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Posted on 10/13/2003 3:58:58 PM PDT by Brian S
Bush Insists He's 'In Charge' of Iraq Policy
Mon October 13, 2003 06:10 PM ET
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Monday rejected complaints from some members of Congress that he needs to assert more control over Iraq policy, saying, "The person who is in charge is me."
A key Republican lawmaker, Indiana's Sen. Richard Lugar, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Sunday that "the president has to be president" as top advisers appeared to disagree over Iraq.
Bush gave a series of television interviews on Monday to regional news outlets as part of a public relations offensive to underscore progress being made in Iraq and defend the U.S.-led invasion in the face of doubts about the wisdom of invading Iraq and failure to find weapons of mass destruction.
"The person who is in charge is me," Bush told Tribune Broadcasting when asked about the infighting and who was in charge.
Bush said his administration had a strategy and it was being carried out by the U.S. civil administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, whose nickname is Jerry.
"In all due respect to politicians here in Washington, D.C., who make comments, they're just wrong about our strategy. We've had a strategy from the beginning, Jerry Bremer is running the strategy and we are making very good progress about the establishment of a free Iraq," Bush said.
In the interviews, Bush said the war was justified because Saddam Hussein represented a "gathering threat" and, contrary to U.S. media reports, progress is being made in Iraq, with hospitals and schools operating.
"A good peace after World War II meant that Germany and Japan were friends, and the world was better off for it, and so was America. I view this as an historic parallel," Bush told Belo Broadcasting.
Ideological differences within Bush's inner circle have led to frictions. Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are more hawkish and inclined toward unilateral action and have disagreed with Secretary of State Colin Powell, who prefers a more multilateral policy.
TENSIONS IN THE OPEN
The tensions spilled into the open last week when Rumsfeld complained he was not consulted about creation of the "Iraq Stabilization Group" to lead the Iraq reconstruction effort, headed by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Many in Washington saw the move as a diminution of Rumsfeld's authority in Iraq amid rising concern about postwar chaos. The White House said the reason was to ensure smooth coordination of Iraqi reconstruction with Congress expected to approve $20 billion for the effort.
In addition, at a time when Bush is seeking international support for postwar Iraq, Cheney gave a speech on Friday in which he said opponents of the U.S.-led war favored "doing exactly nothing."
Lugar told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Bush had to take control of the policy.
"That means the president over the vice president, and over these secretaries" of state and defense, he said. And he said Rice "cannot carry that burden alone."
Bush, whose job approval ratings have fallen to about the 50 percent level, the lowest since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, told Tribune Broadcasting he was not worried about the polls with little more than a year left until Election Day.
"If the people don't think I'm doing my job, they'll find somebody they think ... can, that's my attitude," Bush said. "Look, I just don't make decisions on polls and I can't worry about polls."
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This headline makes one wonder why they didn't just come out and say "Bush Denies That He's Not In Charge."
-PJ
CLINTON IN CHARGE OF POLICY IN IRAQ
"People think he's dimwit because..."
And I take it you agree with their assessment?
President Bush announces the SGSI, the Strategic Golf Stick Initiative, on the 18th hole at Andrews AFB. The Secretary of the Auld Game, Tiger Woods, was on a fact finding mission in Scotland during the unveiling of the multi-billion dollar program.
(Humor me folks, it has been a tough Monday for everyone).
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