Posted on 04/14/2004 4:14:33 PM PDT by NewHampshireDuo
Members of Maine's congressional delegation offered a mix of reactions to President Bush's press conference Tuesday night, with Democratic Rep. Tom Allen critical and the state's two Republican senators generally supportive.
"This president is incapable of admitting a mistake," Allen, who represents Maine's 1st Congressional District, said in an interview after the press conference. "He simply avoids the question when it's asked. And therefore it's hard to have confidence that he has learned anything from this experience."
Allen also said the president "has a shallow understanding of the enemy, which is violent anti-Western Islamic fundamentalism - not an exploding bomb, not the act of terrorism itself."
Allen compared the president's approach to an anti-crime strategy that says "the way to eliminate crime is catch all criminals and put them in jail, and then there will be no more crime. In this case, we will capture or kill all the terrorists and then there will be no more terrorism, and that in my view is a shallow understanding of the enemy."
Rather, he said, the nation should "strengthen the hands of the moderates."
Sen. Olympia Snowe said in a written statement that the president "expressed in no uncertain terms that we must remain resolute in bringing stability to Iraq, a nation that has lived under the heavy cloak of brutality for 35 years."
Snowe, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, noted that military leaders have requested additional troops, and said, "It is imperative that our nation provide the military the necessary resources for it to fulfill its mission.
"As our men and women in uniform have sacrificed so much in their service to our nation, we must also ensure that troop deployments are fairly distributed across our armed forces," she said.
Snowe said the president "understands that the overall performance of our intelligence community must be improved," and that "we must understand both the events and the conditions that led to the attacks of September 11th so we will not be condemned to relive the single greatest tragedy on American soil since Pearl Harbor."
Snowe's Republican colleague, Sen. Susan Collins, said in a written statement that "I agree with the president that it is imperative for our country to demonstrate resolve in Iraq. I also am pleased to hear the president state that he is talking with . . . commanders about the number of troops necessary to do the job as safely and effectively as possible."
The senator wrote, though, that "the answer to the need for more troops is not to extend the tours of duty of National Guard members and reservists . . . and we should redouble our efforts to urge other countries to join the effort to bring security and freedom to Iraq."
The accompanying on line poll asks "President Bush gave a press conference last night and said he is ready to increase American troop strength in Iraq. While some praised the President, others said he should have admitted that his administration made mistakes both in Iraq and in interpreting pre-September 11 intelligence. Do you think the President should have apologized or admitted mistakes were made?"
The "no" votes are slightly ahead.
When military action is taken, mistakes ALWAYS occur. That is the nature of the business. Perhaps the word mistake is wrong. Unforeseen events always happen when military force is used. This is not the same thing as a mistake.
I find it absolutely amazing that the press corp expects President Bush to admit error for the x-factor that is inherant in warfare. It's like we are arguing with six-year olds.
Oh well, one can only hope thier idiocy is unveiled to the general public.
Good post duo!
One of them said that if he had told the President about something like the passenger plane fuel bomb scenario, he would have been asked to take a real long vacation - for the rest of his career.
So my question to Rep. Tom Allen is simply this: We've been warned, Tom. What is your and Mr. Kerry's plan to deal with 8-10 nuked American cities? Do we try to stop it, or do we sweep up the radioactive pieces?
What a yellow piece of dog excrement.
Why is this an issue with a Democrap? Clinton never admitted sex with Monica! Never admitted it was a mistake for Waco, for the 1st trade center bombing, the massacre in in Africa, the bombing of a Chinese embassy in Bosnia or an asprin factory in Sudan, or raping Juanita Broadrick, or sexually harassing 8 women while president, or appologize for lying about his affair with Monica, and so on. did he ever apologize or learn? Sen. Allen, look in the mirror. You'll see the reflection of a hypocratical schmuck looking back.
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