many in Congress voted to authorize the war based on the lies, propaganda and fudged intelligence they were fed a steady diet of for months prior to the vote. I don’t think I need to remind anyone of Colin Powell’s masterful performance at the UN. That he presented an argument that didn’t hold water doesn’t negate the reality that his propaganda helped to get Our Glorious and President © the war he so desperately wanted. The reality is that we were lied to, and those of us who swallowed the lies and were willing to set partisan bickering aside will forever have that egg on our face.
Many Americans took the information presented and the argument made at face value. At that time, most Americans hadn’t yet realized what a lying sack of dog excrement this sorry excuse for a human being President truly is. To my everlasting shame, I went along with the idea of going to war, something admittedly out of character for this committed pacifist. Nonetheless, I believed then, as I do now, that there are times when partisanship must take a back seat to love of country and the desire to look out for our collective best interests. Based on the information available at the time, it seemed that the war in Iraq was one of those moments in time. Little did I know at the time that the argument for going to war was built on the soft sand of lies, propaganda, and fear-mongering.
Man, do I feel stupid….
Yes, Sen. Clinton voted to authorize the war in Iraq. Yes, perhaps she had access to more information than you or I did. Let’s not forget the context of that time, however. 9.11 was a recent and still very raw wound, and that horrible day factored into my thinking as it did to so many other Americans. Yes, perhaps Sen. Clinton could, and should, have made a different decision. If she had it to do over again, I’d wager that she’d vote differently. I don’t believe that it’s fair to judge her vote in the aftermath of 9.11 to be judged by the realities of today.
Looking back, I’m not at all proud of my initial support of the war in Iraq. It was a very poor judgement call on my part, even based as it was on the information/propaganda as it was framed at the time. Little did I know that most of the arguments made by the Bush Administration were lies, little more than craven talking points designed to sell a war that neoConservatives considered all but pre-ordained. They were willing to say or do whatever it took to get their war on.
MIssion Accomplished, eh?
We all know what’s happened since March, 2003. Over the past five years, we’ve lost 4,000 young Americans (and many thousands more wounded and maimed) in a war that has never had anything to do with the war on terrorism. Those who argue that we must fight al Qaeda in Iraq ignore the reality that prior to the invasion of Iraq, the WAS no al Qaeda in Iraq. Yes, as absurd as it may seem, we created the very terrorist threat that so many would convince us that we now must fight to the death.
Yes, Sen. Clinton voted to authorize the war on Iraq. Perhaps it wasn’t one of her finer moments, but I don’t see how it should be factored into judging her qualifications to be our next President. I still strongly support Barack Obama, but I think it’s time for him to leave this talking point behind. Perhaps we’d be better served talking about the future…don’tcha think??
