Letter: Re-examining Clinton on Iraq

Editor, Daily News:

In a letter to the editor, a writer labeling himself as a retired Air Force colonel listed several points which require clarification and correction.

I never voted for Bill Clinton and found his administration faulty on many accounts, but not for the same reasons as the colonel. I believe it is imperative to tell the truth and set the record straight and not present the propaganda of any political party.

After campaigning that Clinton had weakened the defense budget, the first thing President Bush did was to submit Clinton's 2000 defense budget exactly as Clinton had proposed. Bush did not recommend an increase in the defense budget.

The Clinton administration is accused of a pitiful response to the attack on the USS Cole. The attack on the USS Cole was responded to when evidence was secured as to who the guilty parties were.

Reference was made to the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 signed by Clinton in October 1998. The act recommended the application of United Nations resolutions on Iraq and economic sanctions against Iraq. It provided financial support for the opposition parties in Iraq.

A few months later, Clinton sent bombers over Iraq with the intent of knocking out nuclear or chemical weapons. Clinton has frequently stated that the invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration was a mistake.

H.H. Herman , Naples