"The Bush Administration's prewar claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction were manipulated, at least to mislead the American people."That is what President Carter said yesterday, November 2, 2005. But what did he have to say about Saddam Hussein two and half years ago?
"We want Saddam Hussein to disarm but we want to achieve this through peaceful means. He obviously has the capability and desire to build prohibited weapons and probably has some hidden in his country."That quote is from President Carter on February 18, 2003. So obviously President Carter has changed his mind. But it is hard to take his new criticism seriously when he agreed with President Bush earlier.
The saddest part of this is the he seems just to be recanting the "Bush Lied, People Died" nonsense. President Carter had always been a man of principle and a man of peace. I emphasized the word "peaceful" in the second quote, above. Even back then, when he agreed that Saddam Hussein had the "capability and desire" to use such weapons, he was urging a peaceful solution. I may not agree with that approach, but I can certainly respect it. It was an approach that was very consistent with how he led his life and I find it genuine.
This latest attack on President Bush I do not.
