If you're like me, it can be hard to get fired up about something John McCain says, but earlier this evening I spent twenty-something minutes watching John McCain's October, 2002 Senate floor speech in favor of launching a preemptive war against Iraq.

It was chilling. John McCain is a war hero, but his foreign policy judgment is both terrifying and dangerous. Despite his protestations to the contrary, it's impossible to watch this speech and not come to the conclusion that he is a trigger-happy war monger.

Here's a video of key parts of the speech, which you can read here. The video is a bit over seven minutes long, but if you've got time it's worth watching, and sending to a friend. I've also posted some thoughts and essential quotes from the speech below the video.

What stunned me most was that oil played a crucial role in McCain's rationale. Speaking of Saddam Hussein, he said: "his ambitions lie not in Baghdad, or Tikrit, or Basra, but in the deserts of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia." Explaining the reluctance of other powers to support the war, McCain said that Saddam had dangled "the prospect of oil contracts for friendly foreign powers."

Finally, McCain said, "We contemplate military action to end his rule because allowing him to remain in power, with the resources at his disposal, would intolerably and inevitably risk American interests in a region of the world where threats to those interests affect the whole world."

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Here are key quotations from McCain's speech (full text here):

It is a question of...whether our morality and security give us cause to fire the first shot in this battle.

[Saddam Hussein's] ambitions lie not in Baghdad, or Tikrit, or Basra, but in the deserts of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

He knows how to play for time, and how to exploit divisions within the international community, greased by the prospect of oil contracts for friendly foreign powers.

He is using opponents of war in America, including well-intentioned individuals who honestly believe inspections represent an alternative to war, to advance his own ends, sowing divisions within our ranks that encourage reasonable people to believe he may be sincere.

The burden is not on America to justify going to war. The burden is Saddam Hussein's, to justify why his regime should continue to exist as long as its continuing existence threatens the world. Giving peace a chance only gives Saddam Hussein more time to prepare for war - on his terms, at a time of his choosing, in pursuit of ambitions that will only grow as his power to achieve them grows.

I do not believe the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime will be eliminated until he is removed from power. Congress made the same point in 1998 when we passed the Iraq Liberation Act, which made regime change in Baghdad a priority of American policy.

It's a safe assumption that Iraqis will be grateful to whoever is responsible for securing their freedom. Perhaps that is what truly concerns some of our Gulf War allies: that among the consequences of regime change in Iraq might be a stronger demand for self-determination from their own people.

I commend the President for making a strong case for bringing Iraq into compliance with its international obligations to the United Nations. ... The President was right to tell our friends and allies on the Council that if it does not act, America will. Diplomacy is important, and I welcome the diplomatic campaign the Administration is waging to solicit the support of other nations. At the end of the day, we will not wage this war alone.

We contemplate military action to end his rule because allowing him to remain in power, with the resources at his disposal, would intolerably and inevitably risk American interests in a region of the world where threats to those interests affect the whole world.

Failure to end the danger posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq makes it more likely that the interaction we believe to have occurred between members of al Qaeda and Saddam's regime may increasingly take the form of active cooperation to target the United States.

By voting to give the President the authority to wage war, we assume and share his responsibility for the war's outcome. Others have neither that burden nor that privilege. We have a choice. The men and women who wear the uniform of our country, and who might lose their lives in service to our cause, do not. They will do their duty, as we see fit to define it for them.

Our enemies are weaker than we are in men and arms, but weaker still in causes. They fight to express an irrational hatred for all that is good in humanity, a hatred that has fallen time and again to the armies and ideals of the righteous. We fight for love of freedom and justice, a love that is invincible. We will never surrender. They will. All we must do is stay true to our faith.