Bill Clinton: “Well, there have been many thoughtful public pieces-- a lot of very thoughtful articles which have been written about…”

“Well, there have been many thoughtful public pieces-- a lot of very thoughtful articles which have been written about the limits, as well as the possibilities, of any kind of military action. I think the precise question should be--that I should have to ask and answer--is could any military action, if all else fails, substantially reduce or delay Saddam Hussein's capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and to deliver them on his neighbors. The answer to that, I am convinced, is yes. I am convinced there is a yes answer there. But you have to understand that those are the criteria for me. I've told you before, I don't believe we need to refight the Gulf war. It's history. It happened. That's the way it is. I don't believe we need to get into a direct war with Iraq over the leadership of the country. Do I think the country would be better served if it had a different leader? Of course I do. That's not the issue. The issue is that very sharp question, if the inspection regime is dead and therefore we cannot continue to make progress on getting the stuff out of there in the first place, and then--keep in mind there are two things about this regime. There's the progress on getting the stuff out of there in the first place, and then there is the monitoring system, which enables people on a regular basis to go back to high- probability sites to make sure nothing is happening to rebuild it. So if that is dead, is there an option which would permit us to reduce and/or delay his capacity to bring those weapons up and to deliver them? I think the answer to that is yes, there is an option that would permit that. Do you want to ask one more question? Personal Integrity and Public Responsibility”