Kerry's One Position on Iraq

Feb 1998 - For: Kerry Willing To Commit Ground Troops In Iraq. KERRY: "I think there is a disconnect between the depth of the threat that Saddam Hussein presents to the world and what we are at the moment talking about doing. ... [T]hen we have to be prepared to go the full distance, which is to do everything possible to disrupt his regime and to encourage the forces of democracy." ABC'S COKIE ROBERTS: "And does that mean ground troops in Iraq?" KERRY: "I am personally prepared, if that's what it meant." (ABC's "This Week," 2/22/98)

Oct 2002 - For: Kerry Voted For Iraq War Resolution. (H.J. Res. 114, CQ Vote #237: Passed 77-23: R 48-1; D 29-21; I 0-1, 10/11/02, Kerry Voted Yea)

Oct 2002 - Against: Two Days After Voting For Use Of Force Resolution Against Iraq, Kerry Said There Was No Justification For Initiating War With Iraq. Kerry stated, "If the president of the United States decides to go unilaterally, I think it would be one of the great catastrophes and mistakes of our time ... There is no justification whatsoever for sending Americans, for the first time in American history, to war as the belligerent, as the initiator of it ... without showing an imminent threat to our country." (C. T. Revere, "Sen. Kerry: War Resolution Not Absolute," Tucson Citizen, 10/14/02)

Sep 2003 - Against: Kerry Said His Vote Was For "Threat Of Force." KERRY: "I voted to threaten the use of force to make Saddam Hussein comply with the resolutions of the United Nations." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Announcement Of Candidacy, Patriot's Point, SC, 9/2/03)

Oct 2003 - Against: Kerry Said Administration "Rushed To War." KERRY: "But the president and his advisors did not do almost anything correctly in the walk-up to the war. They rushed to war. They were intent on going to war. They did not give legitimacy to the inspections. We could have still been doing inspections even today, George." (ABC's "This Week," 10/12/03)

Jan 2004 - Against: Kerry Says He Is An Anti-War Candidate. MSNBC'S CHRIS MATTHEWS: "Do you think you belong to that category of candidates who more or less are unhappy with this war, the way it's been fought, along with General Clark, along with Howard Dean and not necessarily in companionship politically on the issue of the war with people like Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt? Are you one of the anti-war candidates?" SEN. JOHN KERRY: "I am - Yes, in the sense that I don't believe the president took us to war as he should have, yes, absolutely." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 1/6/04)

Jul 2004 - Against: Kerry Said Way President "Went To War Was A Mistake." CBS' LESLIE STAHL: "You voted for this war. Was that vote, given what you know now, a mistake?" KERRY: "What - what - what I voted for - Lesley, you - you - you see, you're playing here. What - what I voted for was a - an authority for the president to go to war as a last resort if Saddam Hussein did not disarm and we needed to go to war." STAHL: "But I'm trying to find out if you today, now that you know about that report, think the war was a mistake? And I ..." KERRY: "I think I answered your question. I think the way he went to war was a mistake." (CBS' "60 Minutes," 7/11/04)

Aug 2004 - For: Answering a direct question from President Bush on whether he would still have cast his vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq "even knowing what we now know", John Kerry replied, "I would have voted for the authority... I believe it was the right authority for the President to have." (Sen. John Kerry, remarks in Arizona, 8/9/04)

Sep 2004 - Against: Kerry Calls Iraq War "Wrong War In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time." "Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry on Monday called the invasion of Iraq ‘the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time' and said his goal was to withdraw U.S. troops in a first White House term." (Patricia Wilson, "Kerry On Iraq: ‘Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time'," Reuters, 9/6/04)


FIGHTING IN IRAQ THE FIRST TIME

Jan 1991 - Against: Kerry Voted Against The Use Of Force In Iraq. (S. J. Res. 2, CQ Vote #2: Passed 52-47: R 42-2; D 10-45, 1/12/91, Kerry Voted Nay)

Nov 1995 - For: Kerry Was Prepared To Go To War To Remove Saddam From Kuwait. ABC'S COKIE ROBERTS: "Senator Kerry, that was something you voted against ... was that Persian Gulf war." SEN. JOHN KERRY: "I voted against the timing of it, Cokie. I said very clearly in my statement on the Senate floor that I was committed to getting Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait ... and that I was prepared to go to war if it took that ..." (ABC's "Nightline," 11/27/95)

