John Kerry on the threat of Iraq

Here’s a transcript of Kerry, along with John McCain, on “This Week” – found on Free Republic (no link provided but I found at least a portion here so it looks genuine). Here are some select quotes from the Senator:

“If indeed he [Saddam Hussein] is as significant a threat, as you heard him characterized by the president, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense -- can threaten London, threaten the peace of the Middle East, that he is really a war criminal who is already at war with the civilized world -- then 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.”

“After you've hit him, is he still in power, capable of building weapons again? Every bit of intelligence John and I have says within various periods of time, he 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.”

“There's no guarantee ever in life. But there is one guarantee. If we do nothing, I promise you we will face this issue one way or the other again in the Gulf or with respect to Israel or in some form. And I think it is absolutely vital for us to recognize the enormous principle with respect to proliferation and the challenge that this represents in the long term for our country.”

Holy cow! I had no idea that John Kerry was so gung-ho to march into Baghdad and depose Saddam Hussein. Plus, he really seemed to understand the dangers of weapon proliferation in the Middle East. His support for the President in facing down Hussein is admirable.

The punchline (all together now!): the President was Clinton and these statements were made in 1998. Psyche!