Kristol was a leading proponent of the Iraq War . In 1998 , he joined other foreign policy analysts in sending a letter to President Clinton urging a stronger posture against Iraq . Kristol argued that Saddam Hussein posed a grave threat to the United States and its allies : " The only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction . In the near term , this means a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing . In the long term , it means removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power . That now needs to become the aim of American foreign policy . " In the 2000 presidential election , Kristol supported John McCain . Answering a question from a PBS reporter about the Republican primaries , he said , " No . I had nothing against Governor Bush . I was inclined to prefer McCain . The reason I was inclined to prefer McCain was his leadership on foreign policy . " After the Bush administration developed its response to September 11 , 2001 attacks , Kristol said , " We 've just been present at a very unusual moment , the creation of a new American foreign policy . " Kristol ardently supported the Bush administration 's decision to go to war with Iraq . In 2003 , he and Lawrence Kaplan wrote '' The War Over Iraq , '' in which he described reasons for removing Saddam . Kristol rejected comparisons to Vietnam and predicted a " two month war , not an eight year war " during a March 28 C-SPAN appearance
September 11 , 2001 attacks
September 11 attacks
Bill Kristol