Many talk about it, Senator Clinton ridicules it, but few have actually read it, so I post here the text of Barack Obama's speech in 2002 opposing the Iraq war.
I would simply note that his speech proved a sophisticated understanding of world affairs, a deep knowledge about military consequences of going to war, a cool ability to make the right commender in chief decision in times of great pressure and a flawless, item by item, forecast of what would go wrong if the war was initiated.
Here is the speech. Judge for yourself:.
"Good afternoon. Let me begin by saying that although this has been billed as an anti-war rally, I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances.
"The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in history, and yet it was only through the crucible of the sword, the sacrifice of multitudes, that we could begin to perfect this union, and drive the scourge of slavery from our soil. I don't oppose all wars.
"My grandfather signed up for a war the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, fought in Patton's army. He saw the dead and dying across the fields of Europe; he heard the stories of fellow troops who first entered Auschwitz and Treblinka. He fought in the name of a larger freedom, part of that arsenal of democracy that triumphed over evil, and he did not fight in vain.
"I don't oppose all wars.
"After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration's pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
"I don't oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.
"What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income - to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.
"That's what I'm opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.
"Now let me be clear - I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.
"He's a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.
"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.
"I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.
"So for those of us who seek a more just and secure world for our children, let us send a clear message to the president today. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings.
"You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure that the UN inspectors can do their work, and that we vigorously enforce a non-proliferation treaty, and that former enemies and current allies like Russia safeguard and ultimately eliminate their stores of nuclear material, and that nations like Pakistan and India never use the terrible weapons already in their possession, and that the arms merchants in our own country stop feeding the countless wars that rage across the globe.
"You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to make sure our so-called allies in the Middle East, the Saudis and the Egyptians, stop oppressing their own people, and suppressing dissent, and tolerating corruption and inequality, and mismanaging their economies so that their youth grow up without education, without prospects, without hope, the ready recruits of terrorist cells.
"You want a fight, President Bush? Let's fight to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, through an energy policy that doesn't simply serve the interests of Exxon and Mobil.
"Those are the battles that we need to fight.
"Those are the battles that we willingly join. The battles against ignorance and intolerance. Corruption and greed. Poverty and despair.
"The consequences of war are dire, the sacrifices immeasurable. We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war. But we ought not - we will not - travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain."
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If Sen Obama opposed the war in iraq so strongly, why did he fly to CT to attend a fundraisin
Sen Lieberman was being opposed in the Senate race by Ned Lamont- a VERY popular candidate who ran on strong Iraq War opposition platform..
For me-actions speak louder than words.
Your words mean nothing to me.
wordshttp://www
Also, there is much controvers
I questioned why Sen Obama hired Mr Axelrod's firm (known for working on black candidate campaigns) & what advice was Mr Axelrod giving the Obama campaign. I think I have found my answers in the daily press reports.
Here are 2 articles that explain & describe what makes the Obama campaign message tick...
http://www
http://www
The New Republic, "Race Man" by Sean Wilentz
Ms. Ferraro is 100% correct in standing up to Sen Obama. His campaign stratgey is dividing our country-It is being done intentiona
Sen Obama is dangerous for our country.
Read the following; you decide:
http://www
"Meet Obama"s Foreign Policy Brain: Zbigniew Brzezinski
http://www
Reason why conservati
Sen. Obama"s past voting record:
http://www
The Obama Craze: Count Me out “ by Matt Gonzalez 2/27/08
http://www
“Subprime Obama” by Max Fraser 1/24/08 Post 2/11/08 issue
http://www
“ I am Barack Obama” by Mark Winston Griffith 3/17/08
I no longer trust Sen Obama or his message.
Also, please search internet:w
google the following two terms together:
obama, tillman
Speaking of dumb wars, if Bush drops the dime on Iran, he can point to Clinton's vote for the Kyl-Lieber
http://en.
In 2004, Obama was trying not to show up Kerry and Edwards who had both voted for the war. So Senator Clinton's line about Obama saying he didn't know how he would have voted is really just an exploitati
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Obama and other Democratic senators have not been "missing in action" on Iraq. They have consistent
All the "red phone" ads in the world can't change the fact that Obama was not only right about opposing the war, but-- as his stunning 2002 speech reveals every time you read it-- amazingly prescient about the consequenc
In agreement with RickO, I encourage Obama's staff to please share this speech in its entirety in an ad or a brochure, a mailing or an email posting that will illuminate once and for all the great Senator's brilliance and courage as a visionary.
Thank you for posting this speech. It's one for the ages.
Those are exactly the views that I had in 2002 and still have. Me and probably 50% of America at that time. So I guess the above descriptio
He's said in the past that he doesn't know how he would have voted initially and he has voted to extend the war. That statement of doubt and that vote doesn't bother any of his supporters
Just words, indeed.
Please Hillary, stop.
Just:
1. Implying justice dictated by reason, conscience
2. Free from favoritism or self-inter
3. Of moral excellence
4. Indicating exactness or precisenes
Obama says it right: "But we ought not - we will not - travel down that hellish path blindly. Nor should we allow those who would march off and pay the ultimate sacrifice, who would prove the full measure of devotion with their blood, to make such an awful sacrifice in vain."