Jerry Nadler: “And tragically that is going to continue. But Iraq is essentially, despite the fact that we are spending $200 billion so…”

“And tragically that is going to continue. But Iraq is essentially, despite the fact that we are spending $200 billion so far, despite the fact that 1,000 Americans so far have been killed and 6 or 7,000 wounded, Iraq is a side show in the war of terrorism that is being waged against us by the Islamic jihadists and we are not directing our attention and our resources toward where they are really needed because we are diverted by Iraq. As I said before, Saddam Hussein was not a real threat to this country. He had terrible will, he had terrible intentions; but we had him contained. He did not have the weapons. He did not have the capability. We had him contained with the no-fly zones, and we had him deterred. The real threat to the United States in the Middle East is Iran, because Iran is not a fascist dictatorship. Iran is a religious fanatic dictatorship. Religious fanatics cannot be deterred. You cannot deter a suicide bomber. If Saddam Hussein had gotten nuclear weapons, which he was nowhere near getting, the CIA said 7 to 10 years, and we knew that before we attacked them. But had he gotten nuclear weapons, deterrence would have stopped him from using them, because he was a fascist dictator, not a religious fanatic, and he did not want to just kill himself and his whole country.”