i have heard the argument that senator (and 2004 presidential candidate) john kerry didn’t vote for regime change in the senate resolution authorizing war with iraq. that’s simply not the case. if any of my fellow bloggers can find that senate floor speech where he puts conditions on that resolution, i would love to see it. in the meantime, we have the following quotations that suggest otherwise.

excerpt from FrontPage magazine.com :

In 1991, Kerry voted against authorizing the use of force in the Persian Gulf. Yet he now claims that he fully supported Operation Desert Storm, but voted against it only because he wanted the first President Bush “to take a couple more months to build the support of the nation.” At the dawn of that war, Kerry warned that the elder Bush’s “unilateral” action constituted a “rush to war” that might lead to “another generation of amputees, paraplegics, burn victims.” “Is the liberation of Kuwait so imperative that all those risks are worthwhile at this moment?” he asked rhetorically. Eleven days later, he wrote a letter to a constituent explaining that he opposed military action and preferred to give economic sanctions “more time to work.” Nine days after that, however, he wrote to the same constituent and said that he “strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush’s response to the crisis.”

More recently, Kerry has exhibited similar shifts in his stated stance on the 2003 Iraq war. Amid his blistering criticisms of President George W. Bush?s foreign policy, Kerry has said, “We did not empower the president to do regime change.” Yet in fact, Kerry supported an October 2002 Senate resolution that specifically cited regime change as a goal. That resolution, which passed by a 77-to-23 margin, authorized President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refused to abide by UN mandates. Kerry had similarly voted to make regime change a U.S. objective back in 1998.

from blogicus.com:

“REGIME CHANGE IN IRAQ

Jul 2002 – For: Kerry Calls Saddam A “Renegade And Outlaw.” “I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq … Saddam Hussein is a renegade and outlaw who turned his back on the tough conditions of his surrender put in place by the United Nations in 1991.” (Sen. John Kerry, Speech To The 2002 DLC National Conversation, New York, NY, 7/29/02)

Aug 2003 – Against: Kerry Said Iraq Resolution “Did Not Empower President To Do Regime Change.” KERRY: “And the fact is, in the resolution that we passed, we did not empower the President to do regime change.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 8/31/03) ”

read the senate resolution authorizing both war and regime change. here’s UN security council resolution 1441 making the case against saddam. it is also worthy of note that the senate resolution points out saddam’s past use of chemical and biological weapons. the fight here should no longer be about the WMDs. let’s decide where we go from here. both sides need to consider the next steps very carefully.