PORT TOWNSEND — Norm Dicks came to town Saturday at the request of the Port Townsend Peace Movement.
But the war in Iraq was only one issue on the minds of the 162 people who attended Dicks’ morning town hall meeting.
“There was a wide range of questions,” said Karen Gates Hildt, who moderated the 90-minute meeting.
Dicks, D-Bremerton, whose 6th District includes the North Olympic Peninsula, was invited to Port Townsend last August by the peace activists, according to Bob Schultz, the group’s legislative coordinator.
So the war in Iraq opened Saturday’s session.
Why did so many Democrats, Dicks included, support President Bush’s decision to go to war?
“I believe the administration relied on intelligence that was flawed and inaccurate,” Dicks said.
But he added: “The world is going to be better off without Saddam Hussein. I believe he is one of the most despicable leaders of our time.”
Dicks then deftly fielded questions and comments from more than 30 people who lined up before two microphones.
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The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News.