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borgslayer
Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Posts: 2646
Location: Las Vegas
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 Thu Sep 16, 2004 7:06 pm Kerry Attacks Bush |
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| Quote: | September 16, 2004
Democratic Sen. John Kerry on Thursday accused President Bush of failing to tell the truth about the situation in Iraq as the country falls into more violence and chaos with each passing day.
"His own intelligence officials have warned him for weeks that the mission in Iraq is in serious trouble," Kerry told National Guard veterans. "That is the truth, as hard as it is to bear.... I believe you deserve a president who isn't going to gild that truth or gild our national security with politics, who is not going to ignore his own intelligence, who isn't going to live in a different world of spin."
Kerry, speaking from the same stage where Bush appeared two days earlier, said the Republican incumbent "failed that fundamental test of leadership -- he failed to tell you the truth."
"The president stood right here where I'm standing and didn't acknowledge that more than 1,000 men and women have lost their lives in Iraq," said the decorated Vietnam War veteran.
"He didn't tell you that with each passing day, we're seeing more chaos, more violence, indiscriminate killings. He didn't tell you that with each passing week, our enemies are actually getting bolder -- that Pentagon officials report that entire regions of Iraq are now in the hands of terrorists and extremists."
The National Intelligence Council, in a classified document, presented Bush this summer with three gloomy scenarios regarding the security situation in Iraq, including the possibility of a civil war there before the end of 2005.
Bush also faced tough assessments of Iraq from quarters that typically would echo the commander in chief. The head of the Army Reserve said his force of part-time soldiers has yet to fully adapt to the demands of a global war on terrorism. And a Republican senator, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, said the situation in Iraq is deteriorating.
"The worst thing we can do is hold ourselves hostage to some grand illusion that we're winning," said Hagel, a Vietnam War veteran. "Right now we're not winning. Things are getting worse."
As of last week, 165,000 part-time National Guard and Reserve troops were called up on active duty in support of the war on terrorism, including those providing extra security in the United States. At least 175 Guard and Reserve troops have died in Iraq since the invasion was launched in March 2003.
"We're at war, this is a hard war, and we frankly inside the Army Reserve have been not properly prepared for it," Lt. Gen. James Helmly said, adding that he sees some sign of improvement.
Kerry's speech was part of his effort to offer sharper attacks of the president's leadership as the campaign enters its final six weeks. Bush had told the group that Kerry has repeatedly changed and waffled on his own position on the Iraq war. The president said Thursday that Kerry's approach has sent "the wrong signals" to America's troops, allies and enemies.
"What's critical is that the president of the United States speak clearly and consistently at this time of great threat in our world and not change positions because of expediency or pressure," Bush had said.
Bush holds a commanding lead over Kerry among veterans and their families. A recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll said the president was the choice of 58 percent and Kerry 38 percent. Bush, whose National Guard service has been called into question in the campaign, told the veterans he was proud to have served but did not mention the controversy. Neither did Kerry.
A Pew poll released Thursday found that more than 40 percent of Americans say they do not think Bush met his National Guard obligations, a third said he did. But only about half of those who said Bush didn't fulfill his duty said it bothers them.
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
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http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=2309868&nav=15MUQzCF
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Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
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| Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:18 pm |
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Nothing new. Candidates always attack each other. I think it should be banned from elections. Its simply unsporting.
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