Senate Candidate Krause Calls for Drawdown in Afghanistan

From Bob Krause's campaign:

Speaking to an audience of Democrats at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual Jefferson Jackson Day dinner on Saturday night, Bob Krause of Fairfield became the first candidate in the Iowa U.S. Senate race to call for a drawdown of troops in Afghanistan.

"It is my view as a retired military officer and a student of military strategy that we need to disengage from Afghanistan because what we are doing is not strategically sustainable,” Krause told the crowd at a rally following the keynote speech by Vice President Joe Biden.

"We are in direct danger of committing our remaining uncommitted national reserve of troops so that we have nothing left for emergencies,” Krause explained. “Further, I seriously doubt that we need to keep the Taliban at bay in Afghanistan to secure our national security. We are putting large numbers of U. S. and foreign troops in the land that invented xenophobia. Unfortunately this troop insertion stirs the pot and makes the situation much worse than it needs to be.”

“I hope that, when President Obama makes his troop strength decision after Thanksgiving, he does not accept the advice of the neoconservatives, and instead does the prudent thing and closes out this war that former President Bush lost through inaction several years ago,” said Krause.

In extended remarks after the speech, Krause added, "Joe Biden in right on this one. We are spending $60 billion per year in the war in Afghanistan and 2 billion on Pakistan, even though Pakistan is strategically more important to us.”

“If the Pakistanis can control the Pashtuns within their own borders, it will have a very positive spin-off effect on the Pashtun nation in Afghanistan,” said Krause. “Insuring that Pakistan can continue as a cohesive nation is where our strategic emphasis needs to be. Having our forces in Afghanistan drives Taliban into Pakistan and actually helps to destabilize Pakistan.”

Krause warned that our trying to control Afghanistan directly with U. S. troops not only causes backfires, but it is incredibly costly. “If we put in an additional 40,000 new troops -- at a cost of about 1 million dollars per soldier in the field -- this will put the new war budget for Afghanistan at $100 billion,” said Krause. “This for a war that, even by known guerilla warfare statistical planning factors, we would be unlikely to win because it just is not enough troops.”

Krause also pointed out that this figure does not include the “80 year tail on government costs for treating the additional 10,000 per year Post Traumatic Stress Disorder cases that would likely come from the insertion of the additional soldiers.”

"Iowans need to call President Obama and ask him to listen to those who are urging caution, and not to those who want to continue and to escalate this strategically untenable battle," concluded Krause.

A former state legislator, school board member and transportation official, Krause has served as the president of the Iowa Department of the Reserve Officers Association and is currently chair of the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus.

Biden's Debate Statement About Afghan "Surge" Correct

Sen. Joe Biden said last night that "our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan."

The Facts:
Gov. Sarah Palin, who praised the "surge strategy" in Iraq, said that "the surge principles, not the exact strategy, but the surge principles that have worked in Iraq need to be implemented in Afghanistan."

Sen. Joe Biden said, "our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan. … He said we need more troops. We need government-building. We need to spend more money on the infrastructure in Afghanistan."

Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was quoted on Oct. 2 in The Washington Post as saying that "no Iraq-style 'surge' of forces will end the conflict" in Afghanistan, even though more U.S. troops are needed to take on a growing insurgency.

"Afghanistan is not Iraq," McKiernan said in Washington on Oct. 1. He also said "the word I don't use for Afghanistan is 'surge.' " He called for a "sustained commitment" leading to a political and not just a military solution.

He said Afghanistan is a "far more complex environment than I ever found in Iraq." The newspaper paraphrased him as citing the country's "unique challenges" — "the mountainous terrain, rural population, poverty, illiteracy, 400 major tribal networks and history of civil war."

Biden: His Time

Senator Joe R. Biden of Delaware will be the choice for V.P. by Democratic-presidential-nominee-in-waiting, Barack Obama. Biden, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former head of the Senate Judiciary Committee brings solid foreign affairs and judicial credentials to shore up what is considered to be Barack Obama's relative weaknesses. According to his Senate website, "Senator Richard Lugar, who is currently the top Republican on the committee has said: "Senator Biden has a very strong commitment to a bipartisan foreign policy and serves as a good example for everyone in Congress. He has a very broad, comprehensive view of the world. He's a good listener, but he's also a strong and effective advocate of his position." U.S. News & World Report described Senator Biden as "the Democrats' chief anti-crime specialist on Capitol Hill." He served as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for 16 years, including an extended term as Chairman from 1987-95. Today, Senator Biden is the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, where he continues to lead the debate on criminal justice and public safety issues."

