Cheney Overstates Iraq Resolution
Cheney repeatedly said Edwards had voted "for the war" and "to commit the troops," when in fact the Iraq resolution that both Kerry and Edwards supported left the decision to the president and called for intensified diplomacy.
The resolution for which Edwards and Kerry voted said, "The President is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate."
And Edwards made clear in a statement at the time of his vote that he hoped to avoid war by enlisting broad support from the United Nations and US allies:
Edwards ( Oct. 10, 2002 ): I believe we should act now for two reasons: first, bipartisan congressional action on a strong, unambiguous resolution, like the one before us now, will strengthen America's hand as we seek support from the Security Council and seek to enlist the cooperation of our allies.
If the administration continues its strong, if belated, diplomacy, backed by the bipartisan resolve of the Congress, I believe the United States will succeed in rallying many allies to our side.
Second, strong domestic support and a broad international coalition will make it less likely that force would need to be used.
In fact, not even Bush himself characterized the resolution as a vote "for war" at the time. Speaking at the White House Rose Garden Oct. 2, 2002, Bush said:
Bush (Oct. 2, 2002): None of us here today desire to see military conflict, because we know the awful nature of war. Our country values life, and never seeks war unless it is essential to security and to justice. America's leadership and willingness to use force, confirmed by the Congress, is the best way to ensure compliance and avoid conflict. Saddam must disarm, period. If, however, he chooses to do otherwise, if he persists in his defiance, the use of force may become unavoidable.
the truth is, both parties are less than truthful. i just found this part of the article to be really interesting.
4 comments:
Ryan,
This is not just a comment to you but anyone else that might be browsing your post and still wondering for whom to vote. For those of us who are Christians, we have a responsibility to uphold God’s standard of right/wrong and justice in the world. In terms of politics it means we hold our country, its leaders, and all of mankind accountable to the standards of right-ness and justice that are built into the whole created order according to God’s design. All men have a conscience that reflects God’s moral standards, though most people suppress it in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18, i.e. they are not believers). Nevertheless, this conscience, based in God’s creation of mankind, is enough to hold them eternally accountable to God’s judgment (Rom 2:14-16). Therefore, we would be wrong as believers NOT to call our leaders to uphold a Biblical morality, because this Biblical morality is the very fabric of creation in general. I write all of this to say that we should, in a sense, ‘impose’ Biblical morality and righteousness on our leaders so that we do not make them sin against conscience. This is not to ‘force’ Jesus on them but to hold them to the ‘general revelation’ that has been made known to them through the act of creation, and this in anticipation of leading them to see Jesus in his true glory. Two of the designs that humans are to reflect as a result of the created order are to uphold the sanctity and dignity of life and to uphold God’s design for marriage. Now, whether we agree with the war in Iraq or not, it is clear that only one of the candidates holds, in principle, the Biblical design concerning the sanctity of life and a right view of marriage. As a Christian I would find it hard, in good conscience, to vote for someone who would either jeopardize or ignore these standards and cause others to do the same. The abortion issue and the marriage issue should be top priority for voting Christians. It doesn’t mean that either candidate is perfect; neither are we. Losing 1000+ soldiers in Iraq is not a good thing, but war does happen in a sinful world. The murder of 40+ million babies is even worse. In conclusion, remember that God speaks into all areas of life including politics; we dare not remove God from the voting process.
-Chris L
part of me wants to start a huge debate on this topic. the other part of me knows i'm not currently educated enough on anything political to get my thoughts/points across effectively, so i'll just say... i feel frustrated.
simply because a candidate is against abortion and gay marriage does not make them the best qualified leader for the country. (and yes, i'm a christian.)
by the way ryan, i feel about IL how you felt about TX. kerry will win IL no matter what way i decide to vote. regardless, i'll be there Nov 2. now to figure out what else is going to be on the ballot other than pres/vp. yes.. this could be quite hard... making good educated votes that is.
My point-of-view? I cannot, and will not, ever vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights... because the slaughter of innocent children is not a right. Most people don't realize that over half a BILLION innocent children have been aborted/killed/murdered in the United States ALONE since 1965. That number is beyond my comprehension! If what you believe in, support, or live out in your lifetime cannot be defended before God, then it is DEAD wrong. I don't get myself caught up in the nitty gritty details of the campaign because there is dishonesty on both sides. But I choose to vote for President Bush because he believes in the sanctity of human life and the sanctity of marriage.
And not *one* person who has died fighting for our country has died in vain. What this war is doing is FREEING an oppressed people. No matter which way you look at this war... the world is a MUCH better place without Saddam Hussein in control. His reign of terror lasted over 30 years! He didn't need another second of a chance to cooperate. His blatant disregard for the U.N. resolutions lasted so long that this should have been done years ago. We are doing the right thing... whether President Bush's eloquency in a speech proves so or not. If this election is all about speaking abilities of a candidate... then we have a LONG way to go in this country.
If you want to read more, visit my blog. :)
http://dutch-ess.blogspot.com/
God bless & take care...
Janna
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