On the heels of Bill's infamous "I opposed the Iraq war from the beginning" Hillary Clinton is engaging in some serious IWR revisionism.
Because, she says, she wouldn't have gone to war with Iraq.
Even though she voted for it and didn't say it was wrong to invade at any point before 2007.
The chutzpah below the fold.
"After 9/11, I would never have taken us to war in Iraq. I would have stayed focused on Afghanistan because the real threat was coming from there."
Clinton comments in Nashua, NH today.
In other words, "I agreed with Barack Obama but didn't say so until now."
Let's take a stroll down memory lane:
What Clinton voted for:
Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.
(a) AUTHORIZATION. The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to
(1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; a
Clinton's speech on the Iraq War Resolution:
This is a very difficult vote. This is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make -- any vote that may lead to war should be hard -- but I cast it with conviction.
And perhaps my decision is influenced by my eight years of experience on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue in the White House watching my husband deal with serious challenges to our nation. I want this President, or any future President, to be in the strongest possible position to lead our country in the United Nations or in war. Secondly, I want to insure that Saddam Hussein makes no mistake about our national unity and for our support for the President's efforts to wage America's war against terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. And thirdly, I want the men and women in our Armed Forces to know that if they should be called upon to act against Iraq, our country will stand resolutely behind them.
So it is with conviction that I support this resolution as being in the best interests of our nation. A vote for it is not a vote to rush to war; it is a vote that puts awesome responsibility in the hands of our President and we say to him - use these powers wisely and as a last resort. And it is a vote that says clearly to Saddam Hussein - this is your last chance - disarm or be disarmed.
More:
If we get the resolution that President Bush seeks, and if Saddam complies, disarmament can proceed and the threat can be eliminated. Regime change will, of course, take longer but we must still work for it, nurturing all reasonable forces of opposition.
If we get the resolution and Saddam does not comply, then we can attack him with far more support and legitimacy than we would have otherwise.
Of course, here's what she told Code Pink about all of this in 2003:
There is a very easy way to prevent anyone from being put into harm’s way, that is for Saddam Hussein to disarm. And I have absolutely no belief that he will. I have to say that this is something I’ve followed for more than a decade. If he were serious about disarming, he would have been much more forthcoming. . . . I ended up voting for the resolution after carefully reviewing the information, intelligence that I had available, talking with people whose opinions I trusted, trying to discount the political or other factors that I didn’t believe should be in any way part of this decision.
In other words, Clinton knew that war would result from this authorization. On one hand she says she was voting to pressure Saddam to disarm, yet on the other she flatly states that she has no expectation that Saddam will disarm.
So, she didn't support invading Iraq, but she supported authorizing an invasion to pressure Saddam into doing something she knew he would never do.
More. of. the. same.