Debate question I'd like to hear asked of all Prezidential candidates who voted for the IWR

[bklyncowgirl]

Did you read the full National Intelligence Estimate before voting? If not, given the gravity of the decision, why did you not read it?

Senator Clinton apparently did not--although she's rather cadgey about it. I don't know whether Edwards, Dodd or Biden did either.

[w4rma]

1. Obama and Hillary tacitly supported the IWR-2007.

Obama and Hillary waited until it was safely passed to vote.
Obama and Hillary did not say one word against IWR-2007 until it had been passed and they voted.

And this is all while Bush's and Republican approval is in the toilet and Edwards is strongly speaking out against it and the majority of the nation (rather than 10% of the nation) is opposed to this war.

That is way things stand in the present day.

[bklyncowgirl]

2. Did Edwards read the full estimate?

Edwards showed a great deal of leadership on the recent troop funding bill. I applaud him and also Chris Dodd for that. I agree with you that Senators Obama and Clinton were not exactly profiles in courage on that issue.

What I am trying to find out, however, is how these senators/candidates some of them now solidly anti-war, came to the original decision to give George Bush a blank check. There is no more serious vote than to authorize a war. I want a president who takes in all of the information available and has the courage to do the right thing.

I really wish I could give Edwards a pass on this because I like his stands on domestic and economic issues but to me it's a matter of judgment and how a person makes decisions.

[karynnj]

3. Edwards was on the Intelligence committee

So, he was actually briefed by the various intelligence people who compiled the report. He also would have had staff, from that committee position with the clearances needed to read it and summarize it.

The report did not rule out completely that there were WMD. It did show that there were doubts. Some Senators were hearing the same possibility that there were WMD from British counterparts. The idea that there was a joint British/American effort to "fix" the intelligence would have seemed like a conspiracy theory in 2002 - though we all now have heard via the Downing Street Memo that that is exactly what happened. It did rule out that Saddam had connections to Al Qaeda.


The two questions I would have for all Democrats, but especially IWR voting Democrats are:

1) Do you think that invading when we did based on what was known then was immoral? (ie: Was this a just war? Was this going to war as a last resort?)

2) If they were silent in early 2003 - after the inspectors were in, Saddam was destroying missiles, and there were still ongoing diplomatic initiatives, why did you not speak out.

Of the two, the first question is the most important in predicting what they would do in the future.

PS I do not have a candidate :( but am leaning to Obama and Dodd. Obama did speak out. I have never heard that Dodd did and would love to hear that he did and the media ate it. I have no idea how either would answer the first question.

[JTFrog]

4. Clinton didn't read it.

According to her spokesperson, she was briefed.
According to Dodd's spokesman, he didn't read it.
Edwards was briefed and read it and sat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

They had to go to a secure location on Captial Hill to be able to read it. Supposedly, only 6 senators were logged as reading it (and a handful of house members). I will try to see if I can track down a link.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/28/clinton.iraq/index.html?eref=rss_topstories