Jimmy Carter: 'The war has been unnecessary'

[Rose Siding]

snip>
“Well, the world is safer without Saddam. Certainly the people of Iraq are better without Saddam. I never have believed that Saddam Hussein was a direct threat to the security of the United States or Great Britain or China or Japan or Australia.”
.......
Katie Couric: “But what about grave and gathering threat as President Bush has said?”

Carter: “That was a false statement. It was false to state that Saddam Hussein had a vast store of weapons of mass destruction or that Iraq was a direct threat to the security of the United States. The war has been unnecessary. And now I think we've reached a point in Iraq that it's become a quagmire – very similar to what we experienced in Vietnam. There's no real extrication for us to accomplish the goals that we had when we went in. I think a lot of the violence in Iraq now is directly attributable to the fact that U.S. forces are there. And there's no clear concept at any early stage of when they will be withdrawn. I personally do not believe they're going to be ready for the election in January. But I think we should go through the election and as soon as there's some tangible semblance of a democratic government in Iraq, get us out of there.”
...more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6138962/

[Demeter]

1. Unnecessary, Unwanted, Futile, a Total Failure

the only way this war can be redeemed (the silver lining, if you will) will be if this war is the impetus that leads to the imprisonment of the Administration, the impoverishment of its supporters and members, the denazification of the GOP, and the revitalization of the America we want and need.

[pacalo]

2. There's a video of this, as well.

Go to "videos", then type in "Jimmy Carter" in the search bar.

[goodhue]

3. excellent

Carter says Bush said a false statement.
Will Kerry put it plainly tonight that Bush lied?
I hope so as that would make news and wake folks up.

[berner59]

4. Carter is so great...

I think Kerry will address the flip flop head on tonight... He needs to hammer home Carter's response about being safer without Sadaam...great job!!!

[daleo]

5. I think Carter is right

"But I think we should go through the election and as soon as there's some tangible semblance of a democratic government in Iraq, get us out of there."

It won't be pretty, but it is the only way out, if the power structure really wants U.S. forces out. However, a piece-meal election won't help - every effort will have to be made to let everyone have a vote.

[Wind Dancer]

6. The Today Show

treats certain guests with such disrespect. I haven't watched the show since they started promoting the war.

[Pluvious]

7. Two Quotes - and a question

"We of the Kennedy and Johnson administration who participated in the decisions
on Vietnam acted according to what we thought were the principles and traditions
of this nation. We made our decisions in light of those values. Yet we were wrong,
terribly wrong. We owe it to the future generations to explain why."
--Robert S. Mcnamara
From his book, "In Retrospect"

"The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history."
--Hegel

Why ?

[LisaL]

8. How are people of Iraq better off without Saddam?

Were they being blown up every day when Saddam was in power?
How is the world safer without Saddam?
Saddam didn't have WMDs.

[VegasWolf]

9. Of course the war was necessary. How else are you going to

get the oil out of the Caspian Sea, across Afghanistan, thru
Iraq, down the Arabian peninsula to the Red Sea to the Haliburton
refineries.