Do people generally deny ever supporting the Iraq War?

[Dutch Uncle]

There were a few Democrats who voted to let Bush decide whether we go to war. That was technically not voting for the war. Congress also authorized Clinton to decide whether to go to war, and Clinton decided not to go to war.

It is a sad state that the worst thing you can think to say about Democrats is they supported a Republican.

Technically true.

The bottom line is that if a Senator lets someone else make the decision, they are tacitly approving that decision. Let's be honest; the Democrats were scared of being tagged as anti-military, anti-American cowards who were weak on defense...which they often were. Who was it who decided to cut the military almost by half after the Cold War ended? Who was in office when al-Qaeda was growing and killing Americans around the globe?

I was against the war for the same reason as our military leaders: no endgame AKA no exit strategy. Sure, we'd kick ass again just like in the Gulf War, but the occupation of Iraq would be harmful to our nation.

Worse, invading another country was an extremely bad precedent, as we're seeing with Putin invading Ukraine. All the global good will the US garnered after 9/11 was pissed away when we invaded Iraq for oil.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-ta...to-divide-u-s-public-15-years-after-it-began/

 

[Jarod]

It happens more times than not, 20 years after being called un-American for my political positions, most of those people in retrospect agree with me.

 

[Jarod]

Obama was always against it, it’s one of the reasons I supported him over Hillary in the primary.

 

[Althea]

Trump lied about it. He told Sean Hannity in the Autumn of 2002 he supported invading Iraq, and 14 years later he bellowed to MAGA dupes that he had always opposed the Iraq invasion

Virtually everyone who pushed the Bush lies eventually denied ever being in favor of the illegal invasion.

 

[Althea]

Typically, the Rightwingers who were cheerleaders for the war just tip-toed away from their war and determined to maintain radio silence about their erstwhile war support henceforth.

I have almost never seen a case of a rightwinger on this board confess that the anti-war liberals had been right and that our judgement should have been given serious consideration at the time.

Nope. It just became Obama's fault on the day after his first inauguration.

 

[Althea]

Obama was always against it, it’s one of the reasons I supported him over Hillary in the primary.

He wasn't in the Senate when the illegal war was pushed through, so it's easy to say that he didn't support it.

Most Democrats agreed to a limited campaign to find the phantom 'WMDs'. To be reviewed in 60 days. They agreed with the rest of the world that U.N inspectors should be allowed to complete their work.

Of course, anyone who spoke out against the war was labled 'unpatriotic' back then. President Cheney really played up the 9/11 angle.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Virtually everyone who pushed the Bush lies eventually denied ever being in favor of the illegal invasion.

Agreed. Part of the problem is that too many Americans reacted out of fear after 9/11. IMO, and as this forum often proves, about half of American voters are not-to-bright and weak from easy living.

The COVID pandemic is an example; it's global problem, adversely affecting the global economy. What do the dumbasses see? "I should wear a mask? What about my FREEEEEEDOM!???" Our ancestors in 1918 were made of sterner stuff.

 

[Cypress]

He wasn't in the Senate when the illegal war was pushed through, so it's easy to say that he didn't support it.

Most Democrats agreed to a limited campaign to find the phantom 'WMDs'. To be reviewed in 60 days. They agreed with the rest of the world that U.N inspectors should be allowed to complete their work.

Of course, anyone who spoke out against the war was labled 'unpatriotic' back then. President Cheney really played up the 9/11 angle.

Obama knew that he was gearing up to run for US Senate in 2004, and making the wrong call on Iraq could have detrimental effects on his credibility as a candidate.

That forceful anti-war speech he gave in October 2002 was a risk. The politically safe thing to do if he had aspirations to run for US senator was to keep his head down and not say much.

 

[Althea]

Agreed. Part of the problem is that too many Americans reacted out of fear after 9/11. IMO, and as this forum often proves, about half of American voters are not-to-bright and weak from easy living.

The COVID pandemic is an example; it's global problem, adversely affecting the global economy. What do the dumbasses see? "I should wear a mask? What about my FREEEEEEDOM!???" Our ancestors in 1918 were made of sterner stuff.

That definitely helped to push the lie, but most people were aware that there was no connection. As the Cheney administration was pushing the 'slam dunk' lie, Hans Blix assured that inspections found no WMDs.

As previously stated, anyone who spoke the truth was met with screeching about 'unpatriotic' behavior.

It was basically Cheney's version of 'it's a hoax'!

Ironic as that might be

 

[Cypress]

Virtually everyone who pushed the Bush lies eventually denied ever being in favor of the illegal invasion.

It is extraordinary how they quietly tip-toed away from a war they so desperately wanted in 2003.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

That definitely helped to push the lie, but most people were aware that there was no connection. As the Cheney administration was pushing the 'slam dunk' lie, Hans Blix assured that inspections found no WMDs.

As previously stated, anyone who spoke the truth was met with screeching about 'unpatriotic' behavior.

It was basically Cheney's version of 'it's a hoax'!

Ironic as that might be

The stats prove most people bought the connection. Why else did so many Democrats vote for the Iraq Resolution?

Both the House and the Senate have Intelligence and Military committees. If they bought any lies it's because they are fucking stupid.

 

[Althea]

It is extraordinary how they quietly tip-toed away from a war they so desperately wanted in 2003.

Could be that Cheney and Putin learned their excuses for starting, and predictions about results of illegal wars in the same book?

They sound extremely similar.

Over in a couple of weeks.

Greeted like liberators.

People will lay flowers at our feet

 

[Walt]

You lie. Look it up. 81 Democrats voted for the war.

Not only did no Democrat vote for the war declaration, there has not been a declaration of war since WWII. It just did not happen.

 

[Walt]

plenty of dems did, especially the neocon hillary contingent.

Republicans are so ashamed of their ideologies, they repeated accuse Democrats as being part of them.

 

[Truck Fump / h1b]

Republicans are so ashamed of their ideologies, they repeated accuse Democrats as being part of them.

dems are NOW the party of the globalist warmonger imbecile. clintons were early adopters.

 

[Cypress]

My position on Iraq -- Well, it hasn't changed one bit. I still feel it was the right thing to do, and we will be better off in the long run for having done it.

It still amazes me, how liberals (of all people) are opposed to liberation!

Opposed to toppling a tyrant who was violating the rights of women routinely, denying basic human rights to almost everyone, and feeding people into wood chippers who disagreed with him.

^^ There's the money quote demonstrating that 15 years ago, one of the board's most prominent conservatives intuitively knew that liberals had largely opposed the Iraq war.