Senator Biden's championed the Adam Walsh Act, which helps protect children against predators and wrote and passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Joe Biden has an 80% lifetime rating from the ACLU, the second-highest of any major-party 2008 presidential candidate (Dennis Kucinich, at 89%, was number one).

According to About.com, "Biden was the only 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to have voted in favor of the ban on live intact D&X ("partial birth") abortions in 2003. He has remained relatively silent on the Supreme Court's Gonzales v. Carhart ruling, which upheld the ban. Otherwise, his pro-choice record is flawless--he has received an 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America for three consecutive years, and his record prior to 2003."

With regard to marriage equality, "Biden voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, but has been quoted as saying 'I don't know why we should be frightened of [same-sex marriage].' Although he sees same-sex marriage as a likely inevitability, he has not taken the step of actually supporting it. Instead, he supports a civil unions policy that would grant the same legal rights. He also supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), federal hate crime legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories, and the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell.'"

"He is a supporter of capital punishment, and holds the distinction of being the author of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (often referred to as the "Biden crime bill"), which expanded the federal death penalty to include drug trafficking, a nonviolent offense."

Biden, who dropped out of contention after the Iowa caucus in his own bid for the presidency, was considered one of half a dozen leading candidates for the Veep position. His issue positions can be found here.

Biden, Kerry, Hagel Helicopter Downed in Afghanistan

By snow...Made you look.

Fortunately no one was injured.

CNN story

A helicopter carrying three U.S. senators was forced to make an emergency landing in Afghanistan Thursday, military and congressional sources tell CNN.

The military helicopter carrying Democratic Sens. Joseph Biden of Delaware and John Kerry of Massachusetts, and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska had to land in the mountains because of a snowstorm, said Elizabeth Alexander, a spokeswoman for Biden.

No one was hurt in the incident, said Kerry spokesman David Wade. The senators proceeded to their destination in a ground convoy after the helicopter landed in a field, he said.

"After several hours, the senators were evacuated by American troops and returned overland to Bagram Air base, and left for their next scheduled stop in Ankara, Turkey," Wade added.

Mukasey Shocks the Conscience of Joe Biden

Is torture okay and under what circumstances? USAG Mukasey seems to be okay with it:

"There is a statute under which it [torture] is a relative issue. I think the Detainee Treatment Act engages the standard under the Constitution which is a shocks-the-conscience standard, which is essentially a balancing test of the value of doing something as against the cost of doing it."

Joe Biden thinks differently: "I didn't think shocking the conscience had any relationship to the end being sought. I thought shocking the conscience had to do with what we consider to be basic societal values, things that we held dear, what we consider to be civilized behavior.

You're the first person I've ever heard say what you just said."

Casualties of Caucuses: Biden and Dodd

Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd have left the filed after the Iowa Caucus. Neither have stated who they will support.

Biden told his supporters, “There is nothing sad about tonight. We are so incredibly proud of you all. So many of you have sacrificed for me and I am so indebted to you. I feel no regret. I ain’t goin’ away.

“I want to thank the people of Delaware and I’ll be going back to the Senate as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,” he said.

When asked about taking a position as secretary of state, he said "no, no." However he did say, “when you’re secretary of state, I’d have to be convinced that the nominee, the Democratic president, we really shared the same kind of views.”

Dodd said, "Tonight I am withdrawing from the Presidential race. But let me assure you, we do not exit this race with our heads hanging - rather, we do so with our heads held high."

