Dean Scolds Democrats on Iraq War Support [View All]

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By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press Writer

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Presidential candidate Howard Dean, a staunch opponent of the U.S.-led war against Iraq, shrugged off the deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons Tuesday, saying "the ends do not justify the means." He scolded Democratic rivals for backing the conflict.

"Why is it that those in Congress have waited until now to question the intelligence, to question the lack of postwar planning, to question the skyrocketing costs of this war?" Dean said. "Why were they not asking these questions and seeking the truth nine months ago, before they voted to give the president blank-check authority to go to war?"

Four of the Democratic candidates - Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts, John Edwards of North Carolina and Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri - backed the congressional resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Only Sen. Bob Graham of Florida voted against it last fall.

The former Vermont governor did not mention any of his rivals by name, but he did display an enlarged copy of the resolution and pointed out that it did not require the president to exhaust all diplomatic means before going to war - a slap at Kerry's assertion Monday that Bush circumvented portions of the resolution by failing to pursue international help.

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