Bush defends decision to invade Iraq

[JoFerret]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&e=1&u=/ap/20040712/ap_on_el_pr/bush

It was Clinton's fault, he says.

<<Without directly acknowledging the intelligence was flawed, Bush said a wide array of government leaders, from members of the Clinton administration to lawmakers to the U.N. Security Council, had studied the same intelligence and "saw a threat."

During the Clinton administration, official U.S. policy toward Iraq became "regime change" — a stance that sought the ouster of Saddam Hussein, he noted.

But Saddam refused to open his country to inspections, Bush said.

"So I had a choice to make: either take the word of a madman or defend America. Given that choice I will defend America."
....

[phiddle]

1. "Defend America"?

Sadam was neither attacking America, nor threatening to, nor did he have the means to.
As to inspections, it was Bush himself who prevented the UN inspectors from doing their jobs.

[Solly Mack]

2. He's not blaming Clinton so much

as trying to pre-empt the argument against him. "If Clinton thought the same way and no one objected, then how can they object now" is his actual defense.

Far more subtle in it's nuances than simply blaming Clinton...and far more troubling.

[Khephra]

3. Saddam refused to open his country to inspections?

I guess Bush was drunk during all those months when inspectors were in Iraq. Can't blame a man for losing track of the news when they're having a good time being "out of it", now can we? Haven't we all been there before? Cast the first stone and all that.

Yeah, but none of us are "President" either. :puke:

[htuttle]

4. "Refused to open his country to inspections"

Is Bush actually expecting us to completely forget the fact that not only were the UN inspectors on the ground in Iraq when he invaded, but that they had been in the process of destroying some out-of-spec missiles Iraq had?

He really does think we're retarded!

[Moderator]

5. Please add this link to the discussion of the speech here, thanks

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x680680

[Parche]

6. DEFEND AMERICA

From what?
Iraq never invaded or attacked the US

He had no basis from which to attack and illegally invade them.