Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position.
(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party; black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria.)
Chuck Baldwin, Founder and Minister of the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, stated in a May 9, 2008 article titled "Strictly Personal" on www.renewamerica.us:
"I opposed the preemptive invasion of Iraq, and I continue to oppose the occupation of that country. I believe the Bush administration was untruthful about the motivations for going to war with Iraq and continues to deceive the American people to this very day." May 9, 2008 Chuck Baldwin
Bob Barr, former US House Representative (R-GA), in an article titled "Bob Barr on: the Iraq War" on his official candidate website (accessed Aug. 6, 2008), stated:
"The invasion and occupation of Iraq were two separate mistakes, which collectively have cost thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars."
[Editor's Note: Prior to Bob Barr's Aug. 6, 2008 Pro position, his position was Con as indicated in an Oct. 10, 2002 article "Barr Statement on Iraq Resolution" on his US House of Representatives website.]
"Today I voted in favor of the resolution authorizing the President to use U.S. armed forces to defend the national security interests of the United States, because I firmly believe the risks associated with inaction exceed the risks of taking action...
Saddam Hussein has proven he is not above using weapons of mass destruction – he has used them against his own people. If left unchecked, I am certain it will only be a matter of time before he unleashes them on the U.S., either through a direct attack or through funneling weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. We cannot sit idly by and wait for another attack such as the one we suffered on September 11th. We must take the necessary steps to protect the American people. To accomplish this we must give the President the tools he needs to address the threat posed by the Saddam Hussein regime." Oct. 10, 2002 Bob Barr
John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), stated at the Jan. 24, 2008 Republican Presidential Debate held at the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL hosted by the Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC) and the St. Petersburg Times:
"It was worth getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He had used weapons of mass destruction, and it's clear that he was hell-bent on acquiring them...
The war in Iraq is justified because of the threat of Saddam Hussein...
It was a good idea. It was not worth the failures that happened, but it is worth it at the end of the day because we will have peace and success in the Middle East, and our men and women will return, and return with honor, and they won't have to go back and fight al Qaeda there." Jan. 24, 2006 John McCain
Cynthia McKinney, former US House Representative (D-GA), stated in the "Issues: War in Iraq" section of the Cynthia for Congress website (accessed Apr. 10, 2008):
"Two years ago we gathered all across America to say no to war. We were joined by people all over the planet who know that there is an alternative to war. But war is about the only option available when the real motive is to steal natural resources that belong to someone else...
The American people, and our children over there fighting, still haven't been told the real reason the US is at war with the Iraqi people. And against the people the US war machine has turned. Thousands of Iraqis, especially children, have been killed by our sanctions and our bombs. This is an immoral and illegal war and we need to bring our troops home now." Apr. 10, 2008 Cynthia McKinney
Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, wrote in an article titled "President Bush Owes Troops an Apology," posted on The World Can't Wait website (accessed Apr. 10, 2008):
"There will likely be no apologies from Bush/Cheney for putting US soldiers into a fabricated war-quagmire - a disastrous, costly boomeranging invasion." Apr. 10, 2008 Ralph Nader
Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), stated at the Apr. 26, 2007 Democrats' First 2008 Presidential Debate in Orangeburg, SC hosted by the Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC):
"I am proud that I opposed this war from the start, because I thought that it would lead to the some -- the disastrous conditions that we've seen on the ground in Iraq." Apr. 26, 2007 Barack Obama
INACTIVE CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear
below in black and white and in alphabetical order by party.)
Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), stated in a Nov. 29, 2005 letter to constituents on Iraq policy:
"Based on the information that we have today, Congress never would have been asked to give the President authority to use force against Iraq. And if Congress had been asked, based on what we know now, we never would have agreed, given the lack of a long-term plan, paltry international support, the proven absence of weapons of mass destruction, and the reallocation of troops and resources that might have been used in Afghanistan to eliminate Bin Laden and al Qaeda, and fully uproot the Taliban."
[Editor's Note: Prior to Hillary Clinton's Nov. 29, 2005 Pro position statement, her position was Con as indicated in her Dec. 15, 2003 statement in a Council on Foreign Relations article titled "Remarks by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton"]
"I was one who supported giving President Bush the authority, if necessary, to use force against Saddam Hussein. I believe that that was the right vote. I have had many disputes and disagreements with the administration over how that authority has been used, but I stand by the vote to provide the authority because I think it was a necessary step in order to maximize the outcome that did occur in the Security Council with the unanimous vote to send in inspectors. And I also knew that our military forces would be successful." Dec. 15, 2003 Hillary Clinton
John Edwards, former US Senator (D-NC), stated in a Nov. 13, 2005 article titled "The Right Way in Iraq," in the Washington Post:
"I was wrong.
Almost three years ago we went into Iraq to remove what we were told -- and what many of us believed and argued -- was a threat to America. But in fact we now know that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction when our forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda.
It was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002. I take responsibility for that mistake...
The argument for going to war with Iraq was based on intelligence that we now know was inaccurate. The information the American people were hearing from the president -- and that I was being given by our intelligence community -- wasn't the whole story. Had I known this at the time, I never would have voted for this war." Nov. 13, 2005 John Edwards
[Editor's Note: Prior to John Edwards' Nov. 13, 2005 Pro position, his position was Con as indicated in his Oct. 13, 2003 statement on Hardball with Chris Matthews]
"[Chris] Matthews: ...Were we right to go to this war alone, basically without the Europeans behind us? Was that something we had to do?