Whether it is restoring the Constitution to the American people, standing up to this President to end this war, or starting the discussion about what it will really take to tackle global warming and bring the country together, we stand confident that the difference we made in this race will endure longer than any speech, any election or any political campaign." More from the NY Times

Joe Biden on Pakistan

I was called to task for not mentioning Senator Joe Biden's stance on Pakistan in the last posting I made. In my defense, I was posting an article from the Washington Post. Oh well--'tis the caucus season and everyone has their favorite. But the point is well taken: Joe Biden should be mentioned in any conversation about foreign relations, he is, after all, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Listen to him in Corydon, Iowa:



Political Insider points out the complaint that the commenter made to my blog:

"Two months ago, Joe Biden started talking about the risks of Pakistan collapsing -- and he kept talking about the issue even after Pakistan left the front page news. Now Pakistan blows up and political reporters talk about how the news might benefit ... John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton.

Biden will be holding a news conference on Pakistan later today [12/27/07], it could be his last opportunity to get back into the race. The conventional wisdom is that political reporting is in an endless feedback loop ... Biden gets no news coverage because he talks about arcane issues like Pakistan ... he polls poorly because he gets no news coverage ... he isn't mentioned in stories about Pakistan when it becomes news because he polls poorly.

Is this any way to pick a President?"

No, and if the election were only about foreign relations, Senator Biden and Bill Richardson would no doubt poll better. But as the late Tip O'Neill famously said, "all politics is local" and unless voters can understand why what happens in Pakistan or elsewhere matters to them, they categorically tune it out.

Ask the Kurds, the Darfur refugees, the AIDS victims in Africa, and so on.

To my point, Joe Biden is a decent and smart man and will likely be called upon by the next administration in some capacity (Secretary of Defense or State)--but he has not made his case to be president resonate with voters.

So to my dear commenter, feel free to call me irresponsible, but remember it is your candidate who has failed to make his case.

Clever Clip of the Week: Joe's Right

It seems the less Joe Biden says the better he sounds ;-)~
...as you'll see in this clip.

Biden and Kennedy Propose Bills to Curb Waterboarding

From McClatchy News Service

The practice of waterboarding would be outlawed specifically, along with other extreme interrogation techniques, under legislation pushed by two Democratic senators.

The measures would repudiate the Bush administration’s policy on torture. The CIA reportedly has used waterboarding — or simulated drowning — when questioning terrorism suspects. It’s also used exposure to extreme temperatures and other methods that are expressly forbidden by the Army Field Manual. The proposed bills would require that all U.S. personnel — including the CIA — use only interrogation techniques authorized by the Army manual.

Last month, President Bush’s choice for attorney general, Michael Mukasey, refused to say whether waterboarding was torture and therefore illegal. And an executive order that President Bush released in July on what techniques the CIA could use was silent on whether waterboarding and other extreme measures were among them.

Sens. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., have offered separate bills that make the Army manual the standard for all U.S. interrogators. All members of the military by law already must abide by the manual. The proposed law would require civilians to do the same.

However, it’s unlikely that the Senate will debate the matter before the end of the year. The legislative calendar is jammed, sponsors of these measures must round up support and Republicans may be reluctant to tie the CIA’s hands against the Bush administration’s will.

Similar legislation is expected soon in the House of Representatives.

“We need to send a clear message that torture, inhumane and degrading treatment of detainees, is unacceptable and is not permitted by U.S. law. Period,” Biden said in a letter to senators.

Michael V. Hayden, the director of the CIA, argued at a Council on Foreign Relations talk in September that the CIA shouldn't be limited to the Army Field Manual’s requirements on interrogation.

“It's clear that what it is we do as an agency is different from what is contained in the Army Field Manual. I don't know of anyone who has looked at the Army Field Manual who could make the claim that what's contained in there exhausts the universe of lawful interrogation techniques consistent with the Geneva Convention,” he said.

U.S. law and international treaties have long banned torture. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 said all U.S. personnel must not treat detainees in cruel, inhuman and degrading ways. But backers of the proposed bills say they’re needed because the Bush administration has interpreted the law in a way that leaves open the possibility that the CIA can use the extreme techniques.

Biden said his bill would end “the administration’s semantic games on what constitutes torture. . . . There is no place for the administration’s bad faith interpretation — of waterboarding and other forms of torture — to gain a toehold.” He also warned that “continuing to equivocate about torture” would weaken the coalitions needed to fight terrorism, fuel terrorist recruitment and place Americans in jeopardy.

