Presidential Primary: On The War

Written by: Ilya Sheyman on Feb 2, 2008 12:02 AM EST

Sen. Clinton:

However, her Iraq vote was not only wrongheaded. It was also cynical. She made it without taking the time to do critical background research, work that would have revealed doubts about Saddam's alleged weapons of mass destruction among U.S. intelligence agencies.

A 90-page National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, the consensus of the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, was made available to all members of the Senate, but apparently she didn't bother to read it. (It's a classified document, but senators were permitted to read it at two secure locations on Capitol Hill.)

For a policy-maker who prides herself on preparation and a mastery of detail, that was a curious lapse — suggesting she had made up her mind to cast a vote that would armor her against charges she was too soft to be commander-in-chief. In other words, she, like many others, sent young Americans to war to boost her political fortunes. That's not the only mistake Clinton has ever made, but it is the most damning.

Sen. Obama:

On Oct. 26, 2002, in the midst of a campaign for the U.S. Senate, he gave a speech in Chicago opposing the invasion of Iraq.

While Obama rightly acknowledged that Saddam Hussein was "a bad guy," he also pointed out, "Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States or to his neighbors. ... I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences."

Passed on without comment.  

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