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Clinton: Democratic Iraq could promote reform Friday, June 25, 2004 Posted: 10:18 AM EDT (1418 GMT) LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Although he doesn't agree with the way
President Bush invaded Iraq without waiting for weapons inspections to
be completed, former President Bill Clinton said Thursday a democratic
Iraq could be a catalyst for reform in the Middle East. "It may take four or five years, but if they [Iraq] can succeed
at self-governance and observing basic human rights and treat the Sunni,
the Shia and the Kurds fairly, if they can do this, it might be a positive
thing to promote reform throughout the Arab world," Clinton said
on CNN's "Larry King Live." The former president indicated he might have played things differently
regarding Iraq if he had been in office. "I think we should have let Mr. [Hans] Blix finish the inspections,"
Clinton said. "I knew this was going to be quite a project, so I [would have]
preferred to let the weapons inspection play out and put more military
personnel and more effort into Afghanistan to stabilize Mr. [Hamid] Karzai
and try to get [Osama] bin Laden." He said a top priority should be turning over sovereignty to a representative
government in Iraq as soon as possible. "On the other hand, I wouldn't just pull up and leave there if I
thought it was going to cause the whole thing to disintegrate," Clinton
told King. "Would it?" King asked. "Probably," the former president replied. "Unless there
were a multinational force to go in and take our place." Clinton's interview came two days after the launch of his memoir, "My
Life," which sold 400,000 copies the first day, according to Knopf
Publishing Group. Knopf, which originally shipped 1.5 million copies to stores, has ordered
a second printing of 725,000 copies. In his memoir, the former president recounts his life growing up, his
presidency and -- what many critics and fans alike wanted to read -- his
explanation of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Clinton has already sparked criticism for writing that he had the relationship
with Lewinsky "because I could." "Everybody who reads it in the book will see that I was rebuking
myself, not being flippant," he told King. "I knew better than to do it. I didn't really want to do it at some
level, but I could do it. It was there, and I did it," Clinton said. "So when I say I did it because I could, ... if you take it out
of context, it sounds jolting, it's snippy, arrogant and unfeeling toward
Monica Lewinsky, or my family, or anyone else; that is not what I meant. "I said that hoping that a lot of young people ... would guard against
making decisions just because they could," Clinton said. Besides promoting his book this summer, Clinton said he might do some
more campaigning for presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry, if
he is asked. "I know John Kerry well, and I believe he'd be a good president,"
he said. "I think he has a lot of good qualities, not just because
he agrees with me, but psychologically he's well-suited to be president." "I would do everything I could -- that I was asked to do. I think
there's a certain amount that's appropriate and a certain amount that
might be counterproductive," Clinton said. Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter have already appeared at a
"unity rally" for the candidate, he said. Clinton ticked off a list of attributes he said make Kerry fit for the
presidency. "He's not afraid to be around people who know more than him on certain
subjects. That's good. He's always trying to learn more and do better.
That's good," Clinton said. "He won't punish people who sit in the Oval Office and look at him
dead in the eyes and say, 'Mr. President, I think you're wrong about this.
I disagree.' And that's good. Especially now." He went on to explain that because the world is in such a state of change
and turmoil, the president should be open-minded and seek a variety of
opinions. "When you have a lot of things up in the air, it's very important
that the president encourage difference of opinion, honest debate and
keep looking for more truth," he said. The comment was an apparent jab at Bush, who presents himself as unwavering
and consistent amid the complexities of a post-September 11 world. The
attribute is perceived as one of Bush's strengths. Clinton also will visit Seattle, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Denver, Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; Miami,
Florida; and his home state of Arkansas.
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