Hillary Clinton: U.S. presidential election, 2008/On the war in Iraq

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This article is part of the
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The following relate to Democratic 2008 presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and the war in Iraq.

Also see main article Hillary Clinton: U.S. presidential election, 2008.

Contents

Clinton v. Edwards v. Obama on war in Iraq/Iran

Bill Clinton on war with Iraq

No long-term agreements with Iraq

Being "Commander-in-Chief"

Byrd, Clinton: sunset Bush's authority to wage war

On May 3, 2007, Clinton "endorsed legislation that would revoke the administration's authority to wage the war" effective October 11, 2007, Shailagh Murray and Jonathan Weisman reported in the Washington Post. Clinton "took the Senate floor to join Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (W.Va.) in offering a bill that would sunset the 2002 authorization of military operations in Iraq. It would take away the president's authority to wage war in Iraq five years to the day after it was granted, meaning Bush would be required to convince Congress to reapprove it in October."

"Clinton's endorsement of the sunset legislation represents a significant escalation in her opposition to the White House on war policy and signals an effort by Democratic presidential candidates -- including four sitting senators -- to assume higher profiles in the war debate. For Clinton, it is also an opportunity to address what has emerged as perhaps her greatest liability in the Democratic contest: her vote to authorize the war. "If the president will not bring himself to accept reality, it is time for Congress to bring reality to him," said Clinton, who has expressed support for a similar de-authorization, although not as a stand-alone bill," Murray and Weisman wrote.

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Funding the war in Iraq

Pre-war intelligence

On April 27, 2007, speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate, in comments part of the debate before the passage of an emergency war-funding bill, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) dropped the bombshell that in 2002-2003, in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, he and other members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence were sworn to secrecy and could neither reveal nor talk about information to which the Committee was privileged and to which the American people were not.

"Five of nine Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted for the measure as did all eight Republicans." [1] Clinton was not a member of the Intelligence Committee.

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Position(s) on the war: Clinton v Obama

Obama attacks Clinton for Iraq vote

"Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) tried Tuesday to gain the high ground on Iraq over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), his chief rival for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, by charging that the nation’s leaders 'got it wrong' by going to war," Mike Allen wrote October 2, 2007, in The Politico.[1]

Although Obama "did not name Clinton in his remarks about Iraq, but his allusion was clear," Allen wrote.

Voting record

  • 2002: Clinton "voted for the October 2002 resolution authorizing the Iraq war, while Obama (Ill.), then a state senator, publicly opposed the war." [2]
  • 2004: Clinton told Tim Russert on Meet the Press, August 29, 2004, that she agreed with Jay Rockefeller, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who said "Congress would not have authorized that war—we would not have authorized that war—with 75 votes if we knew what we know now." Clinton said "There would not have been a vote, Tim. There would never have been a vote to the Congress presented by the administration. There would have been no basis for it."[2]
  • 2004: Obama said "that he was not sure whether he would have voted against the resolution had he been in the Senate." [3]
  • 2005-present: Obama's "voting record has been virtually identical to Clinton's. 'Senator Obama voted $301 billion in funding. So did Senator Clinton, ... Senator Obama voted against a definite withdrawal date. So did Senator Clinton.'" [4] See Obama's June 21, 2006, Floor Statement on Iraq Debate.

"On substantive questions of foreign policy, one of Barack Obama's most effective -- and perhaps only -- methods of distinguishing himself from Hillary Clinton has been touting his opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Though Obama's opposition was expressed in a twenty minute speech on the floor of the Illinois state legislature, the credibility his anti-war stand has granted him is well-deserved, and it should remain a central issue in the primaries," Max Blumenthal wrote April 2, 2007, in The Nation.

"Given the way Obama has voted on Iraq-related bills since his arrival to Congress, however, any attempt by the junior senator to cast himself as a genuine anti-war candidate is disingenous. Greg Sargent and Eric Kleefeld have compiled a side-by-side study of Obama and Hillary's votes on Iraq-related bills and what they found is startling.

"Of 69 votes related to Iraq, Obama differed with Hillary on only one: He voted for the confirmation of Gen. George Casey and she voted against it. In no way does Sargent and Kleefeld's study negate the importance of Obama's oppositon to invading Iraq, but it does add some nuance to an otherwise simplistic debate," Blumenthal wrote.

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Clinton plan to end the war

On February 17, 2007, Senator Clinton introduced the "Iraq Troop Protection & Reduction Act of 2007", which "endorse[s] the plan she outlined several weeks ago that would cap the level of U.S. troops in Iraq at the number prior to [Bush's] escalation plan, and begin the long overdue phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq beginning in 90 days." [5]

"The Iraq Troop Protection & Reduction Act of 2007 presents a comprehensive approach to Iraq that halts the President's escalation policy and provides an alternative strategy in Iraq with the goal of stabilizing the country so American troops can redeploy out of Iraq. Senator Clinton's legislation puts real pressure on the Iraqi government, requiring the Iraqis to make political progress or lose funding for their military and reconstruction, require the Bush Administration to begin a phased redeployment and convene an international conference within 90 days or a new Congressional authorization would be required to remain in Iraq. Finally, the legislation would prohibit the use of funds to send troops to Iraq unless they have the proper equipment and training. If the President were to follow the provisions in this legislation then the United States should be able to complete a redeployment of troops out of Iraq by the end of his term."

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On preemptive war

  • In February 2007, Clinton said: "I have taken responsibility for that vote. It was based on the best assessment that I could make at the time, and it was clearly intended to demonstrate support for going to the United Nations to put inspectors into Iraq. ... When I set forth my reasons for giving the President that authority, I said that it was not a vote for pre-emptive war."—Cited by John DiStaso in Manchester Union Leader, February 9, 2007.

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Resources and articles

References

  1. ↑ Mike Allen, "Obama attacks Clinton for Iraq vote," The Politico, October 2, 2007.
  2. ↑ Bob Somerby, "AND THE GLASS HALF EMPTY! K-Drum saw the glass half full in Stephen Braun’s right-on report," The Daily Howler, February 19, 2007.
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