So now Kerry is a liar?

[karynnj]

215. This was fought every year since 2003

It seems clear to me that Kerry and the other SFRC Democrats, led by Biden, worked to get even worse provisions out of the IWR after it was clear that their alternative - which Howard Dean also supported - was not going to be the bill. At the point they were working on it, it was clear the IWR would pass. If you read Kerry's (or Biden's) speeches they spoke of moving Bush to go to the UN. In retrospect, ANY resolution would have been misused -- and Bush would have gone without any resolution. (In 2003, there was a Teresa Kerry quote that in essence said, they tried to avoid war and succeeded just in postponing it 6 months.)

In Fall 2002, no inspectors had been in for 4 years -- and the US and other countries did get the inspectors in AFTER that vote. What would have been better - if they would have had the votes to filibuster (right before the 2002 elections in a traumatized country - that would have worked!) - was to pass NO resolution. the US could still have pushed for inspections and had they happened in the same way, if Bush THEN went for a resolution, it likely would have failed as there was far more information available.

That does not mean that Bush would not have invaded - the Downing Street memos speak of creating a fake attack on a UN/US plane in the Iraq no fly zone. Bush would declare that an attack on the US (world forces) and we would be in the same place. The only good is that it would be clearer that it was Bush/Republicans who led this. (In fact, for most of the political spectrum - that is what it is anyway.)

(Note that even with no attack on the US, there is a long list of Presidents who went to war with no resolution. In fact, it would be good strategy for Obama to get a resolution on Syria. The fact is it is NOT an easy position either way - which is why there are very few clear specific statements either way from any legislators. The Free Press has had no comment from anyone in the VT delegation.)