The charge puzzles me. I have never written a word supporting the war. Not one. What I have written about is the unfair and partisan nature of the left’s criticism of Bush. And I stand by my words. I can’t prove it, of course, but I have little doubt that the Democratic opposition most acerbic in their criticism of the war – people like Al Gore, James Carville, Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy — would sound much like Rush Limbaugh if it had been Bill Clinton who invaded Iraq.
There is one area, though, where some crow might be in order. I will admit that I was wrong about the weapons of mass destruction. I did write a few times that I was confident they would be found in short order by our troops once they were on the ground in Iraq. Saddam Hussein’s determination to make things difficult for the United Nation’s investigators convinced me that he had something to hide. I also took the Bush team at its word, when they assured us they knew where the weapons were hidden. I didn’t expect that it would be Hans Blix who would be gloating at this moment.
What is my current position on the weapons of mass destruction and Saddam’s links to world terrorist groups, such as al Qaeda? Well, if I had to bet I would put my money on the likelihood that someday we will find out that the weapons were there and that Saddam found a way to get them out of the country in the months before the American invasion. But I will concede that the impression we were given by Bush’s spokesmen of a massive biological and nuclear arms program somewhere in Iraq has not been substantiated. I thought by now that our troops would be dismantling hidden laboratories and nuclear facilities somewhere in Iraq.
That said, let’s keep things in perspective. The historical record matters. When Bush’s critics get on their high horse and use terms such as “lying,” “stupid” and “incompetent” to make their point, someone should force them to face up to what they were saying themselves about Iraq just short time ago. Recently, Glenn Richter, a columnist for the Record-Journal in Meriden, Connecticut, did just that. Look at what he came up with:
There is an unholy axis of terrorists, drug traffickers and organized international criminals. There is no more clear example of this threat than Saddam Hussein. — President William Jefferson Clinton, February 17, 1998
In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. — Sen. Hillary Clinton, October 10, 2002
We know that he [Saddam Hussein] has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country. — Former Vice President Al Gore, September 23, 2002
We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction. — Sen. Edward Kennedy, September 27, 2002
Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. — Sen. John Kerry, January 23, 2003
I want to be real clear about the connection with terrorists. I’ve seen a lot of evidence on this. There are extensive contacts between Saddam Hussein’s government and al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. — Sen. Joseph Lieberman to MSNBC, December 2003
It’s irrefutable that Saddam had all sorts of ties to different terrorist groups, that he had W.M.D. programs — stockpiles is another question — and that he was the, probably the world’s worst human rights violator. — James Woolsey, Former Director of Central Intelligence, to NBC News, October 2003
We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and al Qaeda going back a decade. We have solid evidence of the presence in Iraq of al Qaeda members, including some that have been in Baghdad. We have credible reporting that al Qaeda leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire W.M.D. capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs. Iraq’s increasing support to extremist Palestinians, coupled with growing indications of relationship with al Qaeda, suggest that Baghdad’s links to terrorists will increase, even absent U.S. military action. — FBI Director George Tenet, October 2002
And what of the accusation that George Bush “misled” us when he made the charge that the threat of an Iraqi nuclear and biological attack was “imminent”? Bush made no such charge. Quite the contrary. What he said was that we must not let the threat become imminent:
Some have said that we must not act until the threat is imminent…. If this threat is permitted to full and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option. — George Bush, 2003 State of the Union speech
There are some critics of the war who have nothing to explain. They have been consistent. But the Democrat politicians and left-leaning academics and columnists, currently wrought with indignation over what they call the “lies” of the Bush administration and its “cooked up” war, deserve to be met with a mixture of anger, disdain and a horse laugh every time they open their mouths. An effective campaign ad could be made of some of the wild-eyed statements of Ted Kennedy and Al Gore about the war, with the above comments superimposed on the screen. Truth matters. Fairness matters. The record matters, no matter what you think about Bush’s decision to attack Iraq.
It could be that the legacy of this war with Iraq will be that we will think long and hard before we ever again get caught up in nation-building schemes. The rightwing commentators, who just a few months ago were talking blithely about how Syria and Iran were “next on our list,” have been rightly chastened. But none of that takes away from the hypocrisy of those who are positioning themselves to use the problems our military is facing in Iraq to win the next presidential election. That is contemptible business.
James Fitzpatrick's new novel, The Dead Sea Conspiracy: Teilhard de Chardin and the New American Church, is available from our online store. You can email Mr. Fitzpatrick at fitzpatrijames@sbcglobal.net.
(This article originally appeared in The Wanderer and is reprinted with permission. To subscribe call 651-224-5733.)
