Iraq: the candidates' stance, then and now

John McCain's first visit to Iraq as the Republican nominee has put the conflict ravaging the country firmly back at the top of the campaign agenda. Here, we chart the stances of the three remaining presidential candidates from the run-up to the invasion to the campaign trail.

Autumn 2002 - pre-invasion:

Hillary Clinton, Oct 10 2002, on voting to authorise the use of force in Iraq:

"Intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaida members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. ... Even though the resolution before the Senate is not as strong as I would like in requiring the diplomatic route first and placing highest priority on a simple, clear requirement for unlimited inspections, I take the President at his word that he will try hard to pass a United Nations resolution and seek to avoid war, if possible."

John McCain, October 10 2002, on voting to authorise the use of force in Iraq:

"The government of Saddam Hussein is a clear and present danger to the United States of America… He has developed stocks of germs and toxins in sufficient quantities to kill the entire population of the Earth multiple times. He has placed weapons laden with these poisons on alert to fire at his neighbors within minutes, not hours, and has devolved authority to fire them to subordinates. He develops nuclear weapons with which he would hold his neighbors and us hostage. …
Failure to end the danger posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq makes it more likely that the interaction we believe to have occurred between members of al Qaeda and Saddam's regime may increasingly take the form of active cooperation to target the United States."

Barack Obama, October 2 2002, Chicago anti-war rally:

"(Saddam Hussein's) a bad guy. The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him.
But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.
I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda."

Autumn 2003 - post invasion:

Clinton, December 15 2003, Council of Foreign Relations:

"I was one who supported giving President Bush the authority, if necessary, to use force against Saddam Hussein. I believe that that was the right vote. I have had many disputes and disagreements with the administration over how that authority has been used, but I stand by the vote to provide the authority because I think it was a necessary step in order to maximize the outcome that did occur in the Security Council with the unanimous vote to send in inspectors. And I also knew that our military forces would be successful. But what we did not appreciate fully and what the administration was unprepared for was what would happen the day after."

McCain, November 5 2003, Council on Foreign Relations:

"The United States can and must win in Iraq. Doing so will require the administration to remain committed to a policy of transformational change in Iraq. ... It will require the president's deep involvement in his administration's decision-making in Iraq. As Lincoln and Truman demonstrated, American presidents cannot always leave decisions on matters of supreme national interest to their subordinates. It will require a commitment to do what is necessary militarily, to deploy as many American forces for as long as it takes, to ignore the political calendar, and to trust Iraqis with a greater degree of authority to manage their own affairs."

Obama, December 2 2003, quoted by Rockford Register Star:

"We have an administration whose arrogance internationally seems to have no bounds. (The Iraq war) is distracting us from what should be our No. 1 priority, the war on terrorism. There is no connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida."

Spring/summer 2004 - presidential election campaign:

Clinton, April 20 2004, Larry King Live:

"I don't regret giving the president authority, because at the time it was in the context of weapons of mass destruction, grave threats to the United States, and clearly, Saddam Hussein had been a real problem for the international community for more than a decade. What I regret is the way the president used the authority."

McCain, August 30 2004, Republican National Convention:

"Our enemies have made clear the danger they pose to our security and to the very essence of our culture ...liberty. Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war. Like all wars, this one will have its ups and downs. But we must fight. We must."

Obama, July 27 2004, Democratic National Convention:

"When we send our young men and women into harm’s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they’re going, to care for their families while they’re gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world. Now let me be clear. Let me be clear. We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued — and they must be defeated. "

2005 - 2006:

Clinton, June 21 2006, US Senate:

"It is time to put policy ahead of politics and success ahead of the status quo. It is time for a new strategy to produce what we need: a stable Iraq government that takes over for its own people so our troops can finish their job."

McCain: June 21 2006, US Senate:

"Because we cannot pull out and hope for the best, because we cannot withdraw and manage things from afar, because morality and our security compel it, we have to see this mission through to completion. Drawdowns must be based on conditions in-country, not an arbitrary deadline rooted in our domestic politics.”