Jan 1991 - Against: "...Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition ... to the early use of military force by the US against Iraq. I share your concerns. On January 11, I voted in favor of a resolution that would have insisted that economic sanctions be given more time to work and against a resolution giving the president the immediate authority to go to war." (Sen. John Kerry, in a letter to Wallace Carter of Newton Centre, MA, 1/22/91)

Jan 1991 - For: "...Thank you very much for contacting me to express your support for the actions of President Bush in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. From the outset of the invasion, I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush's response to the crisis and the policy goals he has established with our military deployment in the Persian Gulf." (Sen. John Kerry, in a letter to Wallace Carter of Newton Centre, MA, 1/31/91)

NOTE the names of the people who received the two items immediately above...


DID THE PRESIDENT MISLEAD US ON WMDS?

Jun 2003 - For: Kerry Said "It Would Be Irresponsible" To Suggest President Misled On WMD.

ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "I know you said you're agnostic about whether or not he misled the public on weapons of mass destruction. But do you have a hunch on whether you think they hyped the intelligence?" SEN. JOHN KERRY: "George, again, I think it would be irresponsible of me at this point to draw conclusions prior to all the evidence being on the table." (ABC's "This Week," 6/15/03)

Jun 2003 - Against: Kerry Said President Bush Misled On WMD. "Kerry said Wednesday that President Bush broke his promise to build an international coalition against Iraq's Saddam Hussein and then waged a war based on questionable intelligence. ‘He misled every one of us,' Kerry said." (Ron Fournier, "Kerry Says Bush Misled Americans On War," The Associated Press, 6/18/03)

NOTE that John Kerry admits to being irresponsible , given the two statements above that were given only three days apart.


REGIME CHANGE IN IRAQ

Jul 2002 - For: Kerry Calls Saddam A "Renegade And Outlaw." "I agree completely with this Administration's goal of a regime change in Iraq ... Saddam Hussein is a renegade and outlaw who turned his back on the tough conditions of his surrender put in place by the United Nations in 1991." (Sen. John Kerry, Speech To The 2002 DLC National Conversation, New York, NY, 7/29/02)

Aug 2003 - Against: Kerry Said Iraq Resolution "Did Not Empower President To Do Regime Change." KERRY: "And the fact is, in the resolution that we passed, we did not empower the President to do regime change." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/31/03)

I VOTED FOR THE $87 MILLION BEFORE I VOTED AGAINST IT

Sep 2003 - For: "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible." (CBS's Face the Nation, 9/14/03)

Oct 2003 - Against: Kerry Voted Against Senate Passage Of Iraq/Afghanistan Reconstruction Package - $87 Billion Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security. "Passage of the bill that would appropriate $86.5 billion in fiscal 2004 supplemental spending for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would provide $10.3 billion as a grant to rebuild Iraq, including $5.1 billion for security and $5.2 billion for reconstruction costs. It also would provide $10 billion as a loan that would be converted to a grant if 90 percent of all bilateral debt incurred by the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein has been forgiven by other countries. Separate provisions limit reconstruction aid to $18.4 billion. It also would provide approximately $65.6 billion for military operations and maintenance and $1.3 billion for veterans medical care." (S. 1689, CQ Vote #400: Passed 87-12: R 50-0; D 37-11; I 0-1, 10/17/03, Kerry Voted Nay)

Jun 2004 - Indeterminate: Kerry Missed Vote On $25 Billion Supplemental For Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan. (S. 2400, CQ Vote #106: Adopted 95-0: R 49-0; D 45-0; I 1-0, 6/2/04, Kerry Did Not Vote)

Jul 2004 - Against: Kerry "Proud" He And Edwards Voted Against $87 Billion Supplemental. KERRY: "I'm proud to say that John [Edwards] joined me in voting against that $87 billion ..." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At "Women's Voices: A Luncheon with John Kerry," Boston, MA, 7/12/04)


