Al Gore in Speeches on Iraq War

On Foreign Policy: Bush sought to destroy foreign policy consensus

The Bush Administration sought to radically destroy the foreign policy consensus that had guided the US since the end of WWII. What they meant by preemption was not the inherent right of any nation to act preemptively against an imminent threat to its national security, but an exotic new approach that asserted a unique and unilateral US right to ignore international law wherever it wished to do so and take military action against any nation, even in circumstances where there was no imminent threat. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Foreign Policy: Damage done at Abu Ghraib was serious

The damage done at Abu Ghraib is not only to America’s reputation and America’s strategic interests, but also to America’s spirit. It is also crucial for our nation to recognize - and to recognize quickly - that the damage our nation has suffered in the world is far, far more serious than Bush’s belated and tepid response would lead people to believe. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Foreign Policy: Policy based on domination creates enemies

A policy based on domination of the rest of the world not only creates enemies for the US and creates recruits for Al Qaeda, it also undermines the international cooperation that is essential to defeating the efforts of terrorists who wish harm and intimidate Americans. Unilateralism, as we have painfully seen in Iraq, is its own reward. Going it alone may satisfy a political instinct but it is dangerous to our military, even without their Commander in Chief taunting terrorists to “bring it on.” Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Foreign Policy: Our future depends on our moral authority to lead

Our future is dependent upon increasing cooperation and interdependence in a world tied ever more closely together by technologies of communications and travel. The emergence of a truly global civilization has been accompanied by the recognition of truly global challenges that require global responses that, as often as not, can only be led by the US - and only if the US restores and maintains its moral authority to lead. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Foreign Policy: Violation of the Geneva Conventions damaged freedom

The Bush Administration has set up the men and women of our own armed forces for payback the next time they are held as prisoners. It will be very hard for any of us as Americans to effectively stand up for human rights elsewhere and criticize other governments, when our policies have resulted in our soldiers behaving so monstrously. The Bush Administration has shamed America and deeply damaged the cause of freedom & human rights everywhere, thus undermining the core message of America to the world. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Foreign Policy: Paired evils perpetrated in the name of America

Dominance is not really a strategic policy or political philosophy at all. It is a seductive illusion that tempts the powerful to satiate their hunger for more power still by striking a Faustian bargain. To those who shake hands with the devil, they find out too late that what they have given up in the bargain is their soul. One of the clearest indications of the impending loss of intimacy with one’s soul is the failure to recognize the existence of a soul in those over whom power is exercised, especially if the helpless come to be treated as animals, and degraded. We also know - and not just from De Sade and Freud - the psychological proximity between sexual depravity and other people’s pain. It has been especially shocking and awful to see these paired evils perpetrated so crudely and cruelly in the name of America. Those pictures of torture and sexual abuse came to us embedded in a wave of news about escalating casualties and growing chaos enveloping our entire policy in Iraq. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Homeland Security: Troops are stretched thin and exhausted

Our troops are stretched thin and exhausted not only because Secretary Rumsfeld contemptuously dismissed the advice of military leaders on the size of the needed force - but also because Bush’s contempt for traditional allies and international opinion left us without a real coalition to share the military and financial burden of the war and the occupation. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Principles & Values: Religious persecution of the Iraqis is a terrible irony

[One Abu Ghraib prisoner of the US] was tortured and ordered to denounce Islam and after his leg was broken one torturer started hitting it while ordering him “to thank Jesus that I’m alive.” Others were forced to eat pork and drink alcohol. What a terrible irony that our country, which was founded by refugees seeking religious freedom - coming to America to escape domineering leaders who tried to get them to renounce their religion - would now be responsible for this kind of abuse. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Principles & Values: We face great challenge in restoring moral authority

Our greatest export has always been hope: hope that through the rule of law people can be free to pursue their dreams, that democracy can supplant repression, and that justice, not power, will be the guiding force in society. With this failure of the rule of law from our government, we face a great challenge in restoring our moral authority that derived from the hope anchored in the rule of law in the world and demonstrating our commitment to bringing a better life to our global neighbors. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Principles & Values: Abuse of power must be avoided

There is good and evil in every person. And what makes the US special in the history of nations is our commitment to the rule of law and our carefully constructed system of checks and balances. Our natural distrust of concentrated power and our devotion to openness and democracy are what have lead us as a people to consistently choose good over evil in our collective aspirations more than the people any other nation. Our founders were insightful students of human nature. They feared the abuse of power because they understood that every human being has not only “better angels” in his nature, but also an innate vulnerability to temptation - especially the temptation to abuse power over others. Our founders understood full well that a system of checks and balances is needed in our Constitution because every human being lives with an internal system of checks and balances that cannot be relied upon to produce virtue if they are allowed to attain an unhealthy degree of power over their fellow citizens. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

On Principles & Values: Bush owes the American people an apology

Bush offered a brief and half-hearted apology to the Arab world - but he should apologize to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions. He also owes an apology to the US Army for cavalierly sending them into harm’s way while ignoring the best advice of their commanders. He should apologize to all those men and women throughout our world who have held the ideal of the United States of America as a shining goal, to inspire their hopeful efforts to bring about justice under a rule of law in their own lands. A sincere apology requires an admission of error, a willingness to accept responsibility and to hold people accountable. Bush is not only unwilling to acknowledge error, but also unwilling to hold anyone in his administration accountable for the worst strategic and military miscalculations and mistakes in US history. He is willing only to apologize for the alleged erratic behavior of a few low-ranking enlisted people, who he is scapegoating for his policy fiasco. Source: Speech on Iraq, with MoveOn PAC at NYU May 26, 2004

The above quotations are from Speeches on topics related to the Iraq War, on the eve of the handover of sovereignty, May-June 2004. Click here for main summary page. Click here for a profile of Al Gore. Click here for Al Gore on all issues.
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Page last updated: Feb 24, 2019