George McGovern, a former South Dakota Senator and Democratic presidential nominee, delivered this speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 12, 2007.
Congress Begins to "Change the Course" in Iraq
Falling in line with the peace movement and public opinion, the Senate has finally taken a small but a symbolically important step to challenge President George W. Bush’s policy in Iraq. Lawmakers approved legislation that endorses a "phased redeployment of United States forces" from Iraq.
The Economic Impact of Going to War with Iraq
I want to begin with two caveats. The first is that if attacking Iraq clearly fell into the category of a just war, we should of course spend whatever it would take to wage it. Providing for the common defense is our government’s first mandate. But by my reckoning our government has not remotely made the case that this would in fact be a just war. I’ll just mention quickly a couple of reasons, which the president’s speech yesterday at the UN did not change.