Edwards, Not Bad, but Not First

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
Edwards, Not Bad, but Not First
182
Tue, 07-06-2004 - 3:29pm
Bush Ad Paints Edwards As Second Choice http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4282080,00.html
Tuesday July 6, 2004 4:16 PM AP Photo WX101 By LIZ SIDOTI Associate Press Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) - President Bush's re-election campaign will launch a television ad featuring former Republican rival John McCain and titled ``First Choice,'' an effort to paint Democrat John Kerry's running mate as his second choice.

McCain, the Arizona senator, rejected Kerry's overtures to be No. 2 on the Democratic ticket. On Tuesday, he selected Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., to be his running mate.

``He has not wavered, he has not flinched from the hard choices, he was determined and remains determined to make this world a better, safer, freer place. He deserves not only our support but our admiration,'' McCain says of Bush in the ad.

The 60-second commercial - titled ``First Choice'' - shows McCain speaking when he campaigned with Bush in Reno, Nev., last month, praising Bush's efforts in the war on terror. The ad is to run soon on national cable networks and in selected local media markets in battleground states.

``America is under attack by depraved enemies who oppose our every interest and hate every value we hold dear,'' McCain is shown saying. Referring to Bush, the senator says: ``It is the great test of our generation and he has led with great moral clarity and firm resolve.''

In May, Kerry ran a biographical ad that showed a picture of himself with a hand on McCain's shoulder, as the two walked away from the camera. The ad said: ``He joined with John McCain to find the truth about POWs and MIAs in Vietnam.''

The Bush campaign has not run ads for more than two weeks in local media markets in 20 battleground states where it had been on the air. It has been off the air on national cable channels for more than a week. The campaign spent $83 million on advertising over three months. As of Friday, it had not yet bought airtime for July.

Last month, McCain - Bush's rival for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000 - rejected the notion of a bipartisan ticket with Kerry, and shortly thereafter appeared with Bush.

Kerry and McCain, fellow senators and Vietnam veterans, became close when they worked together to help President Clinton normalize relations with Vietnam. On the other hand, McCain has had a cool relationship with Bush, and the 2000 campaign was so bitter that it left wounds some believe may never heal.

Since Kerry secured the nomination in early March, McCain has praised him as ``a good and decent man.'' McCain also defended Kerry when the White House accused the Democrat of being weak on defense.

Renee ~~~

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2004
Sat, 07-17-2004 - 8:50am
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Bush was not the catalyst, SH was. If he had any intentions for peace, he would have followed the UN resolutions or the US cease fire agreement he signed over 12 years ago at some point in time. Instead SH turned a blind eye (at a minimum) to Salmon Pak, attempted to assassinate one of our presidents, repeatedly stole from the UN oil for food program, routinely smuggled oil out of country, had missiles and other ordinance banned by UN resolution and US agreements, most likely bribed British, French, Russian, and UN dignitaries to oppose the US, and placed bounties on US government officials. Yet somehow Bush is the bad guy. Sheez! (Oh boy. Either the rest of the world has turned upside down or I really need to switch to decaf. Taking deep breaths, trying to find my happy place.)

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PLease, put this argument to rest.

The United States didn't have ONE HUMAN BEING ON THE GROUND in Iraq for over 5 years dating back to 1998.


iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
Sat, 07-17-2004 - 1:59pm




It was the liberal media and Democrats who were talking about McCain joining the Democrat ticket. Republicans were amused by the whiff of desperation.


John Kerry must be ashamed to call himself a liberal since he's working so hard to be perceived as moderate and is even characterizing himself as conservative.




Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sat, 07-17-2004 - 4:22pm
That’s because SH (in addition to kicking out the inspectors from time to time) also refused and delayed access to numerous sites which pretty much made the presence of inspection teams useless. Don’t forget, the UN overwhelmingly (and Iraq) agreed 90 days was enough time to clear out all the weapons, destroy and document their destruction. Over a decade later, many were still claiming not enough time was given. The time given was ample if SH had any intention of complying. I would also point out that the wording of the resolution (I’ve posted it here a dozen times before) clearly stated the inspectors were there to observe and document the destruction of these weapons, not go on a 10 year long Easter egg hunt for them. That job was also added later when it was clear SH was not going to cooperate in providing such documentation.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2004
Sat, 07-17-2004 - 7:00pm



ITA!


Renee ~~~

Renee ~~~

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2004
Sun, 07-18-2004 - 5:26am
Perfectly stated, Shmezz!

Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 12:14pm
I hate Saddam.

