In TV Interviews, Senator Clinton Criticizes Bush's Handling of Iraq

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York sharply criticized President Bush's policies in Iraq during an unusual series of back-to-back appearance on the Sunday morning talk shows.

Mrs. Clinton, a Democrat, argued that the Bush administration had failed to prepare adequately for the task of restoring order in Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

Appearing on the ABC News program "This Week," Mrs. Clinton suggested that the administration was now altering its plans for a new government in Iraq in search of "some kind of exit strategy, some kind of transition before our elections." She also accused the White House of deceiving the public about how much money and time would be required to reconstruct Iraq.

"I think that the administration has, from the very beginning, not leveled with the American people," she said on the NBC News program "Meet the Press." "If we're going to undertake these kinds of very difficult missions, we should level with people about cost and time."

But the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., said on "Fox News Sunday" that Mrs. Clinton was "clearly mistaken."

"What drives our policy in Iraq are the Iraqi people and their needs and the desire for greater security," Mr. Card said. He added, "We're going to get out of there as quickly as we can, but not before we finish the mission at hand."

Later, on the CBS News program "Face the Nation," Mrs. Clinton singled out Mr. Bush. "I think that one of the missing elements in our strategy thus far has been the president and the administration leveling with the American people about what it is we're up against, how long it's going to take, how much it's going to cost," she said.

Mrs. Clinton's aides said she went on television to discuss the recent visit she and Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, made to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Reed are on the Armed Services Committee.

Mrs. Clinton used her appearances on Sunday to rebut Republican critics who had said she played politics with her trip to Iraq. Specifically, they said she showed poor judgment by voicing policy differences with the administration in the presence of United States forces.

Mrs. Clinton dismissed those assertions with language reminiscent of when, as first lady, she spoke of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" out to destroy her husband's presidency. "Let me correct the record," she said. "I know that's the latest flaming charge by the right wing. But that's not what happened.

"What happened is that when I was in Afghanistan and Iraq, speaking with a lot of our soldiers, who I think are doing an extraordinary job under dangerous and difficult circumstances, they asked me on one particular occasion, `Well, you know, what do people think of us and what we're doing back home?' "

"I'm not going to lie to an American soldier, particularly a soldier in the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, New York," she continued. "And what I said is: `I think you have universal support among the American people. They cannot be prouder of you. And there are questions being raised about the administration's policies.' "

Mrs. Clinton's appearance on "This Week" was the first time the program's host, George Stephanopoulos, had managed to book her. Mr. Stephanopoulos was a chief adviser to former President Bill Clinton, and Mrs. Clinton was said to have been enraged with Mr. Stephanopoulos for writing an insider account of his years in the White House.

I won't comment much on the weird phrase that begins this article - Senator Clinton "of New York" - which for some reason really stood out for me, as in wouldn't it have made more sense to just say "New York Senator Clinton" unless they were trying to make some kind of point by doing that - but the two paragraphs I highlighted are amazing.

Look at the first one. She says "a lot of our soldiers...they asked me." Compare that to the next paragraph, in which "they" suddenly becomes "a soldier in the 10th Mountain Division...."

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but this looks like one soldier may (if you believe her) have asked the question, and she portrays it as hordes and hordes of soldiers beseeching her for reassurance that we won't just abandon them. Also, doesn't this excerpt clearly imply that she would more readily lie to a soldier from out of New York, and to civilians? Isn't that just weird for a US Senator?

I know she lies, but for her to be caught in this way intrigues me.

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