Obama, November 22 2005, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations:

"I strongly opposed this war before it began, though many disagreed with me at that time. ... But I believe that, having waged a war that has unleashed daily carnage and uncertainty in Iraq, we have to manage our exit in a responsible way - with the hope of leaving a stable foundation for the future, but at the very least taking care not to plunge the country into an even deeper and, perhaps, irreparable crisis. ... In sum, we have to focus, methodically and without partisanship, on those steps that will: one, stabilize Iraq, avoid all out civil war, and give the factions within Iraq the space they need to forge a political settlement; two, contain and ultimately extinquish the insurgency in Iraq; and three, bring our troops safely home."

January 2007 - the surge:

Clinton, January 17, NBC Today Show:

"(Bush is) taking troops away from Afghanistan, where I think we need to be putting more troops, and sending them to Iraq on a mission that I think has a very limited, if any, chance for success."

McCain, January 5 2007, American Enterprise Institute:

"We have made many, many mistakes since 2003 and these will not be easily reversed.  Even greater than the cost thus far, and in the future, however, are the catastrophic consequences that would ensue from our failure in Iraq.  By surging troops and bringing security to Baghdad and other areas, we will give the Iraqis and their partners the best possible chances to succeed. "

Obama, January 19 2007, ahead of vote against the surge:

"It is my firm belief that the responsible course of action - for the United States, for Iraq, and for our troops - is to oppose this reckless escalation and to pursue a new policy. This policy that I've laid out is consistent with what I have advocated for well over a year, with many of the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, and with what the American people demanded in the November election."

The campaign trail:

Clinton, March 17 2008:

"We can have hundreds of thousands of troops on the ground for a hundred years, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is no political solution to the situation in Iraq. Senator McCain and President Bush claim withdrawal is defeat. Let’s be clear, withdrawal is not defeat. Defeat is keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years.”

McCain, March 17 2008:

"We are succeeding. And we can succeed and American casualties overall are way down. That is in direct contradiction to the predictions made by the Democrats and particularly Sen. [Barack] Obama and Sen. [Hillary] Clinton.

"I will be glad to stake my campaign on the fact that this has succeeded and the American people appreciate it. Now will we be able to succeed fast enough? Will they be able to -- al Qaeda be able to come back? That is a tough question. They are on the run, but they are not defeated."

Obama, March 17 2008:

"It’s not enough to stand up five years later in the heat of a campaign and say that you’re ready on day one – you have to be right on day one. On the war in Iraq, Senator Clinton’s judgment was wrong. If we had followed my judgment, we wouldn’t be standing here five years later debating how to end the war in Iraq, because we never would have fought it...

"We cannot wait to bring this war in Iraq to a close.”

Comments

[John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada]

Thanks for this, Hannah.

[Drew from Maleny]

American politics eh.... Whew.
I wonder if Obama will live long enough to end the chaos in Iraq.

[Preston Kincaid]

Well, these are the three we have to choose from I guess. I was leaning towards Obama, and this page just solidified my decision. Obama obviously is paying attention and ready to make sound, logical decisions that may, just may, help us become a great nation again. Until then, we remain the embarassment, and the bully of the global community.

[A reader]

I was on your website on this page:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3574672.ece

and saw this picture:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00266/ad385_266106p.jpg

and clicked the link, which brought me here, to this page:
http://timesonline.typepad.com/uselections/2008/03/iraq-the-candid.html

I must say that it is most disappointing that my great expectation to see a larger version of the picture I clicked does not exist here.

It is rather deceptive advertising, and I find it offensive.

[Chris C.]

I really enjoy how Obama just slams Clinton but doesn't give solutions, except for the classic "I told you so" line. I'll toss you a pack of Reds to smoke on while we come up with solutions not gripes, Obama.

[hehe]

Uh... you forgot someone. Ron Paul HE DID NOT DROP OUT OF THE RACE.

Censorship sucks