What Max Boot doesn't tell you:

In a LATimes OpEd, White flag Democrats, Max Boot takes the Democrats to task over their position(s) on the Iraq War. As part of his argument, he writes:

... it wasn't George W. Bush who said, "I have no doubt today that, left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons [of mass destruction] again." It was Bill Clinton on Dec. 16, 1998.

And then he moves on to other things to say.

But what was going on, on December 16, 1998? From CNN: (emp add)

President Clinton explains Iraq strike

CLINTON: Good evening.

Earlier today, I ordered America's armed forces to strike military and security targets in Iraq. They are joined by British forces. Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors.

Their purpose is to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world.

Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbors or the world with nuclear arms, poison gas or biological weapons.

I want to explain why I have decided, with the unanimous recommendation of my national security team, to use force in Iraq; why we have acted now; and what we aim to accomplish.

Six weeks ago, Saddam Hussein announced that he would no longer cooperate with the United Nations weapons inspectors called UNSCOM. They are highly professional experts from dozens of countries. Their job is to oversee the elimination of Iraq's capability to retain, create and use weapons of mass destruction, and to verify that Iraq does not attempt to rebuild that capability.

[...]

The international community had little doubt then [first Gulf War], and I have no doubt today, that left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again.

Max Boot doesn't tell you what Clinton was doing, and why, back in December 1998. Hussein was being "checked" with the limited air strikes. Also, and more importantly, Hussein was not cooperating with UNSCOM. But in 2003 he was cooperating, and the logic Clinton presented no longer applied.

It gets tiresome having to deal with the dishonest behavior of right-wing pundits, but that's the environment we live in today.

UPDATE: Busy, Busy, Busy has more.


posted by Quiddity at 11/30/2005 02:18:00 PM