In the following article " The Explanation Hillary Clinton Owes ", published by Richard Cohen in the Washington Post the author uses a very clever rationale to question Mrs. Clinton position on the Iraq war.
I am not a supporter of Mrs. Clinton and I do not know who I will vote for in 2008. I do know though, that I will definitely not vote for her if she makes the claim that her vote on the Iraq war was a mistake.
With his question Mr. Cohen is playing a game of catch 22 because a senator that acknowledges that his/her vote was a mistake and ends up being President will have to live up to his /her words in the likely eventuality that compensation and/or human rights lawsuits are brought up against the US in international courts.
Acknowledging that you were wrong when you voted for the war amounts to saying you did something you were not supposed to do and therefore you agree that the US should be liable for that mistake.
That would be absolutely irresponsible (shame on you John Edwards) and, in my book, it automatically disqualifies you for the position of President of the United States.
Continue....
We were caught with our hands in the cookie jar and therefore Mrs. Clinton is saying exactly what a responsible presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, should say; …” if I had known then what I know today I would have voted against the war”.
In politics this is called “plausible denial ability” and, in this case, it is the smart thing to say.
Going to war for any other reason than "a clear and present danger" is by definition immoral but not necessarily wrong.
Everyone in this country, including Mr. Cohen, myself and all our politicians, always knew, in the bottom of their hearts, that the Iraq war was about oil and that it was immoral.
Further, I believe that the majority of the American people chose to go along with the slogans, the doctored intelligence and the rosy pictures portrayed by President Bush and Vice President Cheney in the understanding that this was going to be a fast, swift and effective operation and because of the underlying believe that sometimes you just have to do, what you have to do.
Ted Kennedy was right on the money when he said ..."the Iraq war is a war Made in Texas".
What the American people and certainly both Republicans and Democrats never expected was that our president would be so inept and incompetent at handling the war.
That he was going to be so greedy and arrogant in sharing the spoils of war that traditional allies had no other choice but to oppose us.
That the WMD excuse was an absolute fiction and that therefore it was obvious that our success in the ground was going to expose us and challenge the credibility and righteousness of our endeavor.
That instead of powerful partners we were going to do this with a “confetti” alliance.
That the lack of planning and vision was going to tangle up our troops in the region for years to come in a mission that can only be described as a disgrace and certainly unfair to our soldiers.
All these unbelievable and even moronic mistakes are the dreadful legacy of the Bush presidency and we, the people, are going to have to swallow the “frog alive” and cope with it.
There is no possibility at all that we can come out “victorious” from Iraq anymore, whatever that may mean, and therefore the only intelligent move is to move out and protect our soldiers.
Let’s get the countries in the region, all the countries, together and drop the problem on their laps. They certainly have more at stake than we do in bringing stability to Iraq. We will support their efforts with money but not with troops.
I am not a supporter of Mrs. Clinton and I do not know who I will vote for in 2008. I do know though, that I will definitely not vote for her if she makes the claim that her vote on the Iraq war was a mistake.
With his question Mr. Cohen is playing a game of catch 22 because a senator that acknowledges that his/her vote was a mistake and ends up being President will have to live up to his /her words in the likely eventuality that compensation and/or human rights lawsuits are brought up against the US in international courts.
Acknowledging that you were wrong when you voted for the war amounts to saying you did something you were not supposed to do and therefore you agree that the US should be liable for that mistake.
That would be absolutely irresponsible (shame on you John Edwards) and, in my book, it automatically disqualifies you for the position of President of the United States.
Continue....
We were caught with our hands in the cookie jar and therefore Mrs. Clinton is saying exactly what a responsible presidential candidate, Republican or Democrat, should say; …” if I had known then what I know today I would have voted against the war”.
In politics this is called “plausible denial ability” and, in this case, it is the smart thing to say.
Going to war for any other reason than "a clear and present danger" is by definition immoral but not necessarily wrong.
Everyone in this country, including Mr. Cohen, myself and all our politicians, always knew, in the bottom of their hearts, that the Iraq war was about oil and that it was immoral.
Further, I believe that the majority of the American people chose to go along with the slogans, the doctored intelligence and the rosy pictures portrayed by President Bush and Vice President Cheney in the understanding that this was going to be a fast, swift and effective operation and because of the underlying believe that sometimes you just have to do, what you have to do.
Ted Kennedy was right on the money when he said ..."the Iraq war is a war Made in Texas".
What the American people and certainly both Republicans and Democrats never expected was that our president would be so inept and incompetent at handling the war.
That he was going to be so greedy and arrogant in sharing the spoils of war that traditional allies had no other choice but to oppose us.
That the WMD excuse was an absolute fiction and that therefore it was obvious that our success in the ground was going to expose us and challenge the credibility and righteousness of our endeavor.
That instead of powerful partners we were going to do this with a “confetti” alliance.
That the lack of planning and vision was going to tangle up our troops in the region for years to come in a mission that can only be described as a disgrace and certainly unfair to our soldiers.
All these unbelievable and even moronic mistakes are the dreadful legacy of the Bush presidency and we, the people, are going to have to swallow the “frog alive” and cope with it.
There is no possibility at all that we can come out “victorious” from Iraq anymore, whatever that may mean, and therefore the only intelligent move is to move out and protect our soldiers.
Let’s get the countries in the region, all the countries, together and drop the problem on their laps. They certainly have more at stake than we do in bringing stability to Iraq. We will support their efforts with money but not with troops.
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