A Dumb War… Will Barack Obama’s Libya Speech Be Like His 2002 Iraq War Speech?

Shovel Ready–
As Barack Obama prepares to convince Americans that his actions in Libya are pure, calculated and within reason, here’s a look back at his infamous Iraq War speech he gave back in October 2002 as Illinois candidate Obama.
Via Free Republic:

A Dumb War

After September 11th, after witnessing the carnage and destruction, the dust and the tears, I supported this Administration’s pledge to hunt down and root out those who would slaughter innocents in the name of intolerance, and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

I don’t oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income — to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression.

That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.

Now let me be clear — I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power. He has repeatedly defied UN resolutions, thwarted UN inspection teams, developed chemical and biological weapons, and coveted nuclear capacity.

He’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 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.

I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.

It looks like the shelf life to this speech will officially expire today.

#1 March 28, 2011 at 6:05 am
NickDeringer commented:

It’s not a war, it’s a Kinetic Military Action. Only brute animals like George Bush wage “wars.” Yes our bombs are killing people, but they being killed in a much “smarter” way.
#2 March 28, 2011 at 6:08 am
Tom in CA commented:

Speaking of Dumb……..
#3 March 28, 2011 at 6:14 am
MAJ Mike commented:

Everything THE WON says has an expiration date. The Empty Suit is so far in over his head he has absolutely no idea of what to do. Its reached the point that HE can no longer just vote “present”. Golly gosh, can we really afford another 4 year term with this utter dufus?
#4 March 28, 2011 at 6:23 am
NeoKong commented:

- Shovel Ready…?
I think Jim meant get your shovel ready because now the king of the lefties is going to tell why blood for oil is now the right thing to do.

#5 March 28, 2011 at 6:30 am
southernsue commented:

obama hasn’t been traveling , bowing and embracing, dictators all over the world for nothing. imho, all this upheaval everywhere is a plan, with soros and obama at the helm. it seems that no one knows who the revulutionists are. now we are hearing such names as muslim brotherhood, al-queda, uh? wt?

as long as obama is president with his ilk, we need to get out of the middle east and let them kill each other. this is obama’s plan to kill america economically, we cannot afford this war and he knows it, however, this is the cataylist, the war, that will ruin america financially faster. i pray that someone in our top government will wake up and stop this maniac and his minions.imho.
#6 March 28, 2011 at 6:37 am
LimoLibsStink commented:

0bama:

Let me be clear, I have Cluster Muked the Libyan crisis like Barney Frank in a bathhouse breaking in six new male pages. Please adjust the teleprompter. Thank you… But, I promise shift the blame to someone else!

My limousine is running and Barney Frank is in the back. If any of you male reporters disagree with my tactics you be Wedgied by Barney Frank until you bleed. Anybody want to disagree with me? No, I didn’t think so! Good day.
#7 March 28, 2011 at 6:41 am
squeaky commented:

betty lou saltzman – an influencing factor in that 2002 speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBeg20L2D3M
#8 March 28, 2011 at 7:31 am
save us commented:

Impeach and remove him now.
End US support for al queda and the muslim brotherhood.
#9 March 28, 2011 at 7:53 am
Ginger commented:

southernsue #5

You are so right! Everything the kenyan fraud and his puppet masters do is planned!

IMPEACH!
#10 March 28, 2011 at 7:53 am
d_fitz commented:

Now let me be clear —

Translated: “I’m lying.” Enough said.
#11 March 28, 2011 at 8:51 am
Dave-O commented:

During the Iraq war, we heard a constant refrain from the Left as to why the Bush daughters or the Cheney daughters weren’t themselves enlisted in the Army to help fight “their father’s war” — do you think ANYONE will ask Shrillary when Chelsea is due to enlist?????
#12 March 28, 2011 at 9:06 am
SSBN 627(B) commented:

“No blood for Oil”

Unless, of course, it’s FRENCH oil.

Allons, Hussein, voulez-vous couchez avec DeGaulle? Non? Pourquois? Il c’est un Commie piece of merde, just like you.

Apologies. Been 37 years since I studied French.
#13 March 28, 2011 at 9:50 am
kato commented:

“Shovel-ready,” indeed.

