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I had sent Senator Kerry a long e-mail a few weeks ago (yes, weeks) and just received this. Its so
back and forth, I can't make heads or tails of it. Typical politician speak.
Excuse me if it comes out choppy, I had to pasted it:
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Date:
Tue, 25 Feb 2003 12:53:47 -0500
Message-ID:
<00665585.C22124@kerry.senate.gov>
From:
John_Kerry@kerry.senate.gov (John Kerry)
Subject:
Re: We ask that you allow inspectors to do their job
To:
anairhoads@rhoadsdev.com
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<00665585.C22124@kerry.senate.gov>
Mrs. Rhoads,
Thank you for contacting me to express your views regarding U.S.
policy towards Iraq. I appreciate your input as our country continues
to debate this important issue of national security.
I believe that the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq poses a real
threat to the security of the region and of the United States and that
he must be disarmed. The Senate voted on October 11 on a resolution to
hold Saddam Hussein accountable for his repeated violations of his
agreement with the United Nations to disarm his arsenal of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD). I voted to support the resolution because I
believe that unified American support for this disarmament effort is
crucial.
Every party in this situation has obligations they must meet. For
Iraq, the burden is to live up to its international obligations to
disarm, adhering to the unanimous will of the international community.
It is Saddam Hussein who, ultimately, must choose between war and
peace. For the United Nations, the burden is to live up to its
responsibilities and enforce its will through all available
mechanisms, not finding excuses in equivocation and delay.
The United States has obligations as well. We must not rush to war.
Although I will support military action as a last resort, I have
continually emphasized to the Bush administration that we must work
first through arms inspections not war, and that if it becomes
necessary to disarm Iraq by force, our efforts must be multilateral.
As I have said frequently, the United States should never go to war
because it wants to. The United States should go to war because we
have to. And we don't have to until we have exhausted the remedies
available, built legitimacy, and earned the consent of the American
people - absent, of course, an imminent threat requiring urgent
action.
I have no doubt of the outcome of war itself should it be necessary -
we will win. But what matters is not just what we win but what we
lose. We need to make certain that we have not unnecessarily twisted
so many arms, created so many reluctant partners, abused the trust of
Congress, or strained so many relations, that the longer term and more
immediate vital war on terror is made more difficult. And we should be
particularly concerned that we do not go alone or essentially alone if
we can avoid it, because the complications and costs of rebuilding
post-war Iraq would be far better managed and shared with United
Nations' participation. While American security must never be ceded to
any institution or to another institution's decision, we must show
respect for the process of international diplomacy - because it is not
only right, it can make America stronger - and show the world some
appropriate patience in building a genuine coalition.
Thank you once again for taking the time to share your views with me, Anai
on this extremely important topic.
Sincerely,
John F. Kerry
U.S. Senator
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