Record Shows Bush Shifting on Rationale for Iraq Invasion: "Bush's words on Iraq have evolved -- or, in the parlance his campaign often uses to describe Kerry, flip-flopped
... A war that was waged principally to overthrow a dictator who possessed 'some of the most lethal weapons ever devised'' has evolved into a mission to rid Iraq of its 'weapons-making capabilities'' and to offer democracy and freedom to its 25 million residents.
The president no longer expounds upon deposed Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's connections with al Qaeda, rarely mentions the rape and torture rooms or the illicit weapons factories that he once warned posed a direct threat to the United States.
In the fall of 2002, as Bush sought congressional support for the use of force, he described the vote as a sign of solidarity that would strengthen his ability to keep the peace. Today, his aides describe it unambiguously as a vote to go to war. "
- posted by geoff @ #