We’re going to get another load of BS from the nation’s jiveass-in-chief and his teleprompter. I won’t be tuning in.
#14 March 28, 2011 at 9:54 am
Robert commented:

Libya is the fall guy. The purpose of this war is to elevate
the “Responsibility to Protect” policy.

Notice how simultaneously Obama has elevated U.N.
authorization over the national consensus.
#16 March 28, 2011 at 10:24 am
Dave-O commented:

This – in a nutshell – is a metaphor for the entire Obama presidency:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RJPesST-skg
#17 March 28, 2011 at 12:41 pm
BH commented:

I am not opposed to ALL U.S. presidents, just Marxist/Muslim anti-American presidents!
#18 March 28, 2011 at 12:43 pm
aprilnovember811 commented:

Barack Obama is in Libya to protect BP and the flow of European Oil. He is again lying. He, Clinton, and their ilk need to be arrested.

If you read this book about what really happened in Oklahoma City you’ll realize one of the true reasons we were in Iraq. The OK City bombing wasn’t the act of a “Right wing extremist.” Timothy McVeigh was an agnostic and was raised a socialist. It was an act of Islamic terrorism. We have been lied to, to protect William Jefferson Clinton. I’ll never forget little Baylee Almon being carried out of that building by the fireman. Janet Reno removed all of the senior investigators and replaced them during this investigation. Are these the documents that Sandy Berger stole? People deserve the truth. We have monsters in leadership positions in this country. They should all have to undergo psychological tests, drug tests, and security clearances before they can assume a mere paper pusher position. After the first Gulf War, six thousand Iraqi refugees were let into America(I didn’t know this, did you?) Among those were members of the Iraqi Military. One of those was arrested in MA a couple of weeks ago. He is Timothy McVeigh’s accomplice.

Hussain Hashem al-HUSSAINI, Oklahoma City, Third Suspect, John Doe 2
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/34299

From Middle America to The Middle East
http://www.jaynadavis.com/highlights.html

Terror Attacks under Bill Clinton1993 – The first World Trade Center bombing
1995 – Attempted crashing of plane on White House
1995 – Oklahoma City bombing
1996 – Khobar Towers bombing – Saudi Arabia
1998 – U.S. Embassy bombings Kenya/Tanzania
2000 – USS Cole Bombing – Yemen
#20 March 28, 2011 at 1:37 pm
jimg commented:

and I would willingly take up arms myself to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Yeah. Right.

Suuuure you would.

What a punk.
#21 March 28, 2011 at 2:21 pm
bg commented:

++

Obama’s speech will most certainly not be even close to the following..

Walk the walk and then we’ll talk the talk

please scroll for more @ link..

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#22 March 28, 2011 at 2:38 pm
bg commented:

++

aprilnovember811 #18

Bingo!!

bit more here, not to mention this..

[scroll for more info, thanks]

crickets..

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#23 March 28, 2011 at 2:56 pm
commonman commented:

a day late don’t you think,this might not be so much for Americans as it is for his Muslim’s brothers their not to happy with him right now either ………….
#24 March 28, 2011 at 3:28 pm
bg commented:

++

OT..

“The Extent of Radicalization”
Among American Muslims..

agree or disagree, i hope people take the time to listen, ergo, inform themselves, especially as to how utterly clueless the dhimmis are..

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#25 March 28, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Doughboy commented:

Like many politicians, he is knee-jerk opposed to whatever the other party does. Bush could have cured cancer and Obama would have been critical.

It’s also easy when one is not the President.

But, now that he is in power it’s a different story. Gitmo closed? Nope. Bush’s debt too high? Just look at it now. Requiring Congressional approval before sending in the military? Only important if you’re in Congress. Now that one is a Nobel winning world citizen, only the UN matters.
#26 March 28, 2011 at 4:47 pm
bg commented:

++

previously posted, but still a good read..

RBO News & Views — The “Dumb Wars” Edition

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#28 March 28, 2011 at 8:51 pm
bg commented:

++

Demand the Media Stop Serving as
a Mouthpiece for President Obama

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