Biden’s legislation also would close the “black sites” outside the United States where detainees have been held, grant detainees at Guantanamo the right to challenge their imprisonment in court and require the administration to go to a special court and make the case that any non-American terrorist suspect it wants to send to another country wouldn't be tortured there. Kennedy’s bill is limited to interrogations.

“This involves taking on the administration in a very big way,” said Elisa Massimino, an international rights expert with the advocacy group Human Rights First.

The White House’s July order allowed the CIA to restart its secret detention and interrogation program, which had been put on hold in 2006, Massimino said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the proposed restrictions on CIA interrogations were unnecessary. Graham, a judge advocate general in the Air Force Reserves, said he was briefed on how the CIA interrogates suspected terrorists. “I think the president’s CIA program has found the right balance,” he said “It’s lawful; it’s effective. It’s different from the military’s, but still within bounds.”

Graham said he believed that waterboarding was illegal for any branch of government.

And We Are Worried About Iran?

I recall that John Edwards had spoken about the danger of insurgency in Pakistan to the US News and World Report in August. In the most recent debate Joe Biden and Chris Dodd had this pegged when they expressed that the situation in Pakistan is potentially more dangerous than the current threat from Iran.

From the BBC

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has declared emergency rule and suspended the country's constitution.

He defended his actions in a national address, saying he was curbing a rise in extremism in Pakistan.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops, who also entered state-run TV and radio stations.

The moves come as the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf's October election victory.

The court was to decide whether Gen Musharraf was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief.

The BBC's Barbara Plett reports from Islamabad that fears had been growing in the government that the Supreme Court ruling could go against Gen Musharraf. More

Are Dems Ready For the Country?

Rural voters are listening to all comers, this is being made crystal clear by turnouts at rural campaign stops. The Reagan Democrats are returning to the fold as their concerns haven't been met by the Conservative revolution.


As the Rocky Mountain News pointed out:

Now, the Republican Party is saddled with an unpopular president with an unpopular war. And on top of that, the party's rural base now faces anxiety over home foreclosures, gas prices, job outsourcing, trade agreements, the growth of corporate agriculture and soaring health care costs.

Democrats see an opening. So they're trying to reconnect with working class folks in rural areas who, especially since the Reagan Administration, have been pulled into the Republican column over cultural issues.


The clamor by rural voters for someone who better represents them plays well to campaigners like John Edwards who spent last week courting voters in places like Lyon county.


Eunice McCarthy, a Democrat at a firehouse event where Edwards spoke, said."After all the things, they may be willing to listen at least. A lot of times you don't brag about being a Democrat, but it's getting better."

Again from the Rocky Mountain News

That could explain the elbow-to-elbow crowd that greeted Edwards at the firehouse -- and the grin Edwards had when he was talking to reporters afterwards."I do have to say, I was remembering the last time I was up here," Edwards said, thinking back to the 2004 campaign. "We had five, seven people..."Times have changed.

Follow-up to Scorning Corning:

The political snubbing for the good folks of Corning, Iowa is over, Joe Biden was there on Saturday and John Edwards will be there on Thursday at Corning High School (Home of the Red Raiders) at 12:15. Factoid: Edwards will have visited all 99 counties in Iowa with this trip--a first for all the candidates, Democrat or Republican.

From CNN

• Joe Biden says if he doesn't do well in Iowa caucuses, his campaign is over
  
• Senator says he needs to come in first, second, or a strong third
  
• "We're gaining some traction in Iowa," Biden says, despite lagging polls
  
• Political experts not so sure; one says Biden is considered "a loose cannon"
  

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, behind in polls and campaign money, is betting the farm on Iowa's leadoff caucuses, hoping a strong showing will rocket him to the top of the field.

If not, Biden admits he'll be an early footnote in the race for his party's nomination.

"I'm counting on Iowa a lot," Biden said in an interview with The Associated Press. "My expectation is that I come in first, second or an indistinguishable third. To tell you the truth, if I don't, then this has been a nice exercise and I'll see you again when you come to visit Washington."

