a response to "If Kerry had his way..."

[Cocoa]

Dick Cheney said yesterday, "if John Kerry had his way, Saddam Hussein would still be in power."

I'd love to hear some Kerry surrogate answer, "If Dick Cheney had his way, Nelson Mandela would still be in prison."


edit: a link...


http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2002/09/10_mandela-interview.htm

NEWSWEEK: I gather you are particularly concerned about Vice President Cheney?

NELSON MANDELA: Well, there is no doubt. He opposed the decision to release me from prison (laughs). The majority of the U.S. Congress was in favor of my release, and he opposed it. But it's not because of that. Quite clearly we are dealing with an arch-conservative in Dick Cheney.

[prodigal_green]

1. kick

eom

[Killarney]

2. big kick!

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. If Bush had his way

Calculators would be replaced with plastic fingers people would count with.

[democratreformed]

4. So, how many of you have heard this line being used already

in relation to your congressional and senate candidates? Lord, I am going to be so sick of that line by November. It has already been used against Vic Snyder by his Republican opponent here in Arkansas.

[readmylips]

5. Yes, Perfect Line for Kerry...

"If Dick Cheney had his way, Nelson Mandela would still be in prison."

perfect...perfect...perfect.

[xray s]

6. If the BFEE had its way they would roll the clock back to 1984

Hussein would still be their buddy....ah for the good old days.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/021100-iraq01.htm

...Ronald Reagan dispatched his special envoy to Iraq with a hand-written letter from Reagan to be given to Saddam Hussein, with a clear message that what Washington wanted was to restore normal relations. They had been severed in 1967 during the Arab-Israeli War. Iraq broke them off in protest of U.S. policy.

So when this envoy arrived in Baghdad, not only did he have a hand-written letter, but he also gave Saddam Hussein a pair of golden cowboy spurs, as a present from Ronald Reagan. He shook Saddam’s hand, called him “Mr. President,” and had a meeting that the Iraqi foreign ministry described at the time as being about “topics of mutual interest.” That envoy, who began the process of restoring relations between Washington and Iraq, a man who stood with Saddam Hussein in 1983, was Donald Rumsfeld, the current U.S. Defense Secretary. Rumsfeld was in Iraq as the U.S. was aggressively selling to Iraq, and just a short time after that visit, some allegations started to emerge about Iraq’s use and possession of chemical weapons.

On March 5, 1984 (Rumsfeld’s visit was in 1983), the U.S. State Department issued a public alert, saying that it had evidence that Iraq was using chemical weapons against Iranian solders. A couple weeks after that report came out, Rumsfeld was back in Baghdad, meeting with Tariq Aziz, then Iraqi Foreign Minister. The day that Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad, the United Nations issued a report saying that a team of UN scientists on the ground in the front lines of the Iran-Iraq war had determined that chemical weapons had been used multiple times against Iranian solders. Donald Rumsfeld was in Baghdad when the United Nations had said yes, we have proof from our scientists that chemical weapons had been used against Iran and Rumsfeld said nothing. He was in the prime position to address the alleged Iraqi threat when it first emerged.

(snip)

Western so-called democracies were major supporters of Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons program. You can also find receipts on the Internet from U.S. companies that sold these chemical components to Iraq.

The whole story of U.S. sales to Iraq was openly talked about under the Reagan administration and at the beginning of Bush, the Elder’s administration. It wasn’t something that Washington was ashamed of. Remember, Saddam Hussein was considered an SOB, but he was considered Washington’s SOB.

[yolatengo]

7. problem is...

The individual spouting the original line about Kerry probably WISHES
Mandela was still in prison. It really won't effect a person who longs
for the world of Dick Cheney in which commie-pinko-uppity-negro
Mandela is in jail, apartheid is still going strong and there's lots of
$$$ to be made in rogue South Africa.

If you're a ReThug, it's GENETIC that Whites Shall Rule Africa. Those
people can't handle One Man One Vote; it's Bad For Business.

Bigby

[jcv1]

8. Saddam in power; 600 lives not lost; thousands not injured

I can't bellieve the response isn't as simple as that.... what parent or family member of a dead American soldier wouldn't trade continued UN inspections and oversight of Iraq supposed WMD for a couple more years for the lives of their loved ones. Saddam in power, but trapped, more emphasis on capturing Bin Laden, and billions of dollars saved, lives saved, injuries not occurring.... I think that should be the message.