A little debate fact checking
DEBATE FACT #16: JOE BIDEN AND BARACK OBAMA ARE AT ODDS IN 2002
Summary:.
In 2002, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were at odds on Iraq - which as Joe Biden said was "an extreme danger."
The Facts About Barack Obama's Record:
Joe Biden And Barack Obama Are At Odds On Going To War In 2002
- Joe Biden Voted For The Iraq War Resolution. (H.J. Res. 114, CQ Vote #237: Passed 77-23: R 48-1; D 29-21; I 0-1, 10/11/02, Biden Voted Yea)
- Joe Biden Called Saddam Hussein "An Extreme Danger To The World." BIDEN: "This is a guy who's used weapons of mass destruction. This is a guy who's destabilized the whole neighborhood. This is a guy who in a war with the Iranians, over 800,000 people on both sides were killed. This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world. And this is a guy who is in every way possible seeking weapons of mass destruction. That case, in and of itself, ought to be sufficient." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/4/02)
- Joe Biden: "We Have No Choice But To Eliminate The Threat." RUSSERT: "If the president of the United States was saying four years ago clear evidence of mass destruction, do we have any choice but to eliminate Saddam Hussein and the threat?" BIDEN: "We have no choice but to eliminate the threat." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/4/02)
- Joe Biden Said The Administration Had Enough Classified Evidence On Iraq To Gain A Jury Trial Conviction. "Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., said Tuesday on Capitol Hill that 'the administration has evidence now that can change people's minds.' However, Biden said, 'It's a very tough call as to how much to release.' Biden said he did not think the administration would make photographs public, as Adlai E. Stevenson, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, did in 1962 to back the Kennedy administration's claim the Soviet Union had deployed missiles in Cuba that could strike the United States. But, Biden said, 'I know there is enough circumstantial evidence that if there were a jury trial I could convict you.'" (Barry Schweid, "Administration Plans Disclosure Of Intelligence On Weapons," The Associated Press, 1/28/03)
- In July 2003, Amid Questions Concerning A Lack Of Stockpiles Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction In Iraq, Joe Biden Defended The War As "Justified" And Said "I Still Believe That Saddam Possessed Weapons Of Mass Destruction." Biden: "I still believe that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction and that the war in Iraq was justified." (Sen. Joe Biden, "Statement Of Senator Joe Biden On The White House's Acknowledgment That Iraq-Uranium Assertion Was Wrong," Press Release, biden.senate.gov, 7/8/03)
- In 2004, Barack Obama Said He Didn't Know How He Would Have Voted On The Iraq War Resolution. "In a recent interview, [Obama] declined to criticize Senators Kerry and Edwards for voting to authorize the war, although he said he would not have done the same based on the information he had at the time. 'But, I'm not privy to Senate intelligence reports,' Mr. Obama said. 'What would I have done? I don't know. What I know is that from my vantage point the case was not made.'" (Monica Davey, "A Surprise Senate Contender Reaches His Biggest Stage Yet," The New York Times, 7/26/04)
- In 2004, Barack Obama Said There Was Not Much Of A Difference Between His Position And The President's Position On Iraq. "'On Iraq, on paper, there's not as much difference, I think, between the Bush administration and a Kerry administration as there would have been a year ago,' Obama said. 'There's not much of a difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage.'" (John Kass, "Obama's A Star Who Doesn't Stick To The Script," Chicago Tribune, 7/27/04)