"I don't need $100 million to compete in Iowa," Biden said. "My observation over time is you Iowans are kind of contrarians. You don't anoint front-runners."

Biden seems to relish the nonstop campaigning. His schedule can take him through a half-dozen stops a day. He routinely runs late, slapping backs and schmoozing as he makes the sale one voter at a time.

"I'm a pretty good retail campaigner," he said.

That, he contends, will pay off this fall as the caucuses near and Iowans begin paying closer attention.

Although he's betting everything on Iowa, Biden said the movement of large-population states to the start of the nominating process means a poor showing in the leadoff caucuses would be disastrous for any candidate. Without the boost from a top finish in Iowa and New Hampshire, even the front-runners will be in trouble, he said.

That dictates a simple campaign strategy, Biden said.

"It's kind of like Iowa, Iowa, Iowa, Iowa," Biden said. "New Hampshire, New Hampshire, New Hampshire."

Takin' Care of Biden(ness)

Senator Joe Biden of Delaware will reading from and signing copies of his new book "Promises to Keep: On life and politics" at the following locations August 30th.

University of Iowa Bookstore
10 am 12pm
UI Iowa Memorial Union
Sponsored by University Democrats

Prairie Lights Bookstore
7pm - 9pm
15 S Dubuque St

Biden's Son in Line to Go to Iraq

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told a crowd at the Iowa State Fair Wednesday that his son will be deployed to Iraq.

Beau Biden, Delaware’s attorney general, is a captain in the Army National Guard. His unit has been notified that it will be deployed in January 2008.

“He’ll go…I don’t want him going,” the Delaware senator told the crowd. “But I don’t want my grandsons or granddaughters going back in 15 years. So how we leave makes a big difference.”
The Delaware senator’s son was in attendance as Biden addressed the crowd in Des Moines.

Republican presidential candidates John McCain and Duncan Hunter also have sons who have either served or have been called for duty in Iraq.

Joe Biden His Time on Charlie Rose

Joe Biden ideas can't be dismissed and this interview shows him at his best.

Summer of (Where's the) Love

With the moving up of major parties' primaries, politics have been brutal this summer. As Joe Biden (who probably shouldn't make jokes about Tulane being underwater) said on the Daily Show last night in reference to Senator Obama's turn in fortune, "It's rough out there." And it is coming within the Dem party and from the right wingers who say things like "Edward's whored his wife's cancer for a fund raising gimmick". Over on the right, similar gesticulations are happening (right, John McCain?).

The politics of dismantling are brutal, but doesn't the average voter see through the strategy? To dismantle Obama, the strategy is to minimize his foreign policy experience; to dismantle Edwards; go after his money (via his haircut); to dismantle Clinton, go after her war votes and on and on. This is all fair game, of course, but when the argument is word choices, it is a hard row to hoe to get anyone to the White House.

And while it may be true that politics have never been rougher, it doesn't mean that a message of hope can't work. Obama has gone a long way on the audacity of it, Clinton seems to do well with her conversations with America, Edwards does best when he's talking about the two America's. And that is where we should push the dialogue.

We have gone through seven of the most hopeless years in our Republic due to the politics of fear as practiced by the Bush regime. No one can argue that we as a nation were hoodwinked into a war which we have protracted because of more fear. We have a Congress (on both sides) that is cynically betting the ranch on the presidential election in 2008.

In my opinion, we have always done our best as a nation when we lead with hope. The sad truth about politics is that it is seen as a blood sport, when all it has ever been is a contact sport.

Campaigns from rightest right to leftist left, if you have a message of hope, contact us --we are listening. Better yet, come to the Iowa State Fair and pledge that you will keep your remarks limited to what you will do for your country. It worked for John F. Kennedy.

Joe Biden Wants You to Know "Iowa's Important" and Other YouTube

You bet Iowa is important




And this is Why...



(Doesn't hurt that it is Dar Williams providing the soundtrack--she's got the "Iowa" thing down.

Candidates to Appear in Iowa City

Thanks to the Iowa Chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters meeting in Iowa City, there will be a plethora of candidates stopping in this week at the Sheraton on Tuesday and Wednesday. Below is the schedule with links to the IAFF Presidential Forum statements made by each candidate on March 14th.

