Edward Kennedy: This is the wrong war at the wrong time

From a speech given by the Democratic Senator for Massachusetts at the National Press Club in Washington DC

Few would deny that President Bush deserves immense credit for the way he united America and rallied the entire international community after the appalling attacks of 11 September. He offered impressive leadership during the conflict in Afghanistan and in the early months of the continuing battle against al-Qa'ida.

But few can also deny that after that, we squandered too much of the goodwill of the world community because we seemed so intent on immediate, unilateral war with Iraq. Surely, we can have effective relationships with other nations without adopting a "chip on the shoulder" foreign policy – a "my way or the highway" policy that makes all our goals in the world more difficult to achieve.

I continue to be convinced that this is the wrong war at the wrong time. The threat from Iraq is not imminent and will distract America from two more immediate threats: the clear and present danger of terrorism and the North Korea crisis.

The far more likely reality is that an assault against Iraq – especially without broad international support – will not advance the defeat of al-Qa'ida, but undermine it. It will antagonise critical allies and crack the global coalition that came together after 11 September. It will feed a rising tide of anti-Americanism overseas and swell the ranks of al-Qa'ida recruits and sympathisers.

The President says the war on terrorism requires us to tighten our belts. But he refuses to ask the wealthiest taxpayers to share the burden; in fact, he proposes the opposite. In the midst of repeated calls to sacrifice, he is advocating massive new tax breaks primarily for those with the highest incomes. But under the Bush tax plan already enacted, the wealthiest 1 per cent of taxpayers will each save an average of $50,000 a year. Now he proposes to give each of them even more – an additional $25,000 a year. He sees no need for them to share in the national sacrifice. That policy is wrong. We cannot say it is wartime for the rest of America, but still peacetime for the rich.