John Kerry Makes the Case Perfectly for Going to War in Iraq in 2002

Then: NO WAR! NO BLOOD FOR OIL! FIGHTING FOR PEACE IS LIKE F**ING FOR VIRGINITY!

Now: It's all rather complicated! There are issues of international credibility to consider!

"What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world," said Kerry. "It defies any code of morality. Let me be clear: The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. By any standard, it is inexcusable. And despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured, it is undeniable."

I liked it better in the original Colinpowellese.

There is one difference between the two, of course:

Bush sought and received an authorization for the use of military force in Iraq from Congress, as the constitution requires. (I don't really want to entertain the semantic argument favored by the Paulites that the piece of paper must specifically call itself a "Declaration of War.")

Obama, of course, will be ordering US troops into harm's way with out any such authority. He'll do so based on his own authority.

In 2002, the left contended the US could not go to war in Iraq despite having Congressional approval for it; they claimed that France's veto had more weight than Congress' approval.

Now they make the same argument: It doesn't matter that Congress won't be approving this war. France approves it. Apparently France is some kind of Constitutional Alternative to Congressional Authority to the left.

I don't have to get into all the 2001-2005 France-bashing to simply note that France is not in fact a fourth branch of the United States government.

posted by Ace at 04:15 PM

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