Part 1 of a 2-part letter
Some Democrats are once again attempting to re-write the history of the Iraq war. As a result, the ludicrous assertion that Democrats were tricked into voting for the war has resurfaced — even after a bi-partisan investigation concluded that pre-war intelligence was in no way tampered with.
The truth is that everyone who voted for the Iraq war was given a copy of the same intelligence that the president and the entire world had. They read it and made the decision to vote for or against the war. If they had any reason to doubt the accuracy or sufficiency of this intelligence, they could have easily voted against it.
Most of those spreading mistruths about this war believed there were weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as did most of the world (and long before 2003) and stated it on many occasions before deciding to re-write history. Even Saddam himself admitted to possessing and developing them. Unfortunately, he had well over a decade to find ways to hide them and more than enough time to smuggle them out before the invasion.
For those who question the legality of this war, the violation of that agreement is all the legality the U.S. needed. In fact, Saddam also repeatedly violated 16 other U.N. Resolutions during those years.
For those who say we didn’t give enough time for diplomacy: How many decades were we supposed to wait to defend ourselves? In Security Council Resolution 1441 (2002), the U.N. once again recognized that Saddam was in breach of the cease-fire and other resolutions and gave him a final opportunity to comply. He didn’t.
In 1998, as a result of Saddam’s actions, Bill Clinton signed into law the Iraq Liberation Act, which was passed overwhelmingly by Congress (including John Kerry). It states that it should be the policy of the United States of America to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein from power and promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace it. It lists nearly two decades of offenses including, but not limited to multiple crimes against humanity, the use and development of WMDs, the invasions of Iran and Kuwait, the failed plot to assassinate President George H.W. Bush and, of coarse, the violations of the cease-fire agreement and other resolutions.
As if that wasn’t enough, Iraqi intelligence documents recovered during the war demonstrate that for many years, Saddam harbored known terrorists and provided them with logistical intelligence, transportation, training and weapons support. Those terrorists include al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Bin-Laden lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abdul Rahman Yasin, fugitive of the first World Trade Center bombing.
Saddam Hussein is a ruthless madman responsible for the systematic imprisonment, rape, torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of his own people. He supported terrorism and anti-American interests throughout the world. He threatened the world with the development and use of WMDs and thumbed his nose at the international community for well over a decade.
As an Iraq War veteran, I am proud that I was able to take part in the action against him. I am proud of my brother, Andrew, and all of the men and women currently serving in Iraq, fighting terrorism so the rest of us can live in peace.
I am also proud of President George W. Bush, who takes more fire day after day from anti-American newsmen, so-called celebrities and self-interested politicians than many of us did in combat, all in the defense of our country.
“The Arab people have not so far fulfilled their duties. They are called upon to target U.S. and Zionist interests everywhere and target those who protect these interests.” – Saddam Hussein, Nov. 25, 2000.
ADAM E. WALSH
Sergeant, U.S. Army National Guard
Veteran, U.S. Army
Billerica, formerly of Pepperell
