I don't think it's what he saw, rather what he portrayed to Congress and the American to rally support for his war. The end justifys the means.
I could not disagree more. Congress was always able to base their decisions with respect to Iraq on the same information that President Bush had along with historical data. It is simply now convenient to claim ignorance as their justification for supporting the Iraq campaign. I can respect those that claim to have had a change of heart and now believe that our presence there is counter-productive. This topic is ripe for debate but to claim to have been misled is an underhanded tactic that I had hoped was beneath even the hard left in this country.
I am offended that many in Congress assume we have such a short memory. At least those of us that don't blindly follow party lines. Of course, the liberal agenda is to force the "weapons of mass destruction" and "Al-Qaeda link" down the publics throat as the only justification for war. Are all of you that naive? Have we all decided to forget the first Gulf War? Well, I remember the conditions set forth for the cessation of hostilities in Iraq. I also remember that Saddam Hussein agreed to and never adhered to those conditions. Were the UN resolutions meaningless? Should we have continued to ignore Saddam's snubbing of those resolutions for another decade? I suppose the "oil for food" program was just another misunderstanding with respect to where those funds were appropriated. As President, I wouldn't have trusted the UN or Saddam's incomplete and inaccurate accounting for weapons at that time. You only have to look at the current situation between the UN and Iran. How many resolutions do you think it will take before Iran ceases it's enrichment program? The UN will do what it is famous for.......NOTHING. When Iran finally has the bomb and can back up it's threats, what tactics will be available to us then? All Iran needs is time and that is exactly what the UN is and will continue to give them. Oh, but I'm sure when enough time has passed we'll be able to claim ignorance due to being misled by Bush on this subject as well.
It's time Congress started taking responsibility for it's own choices (past and present) and display some leadership qualities in the pursuit of securing our future....not just their own political futures.
-Castle