John Kerry (news - web sites) addresses participants and supporters of Operation RAW (Rapid American Withdrawal) in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on September 7, 1970. REUTERS/Bernie Nunez
Posted on 03/17/2004 10:22:34 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON -
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites) on Wednesday marked the first anniversary of the war in Iraq (news - web sites) by criticizing President Bush (news - web sites) for failed policies "with no end in sight" as Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) defended the administration.
"Today we know that the mission is not finished, hostilities have not ended, and our men and women in uniform fight on almost alone with the target squarely on their backs," Kerry said at George Washington University. "Every day they face danger and death from suicide bombers, roadside bombers, and now, ironically, from the very Iraqi police they are training."
Kerry said Bush's use of the armed services has been reckless and has left the military spread far too thin.
"We are still bogged down in Iraq and the administration stubbornly holds to failed policies that drive potential allies away. What we have seen is a steady loss of lives and mounting cost in dollars with no end in sight," he said. "The lesson here is fundamental: At times, conflict comes, and the decision must be made. For a president, the decision may be lonely, but that does not mean that America should go it alone."
The invasion of Iraq began March 19, 2003. The administration was marking the anniversary with a series of speeches contending that overthrowing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) had made the world safer.
Speaking at the Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) Library in California, Cheney was contrasting Kerry with Bush in national security terms. "The American people will have a clear choice in the election of 2004 — at least as clear as any since the election of 1984," the vice president said in prepared remarks.
"American policy must be clear and consistent in its purposes. And American leaders — above all the commander in chief — must be confident in our nation's cause, and unwavering until the danger to our people is fully and finally removed," Cheney said.
The president's re-election campaign also was renewing its criticism of Kerry's foreign policy and his vote against funds for the war.
"John Kerry's rhetoric is completely detached from the reality of his voting record," said Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for the Bush-Cheney campaign. Citing the Massachusetts senator's votes against pay increases for military personnel, military housing, body armor, armored Humvees and health care benefits for reservists, Schmidt said, "Almost everything he claimed to support in his speech he has voted against when it counted on the Senate floor.
Kerry was proposing a "Military Families Bill of Rights" for fully funded health care and other benefits for veterans, faulting Bush for failing to uphold promises to those who served in the armed forces. He was to be joined during the speech in Washington by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (news - web sites) and former Defense Secretary William Perry.
Contending veterans were "the neglected soldiers of America," Kerry said proposals by the Bush administration would drive 500,000 veterans from the health care system of the Veterans Administration by 2005.
Kerry, a decorated Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, said supporting veterans touches on the character of the nation and its people. "To me, guaranteeing these rights and organizing our armed forces accordingly is personal, it is in my soul and it's been a large part of my life," he said.
The speech was part of Kerry's effort to cast his campaign in terms of his war-hero background and, at the same time, deflect criticism over his vote in the Senate against an $87 billion funding bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites). He also has been criticized for his assertion that some foreign leaders hope he defeats Bush in November.
Kerry also got the endorsement of former Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili.
Bush and Cheney have joined Republicans demanding that Kerry identify the leaders, but Kerry has refused.
At least one foreign leader, Spain's Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, had indicated his dislike of Bush's policies during the Spanish election campaign when he said he hoped Kerry would win in November. The International Herald Tribune recently quoted Zapatero as saying, "We're aligning ourselves with Kerry. Our allegiance will be for peace, against war, no more deaths for oil, and for a dialogue between the government of Spain and the new Kerry administration."
John Kerry (news - web sites) addresses participants and supporters of Operation RAW (Rapid American Withdrawal) in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on September 7, 1970. REUTERS/Bernie Nunez
The sad thing is,, That won't happen.. & The good thing is,, That won't happen. ;-)
He needs to be asked what "allies" he's talking about. He's been getting a free ride.
Or just say, "What specifically should we give France to join us?"
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