SADDAM AND WMD CAPABILITIES

Nov 1997 - For: Kerry Warned Senate Of Saddam's WMD Capabilities. "It is not possible to overstate the ominous implications for the Middle East if Saddam were to develop and successfully militarize and deploy potent biological weapons. We can all imagine the consequences. Extremely small quantities of several known biological weapons have the capability to exterminate the entire population of cities the size of Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. These could be delivered by ballistic missile, but they also could be delivered by much more pedestrian means; aerosol applicators on commercial trucks easily could suffice. If Saddam were to develop and then deploy usable atomic weapons, the same holds true." (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/9/97, p. S12256)

Jan 2003 - For: “If You Don't Believe Saddam Hussein Is A Threat With Nuclear Weapons, Then You Shouldn't Vote For Me.” (LA Times, 1/31/03)

Feb 2003 - For: Kerry Said Leaving Saddam Hussein "Unfettered With Nuclear Weapons Or Weapons Of Mass Destruction Is Unacceptable." (Jill Lawrence, "War Issue Challenges Democratic Candidates," USA Today, 2/12/03)

Mar 2003 - For: “I think Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction are a threat, and that's why I voted to hold him accountable and to make certain that we disarm him. I think we need to …” (“All Things Considered”, 3/19/03)

Feb 1998 - For: Kerry Said Saddam Had Chemical And Biological Weapons. KERRY: "[H]e can rebuild both chemical and biological. And every indication is, because of his deception and duplicity in the past, he will seek to do that. So we will not eliminate the problem for ourselves or for the rest of the world with a bombing attack." (ABC's "This Week," 2/22/98)

Sep 2001 - For: Kerry Said Saddam Has Used WMDs And Is Trying To Secure Additional Weapons. SEN. JOHN KERRY: "[I]t is something that we know-for instance, Saddam Hussein has used weapons of mass destruction against his own people, and there is some evidence of their efforts to try to secure these kinds of weapons and even test them." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 9/23/01)

Dec 2001 - For: Kerry Says Need To Increase Pressure On Saddam. KERRY: "He is and has acted like a terrorist, and he has engaged in activities that are unacceptable... [I] think we ought to put the heat on Saddam Hussein. I've said that for a number of years, Bill. I criticized the Clinton administration for backing off of the inspections, when Ambassador Butler was giving us strong evidence that we needed to continue. I think we need to put the pressure on, no matter what the evidence is about September 11 ..." (Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," 12/11/01)

Dec 2001 - For: Kerry Says Iraq Part Of Global War On Terror. KERRY: "I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. And I think the president has made that clear. I think we have made that clear. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue, for instance, Saddam Hussein." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 12/14/01)

Sep 2002 - For: Kerry Wrote Saddam Inviting Enforcement If He Does Not Comply With International Community. "If Saddam Hussein is unwilling to bend to the international community's already existing order, then he will have invited enforcement ..." (Sen. John Kerry, Op-Ed, "We Still Have A Choice On Iraq," The New York Times, 9/6/02)

Sep 2002 - For: Kerry Said Iraq's WMDs May Be Given Or Sold To Terrorist Groups. "I would disagree with John McCain that it's the actual weapons of mass destruction he may use against us, it's what he may do in another invasion of Kuwait or in a miscalculation about the Kurds or a miscalculation about Iran or particularly Israel. Those are the things that - that I think present the greatest danger. He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It's the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 9/15/02)

Sep 2002 - For: Kerry Said President Has Right To Act Unilaterally. "But the president, as I also wrote in that article, always reserves the right to act unilaterally protect [sic] the interests of our country." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 9/17/02)

Oct 2002 - For: Kerry Said US Has Right To Protect Our Security. "If the UN fails to cooperate, ‘we always reserve the right to do what we need to do to protect our security,' Kerry said." (Susan Milligan, "Confronting Iraq," The Boston Globe, 10/4/02)

Mar 2003 - For: "It appears that with the deadline for exile come and gone, Saddam Hussein has chosen to make military force the ultimate weapons inspections enforcement mechanism". (The Boston Globe, 3/20/03)

May 2003 - For: Kerry Says Disarming Saddam Was "Right Decision." KERRY: "George, I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him." (ABC News Democrat Presidential Candidates Debate, Columbia, SC, 5/3/03)

Sep 2004 - Indeterminate: Kerry says "I have one position on Iraq." (Comments on 9/21/04)