[John] Edwards: I think that we were right to go. I think we were right to go to the United Nations. I think we couldn't let those who could veto in the Security Council hold us hostage. And I think Saddam Hussein, being gone is good. Good for the American people, good for the security of that region of the world, and good for the Iraqi people...
Matthews: OK. I just want to get one thing straight so that we know how you would have been different in president if you had been in office the last four years as president....Would you have gone to Iraq?
Edwards: I would have gone to Iraq." Oct. 13, 2003 John Edwards
Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, stated at the June 5, 2007 Republican Presidential Debate held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, hosted by the Cable News Network (CNN), WMURTV, and The New Hampshire Union Leader:
"[Tom] Fahey: Mayor Giuliani, same question to you. Knowing what you know right now, was it a good decision [2003 US invasion of Iraq]?
Rudy Giuliani: Absolutely the right thing to do. It's unthinkable that you would leave Saddam Hussein in charge of Iraq and be able to fight the war on terror. And the problem is that we see Iraq in a vacuum. Iraq should not be seen in a vacuum. Iraq is part of the overall terrorist war against the United States." June 5, 2007 Rudy Giuliani
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, in an article titled "Issues: Immigration" on his official candidate website (accessed Dec. 19, Mike Gravel, former US Senator (D-AK), stated in a May 21, 2007 edition of Sunday Spotlight on the Cable News Network (CNN):), stated:
"...[T]he war was wrong and was lost the moment we went in. This is a fraudulent war sold to the American people." May 21, 2007 Mike Gravel
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, at the Jan. 24, 2008 Republican Presidential Debate held at the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL hosted by the Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC) and the St. Petersburg Times, stated:
"I supported the president when he led us into this, as did the Democrats. And I think we owe him not a lot of scorn; we owe him our thanks that he had the courage to recognize there was a potential of weapons of mass destruction, and rather than wait until we had another attack, he went and made sure that it wasn't going to happen from Saddam Hussein.
Now, everybody can look back and say, oh, well, we didn't find the weapons. It doesn't mean they weren't there. Just because you didn't find every Easter egg didn't mean that it wasn't planted.
My point is that when the president acted, this country was united in believing it was a necessary thing to do. It's easy to second-guess a president. Whoever of us is elected, we'll be second- guessed, too. But I hope we have the courage and the resolve, once we commit to something, to make sure that we don't back away just because the polls say we should." Jan. 24, 2008 Mike Huckabee
ProCon.org emailed the Imperato campaign on Dec. 13, 2007 with this question. Mr. Imperato provided a response to this question and 26 others during a recorded 45-minute telephone interview with ProCon.org on Mar. 11, 2008. On Mar. 21, 2008 Mr. Imperato no longer met our eligibility criteria for inclusion on this site, and we stopped transcribing his verbal responses as of that date.
Alan Keyes, former Assistant US Secretary of State, stated in the "Iraq War" section of his official candidate website (accessed Apr. 4, 2008):
"I will not for the moment go into the question of whether it was right or wrong to choose Iraq as some kind of strategic priority in the war against terror. I frankly have said in the past and would say now - and not with the wisdom of hindsight either - it was not what would have been my choice." Apr. 4, 2008Alan Keyes
[Editor's Note: Prior to Alan Keyes' Not Clearly Pro or Con position statement, his position was Con as indicated by his remarks in a Oct. 12, 2004 debate with Barack Obama hosted by Illinois Radio Network:]
"I think that G.W. Bush has done the correct thing. He has moved preemptively in Afghanistan, he moved preemptively in Iraq--acting not on the wisdom of hindsight but on the foresight that is required in order to make sure that the American people will not again suffer even worse damage from this kind of insidious attack. And I think we ought to stay there until our national security purposes are served." Oct. 12, 2004Alan Keyes
Steve Kubby, a Libertarian candidate and founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in an article titled "Foreign Policy and Iraq" on his official candidate website (accessed Feb. 1, 2008):
"The foreign policy issue foremost in most Americans' minds is, of course, the war on Iraq. I oppose it. I opposed it when it was proposed, I opposed it when it began, and I oppose it now...
The war on Iraq was a massive screwup. Continuing to screw up will not unscrew it." Feb. 1, 2008 Steve Kubby
Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Jan. 24, 2008 email to ProCon.org, stated:
"Yes, the Iraq war was started based on faulty intelligence and should never have occurred. Although Sadam deserved to die for the things he had allowed to occur and ordered to occur in his country, Iraq was not a direct threat to our country and should not have been invaded." Jan. 24, 2008 Frank McEnulty
Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), at the Jan. 24, 2008 Republican Presidential Debate held at the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL hosted by the Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC) and the St. Petersburg Times, stated:
"It was a very bad idea, and it wasn't worth it. The al Qaeda wasn't there then; they're there now. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Had nothing to do with 9/11." Jan. 24, 2008 Ron Paul
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated at the Jan. 24, 2008 Republican Presidential Debate at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL hosted by Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC) and the St. Petersburg Times:
"It was the right decision to go into Iraq. I supported it at the time; I support it now.
It was not well managed in the -- after the takedown of Saddam Hussein and his military. That was done brilliantly, an extraordinary success. But in the years that followed, it was not well -- we were undermanaged, underprepared, underplanned, understaffed, and then we come into the phase that we have now. The plan that President Bush and General Petraeus put together is working. It's changing lives there.
And perhaps most importantly, it's making sure that al Qaeda and no other group like them is becoming a superpower, if you will, in the communities, and having a safe haven from which they launch attacks against us." Jan. 24, 2008 Mitt Romney
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