On Tuesday 6/26:

• 8 a.m, U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.)
• 9:30 a.m, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)
• 11:30 a.m, Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.)
• 2:30 p.m, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)
• 8 p.m, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden (Speaking for Sen. Joe Biden)

On Wednesday 6/27:

• 9:15 a.m, Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.)

Ketchup With the Democrats Debate

It is clear that the Democrats can not really have a debate without challenging each other--GOOD! If the candidates choose to stand at the podium looking like bottles of generic ketchup, should anyone care if one of them is actually a better ketchup?

It is good to hear actual disagreement between this candidate's ideas and the next. This is why I feel John Edwards did well and Barack Obama and Joe Biden came to play. I think the discussion on positions about Iraq is important. I continue to enjoy the Mike Gravel Straight Talk Express and Dennis Kucinich is consistantly predictably repeating why he has been right all along, but will not be elected. Why Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd are faltering is anyone's guess, but it is likely due to their diplomatic natures. Hillary Clinton continues to enjoy the glow of front-runner status, but she really didn't say anything about her ability to lead the country, and seemed resigned to the adoration bestowed on her husband.

Frankly the format of the debate was odd. I was less impressed with the questioning of Wolf Blitzer--what role would Bill Clinton serve--please! Why didn't he ask how Michelle Obama or Elizabeth Edwards would differ from Hillary as a first lady? I don't think he was even-handed in asking for rebuttals. Plus, there were assorted glitches in the technology which didn't help matters.

Based on my review of the debate, I'd give higher marks to Edwards, Obama, and Gravel (though its not likely to move him from the fringe). Joe Biden scored some "integrity" points. Richardson and Dodd need to Cowboy up and get their issues in. Hillary can afford to take a non-position as she is the known quantity in the minds of the journalists. Dennis Kucinich, he can go defend his home district.

In general, it would be good for the Democrats to talk about the economy, the deficit, and entitlement programs. Also, it didn't seem like the environment got any airing.

Reading is Fundamental--Except for Voting on a War

According to CNN , authors of a new biography on Hillery Clinton say that Clinton and 93 other senators did not read the 90-page, classified National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, according to "Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton."

For members of Congress to read the report, they had to go to a secure location on Capitol Hill. The Washington Post reported in 2004 that no more than six senators and a handful of House members were logged as reading the document.

The Clinton biography, written by New York Times reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta Jr., summarizes the intelligence estimate, which combined reports of U.S. intelligence agencies about Iraq.

Clinton, a New York Democrat, was briefed on the intelligence report multiple times, a spokesperson told CNN.

Clinton is one of six presidential candidates who were in the Senate in October 2002 who voted for the resolution to authorize the invasion of Iraq.

Candidate and then-Sen. John Edwards "read and was briefed on the intelligence" while sitting on the Senate Intelligence Committee, a spokesman said. Edwards has called his vote for the 2002 resolution a mistake. Another Democratic candidate, Sen. Joseph Biden, said he read the report.

6/4 Correction: Clinton, a senator from New York, said she had been “thoroughly briefed” about intelligence on Iraq and tried to dismiss the question as part of an argument “about the past.” Edwards, who also said he read only a summary of the 90-page intelligence report, said he “had the information I needed.” He then repeated his assertion, which Clinton has declined to echo, that his vote against the war was “wrong.”

A spokesman for presidential candidate Sen. Christopher Dodd said the Connecticut Democrat did not read the document, either.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona also voted in favor of the resolution without reading the report.

A spokesman for McCain told CNN his boss was briefed on the document "numerous times, and read the executive summary."

Other candidates were not available for comment Monday.

The National Intelligence Estimate concluded that the United States had "compelling evidence" that Iraq was restarting its efforts to develop a nuclear bomb and had concealed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons from U.N. inspectors after the cease-fire that ended the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

That was wrong, but that wasn't established until after a U.S. -led army toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003.

The intelligence report did contain passages that raised questions about the weapons conclusions, said John McLaughlin, then deputy director of the CIA.

"I think if someone read the entire report, they would walk away thinking the intelligence community generally thinks he has weapons of mass destruction, but there are quite a bit of differences," he said.