But what you're saying is wrong. Look at the UNSC resolution 1441 and tell me where Saddam was not in compliance.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 12:15pm
OH yes, the LIBERAL Media.

The ones OWNED by Conservatives.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-08-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 12:17pm
So, just for the record: You call not having one agent on the ground gathering Intelligence since 1998, reliable Intelligence? That is what was asked of you and you didn't answer.

The vast majority disagree (Including two bi-partisan independant investigations) about this.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 1:21pm
You can thank John Deutch for that.

I guess he was too busy downloading pornography and taking classified and top secret information home on his laptop from CIA headquarters to worry about agents in the field actually getting reliable intelligence.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 2:04pm
I’m not sure what your are referring to as “wrong”, but I do not believe I am. I was referring more to resolution 687 than 1441 (the wide gap between the two resolution numbers should give some indication this was going on too long). Everything I’ve posted can be confirmed in the long-winded stuff from the UN below. Also, do you remember when Iraq made that last-ditch effort and gave us that huge report and Bush said there was something like 1,500 tones of VX gas unaccounted for? This is what Bush was complaining about. I think I said all the countries (including Iraq) agreed 90 days was enough. It was actually 15 days, my mistake.:

“9. Decides, for the implementation of paragraph 8 above, the following:

(a) Iraq shall submit to the Secretary-General, within fifteen days of the adoption of the present resolution, a declaration of the locations, amounts and types of all items specified in paragraph 8 and agree to urgent, on-site inspection as specified below.(reprinted below)”

This was written on April 8, 1991 and was never complied with. Turning over this information is what Bush an Co. were asking for all along. Known amounts of chemical weapons previously declared by Iraq needed to be accounted for and never were. We were never supposed to be looking for this stuff, Iraq was supposed to turn it all over to the inspectors, but never did.


I was not able to find the actual testimony, but if you read Blix’s final report and the Q&A following at the Security Council, Powell asks him directly: “Is Iraq in complete compliance with resolution 1441?”

Blix: “No.”


These two of the links I found:

Blix’s report:

http://www.iraqfoundation.org/news/2003/bfeb/20_blix.html

The article is long so I only clipped Blix’s summary in the last paragraph.

“If Iraq had provided the necessary cooperation in 1991, the phase of disarmament under Resolution 687 could have been short and a decade of sanctions could have been avoided. Today, three months after the adoption of Resolution 1441, the period of disarmament through inspection could still be short if, I quote, "immediate, active and unconditional cooperation," unquote, with UNMOVIC and the IAEA were to be forthcoming.”

I think that sounds pretty close to what I was saying.

The bad thing about it, if you read the whole article, is one of the problems facing the inspections teams is the continuing efforts of Iraq to establish new and illegal weapons systems such as:

“Earlier this week, UNMOVIC missile experts met for two days with experts from a number of member states to discuss these items. The experts concluded unanimously that, based on the data provided by Iraq, the two declared variants of the al-Samud II missile were capable of exceeding 150 kilometers in range. This missile system is therefore proscribed for Iraq pursuant to Resolution 687 and the monitoring plan adopted by Resolution 715.”

The monitoring plan is what I was talking about with the Easter egg hunt. Iraq was supposed to declare these weapons, but everyone realized Iraq would never comply with that requirement early on. But this is 3 months after 1441 and Blix clearly states Iraq was in violation of 687 and 1441.

http://japan.usembassy.gov/e/p/tp-20030310b3.html

SECRETARY POWELL: No, we listened very carefully to Hans Blix, and I thought he gave a very thoughtful, balanced report. But even Dr. Blix, if you listen very carefully to his report and read his report, he expresses concern about the level of cooperation that he has received. …but that work is being frustrated by the continuing actions on the part of Saddam Hussein and his regime to keep them from doing their job properly. And their job is to assist Iraq in the process of coming into compliance, and that's what Iraq has not yet decided to do.

Remember, these reports are coming out during a huge US buildup on the Iraq border. If SH had any intention of complying, he would have done it by then.

