I finally found time this week to read through this article from the NYT Magazine in May, “Hillary’s War.” Although it delves into some superficial detail at times (I don’t really care that she was chewing gum at a Democratic strategy session), it gives a thorough account of ways she postured herself both prior to the Iraq war and in the past four years as support for the war has waned. In brief:
At the time she cast that vote, she was among the Senate’s most outspoken Democrats warning of Saddam Hussein’s dangerous arsenal. Unlike nearly all of her fellow Democrats, she even went so far as to argue that Saddam Hussein gave assistance to Al Qaeda members. Now she speaks with equal fervor about the need to bring the war to an end.
There’s nothing wrong shifting to a new stance on the war, and actually I think Hillary’s more or less in the right camp at this point (in so far as any of our options are good at this point). But that doesn’t change the fact that she voted to authorize the president’s decision to use force, and in light of intelligence reports she seems not to have read, and which would have made it pretty clear the WMD case was shaky at best. After the past 8 years, it would be refreshing to have an elected official who can admit their own mistakes, and Hillary seems unwilling to do that. You can make of that what you will; for my part, I’m inclined towards an Anyone But Hillary policy on the Democratic ticket.
Oh, and for your convenience, here’s a YouTube video mentioned in the article of Hillary and Code Pink, an anti-war group, several days before the Iraq invasion (but after she voted). It’s not really so remarkable, except for a part at the end where she snaps at a protester who berates her for sending soldiers to their deaths.