8 April 1991

8. Decides that Iraq shall unconditionally accept the destruction, removal, or rendering harmless, under international supervision, of:

(a) All chemical and biological weapons and all stocks of agents and all related subsystems and components and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities;

(b) All ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometres and related major parts, and repair and production facilities;

9. Decides, for the implementation of paragraph 8 above, the following:

(a) Iraq shall submit to the Secretary-General, within fifteen days of the adoption of the present resolution, a declaration of the locations, amounts and types of all items specified in paragraph 8 and agree to urgent, on-site inspection as specified below;

(b) The Secretary-General, in consultation with the appropriate Governments and, where appropriate, with the Director-General of the World Health Organization, within forty-five days of the passage of the present resolution, shall develop, and submit to the Council for approval, a plan calling for the completion of the following acts within forty-five days of such approval:

(i) The forming of a Special Commission, which shall carry out immediate on-site inspection of Iraq's biological, chemical and missile capabilities, based on Iraq's declarations and the designation of any additional locations by the Special Commission itself;

(ii) The yielding by Iraq of possession to the Special Commission for destruction, removal or rendering harmless, taking into account the requirements of public safety, of all items specified under paragraph 8 (a) above, including items at the additional locations designated by the Special Commission under paragraph 9 (b) (i) above and the destruction by Iraq, under the supervision of the Special Commission, of all its missile capabilities, including launchers, as specified under paragraph 8 (b) above;

(iii) The provision by the Special Commission of the assistance and cooperation to the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency required in paragraphs 12 and 13 below;

10. Decides that Iraq shall unconditionally undertake not to use, develop, construct or acquire any of the items specified in paragraphs 8 and 9 above and requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Special Commission, to develop a plan for the future ongoing monitoring and verification of Iraq's compliance with this paragraph, to be submitted to the Security Council for approval within one hundred and twenty days of the passage of this resolution;

22. Decides that upon the approval by the Security Council of the programme called for in paragraph 19 above and upon Council agreement that Iraq has completed all actions contemplated in paragraphs 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 above, the prohibitions against the import of commodities and products originating in Iraq and the prohibitions against financial transactions related thereto contained in resolution 661 (1990) shall have no further force or effect;

28. Agrees to review its decisions in paragraphs 22, 23, 24 and 25 above, except for the items specified and defined in paragraphs 8 and 12 above, on a regular basis and in any case one hundred and twenty days following passage of the present resolution, taking into account Iraq's compliance with the resolution and general progress towards the control of armaments in the region;


This paved the way for resolution 707

http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/unscr-resolution-707.html

3 April 1991

Noting with grave concern the letters dated 26 June 1991 (S/22739), 28 June 1991 (S/22743) and 4 July 1991 (S/22761) from the Secretary-General, conveying information obtained from the Executive Chairman of the Special Commission and the Director-General of the IAEA which establishes Iraq's failure to comply with its obligations under resolution 687 (1991),…

Dismayed by the report of the high-level mission to the Secretary-General (S/22761) on the results of its meetings with the highest levels of the Iraqi Government, Gravely concerned by the information provided to the Council by the Special Commission and the IAEA on 15 July 1991 (S/22788) and 25 July 1991 (S/22837) regarding the actions of the Government of Iraq in flagrant violation of resolution 687 (1991),

Gravely concerned also by the evidence in the letter of 7 July 1991 from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq to the Secretary-General and in subsequent statements and findings that Iraq's notifications of 18 and 28 April were incomplete and that it had concealed activities, which both constituted material breaches of its obligations under resolution 687 (1991),

1. Condemns Iraq's serious violation of a number of its obligations under section C of resolution 687 (1991) and of its undertakings to cooperate with the Special Commission and the IAEA, which constitutes a material breach of the relevant provisions of resolution 687 which established a cease-fire and provided the conditions essential to the restoration of peace and security in the region,

2. Further condemns non-compliance by the Government of Iraq with its obligations under its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, as established by the resolution of the Board of Governors of 18 July, which constitutes a violation of its commitments as a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1 July 1968,

3. Demands that Iraq

(i) provide full, final and complete disclosure, as required by resolution 687 (1991), of all aspects of its programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometres, and of all holdings of such weapons, their components and production facilities and locations, as well as all other nuclear programmes, including any which it claims are for purposes not related to nuclear-weapons-usable material, without further delay,

(ii) allow the Special Commission, the IAEA and their Inspection Teams immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access to any and all areas, facilities, equipment, records and means of transportation which they wish to inspect,

(iii) cease immediately any attempt to conceal, or any movement or destruction of any material or equipment relating to its nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or ballistic missile programmes, or material or equipment relating to its other nuclear activities without notification to and prior consent of the Special Commission, ...


Iraq never complied with thie either.


Which lead the way for resolution 715 (11 October 1991)

http://www.caabu.org/press/documents/unscr-resolution-715.html


We stretched 15 days into over 12 years. That’s more than enough time.

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