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Kerry looking for new advantage on Iraq
Houston Chronicle ^ | September 19, 2004 | Washington Post

Posted on 09/19/2004 12:07:42 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

WASHINGTON - Democratic challenger John Kerry plans an aggressive attack on President Bush and his policies in Iraq, seeking to put the president on the defensive over an issue that has plagued Kerry's candidacy for months.

Bush has tried to emphasize Iraq's progress toward democracy, but events there have undermined that message in a week that has included car bombings, kidnappings and more U.S. casualties. Kerry advisers said they have concluded that they must engage directly on Iraq, despite their hopes of shifting attention to the economy, health care and other domestic issues, and say that renewed concerns among the American public about the situation in Iraq provide a fresh opening to challenge Bush more directly.

Taking a new tack Kerry began the attack Thursday, charging that Bush continues to mislead the country on Iraq, and will escalate that criticism in the coming week. "He has led us into a situation that is more dangerous and destabilizing with each passing day, whether the president is willing to admit that or not," said Kerry senior adviser Joe Lockhart.

With some Kerry advisers convinced he cannot win a debate on whether the United States should have gone to war, given Bush's relentless attacks on Kerry for shifting his positions on the war, the Massachusetts senator has settled on two-phase plan to refocus the debate. Aides say he will first challenge the president's optimistic assessment of conditions in Iraq and then draw a sharp contrast with Bush over getting the United States out of the country within four years.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bush; campaign; election; kerry; kerryiraq; kerrystrategy; terrorists; wot
Kerry is banking that the terrorists are going to raise the level of violence to help get him elected. We're seeing anti-war, bring the troops home, Vietnam quagmire Kerry ala VVAW in full politcal battle garb. It worked for him once and he is taking the same route again. To have this man, a man who never met a communist he didn't like or support; a man who repeatedly voted against defense bills, as our president and commander in chief is beyond belief.

Terrorists are also trying to stop the election process in Afghanistan and Iraq.

***....America and many nations are also building a better world by standing with the liberated peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan, as they move toward democracy. More than 10 million Afghan citizens have now registered to vote in next month's election. Iraq is approaching free elections in January. Terrorist enemies are trying to stop the progress of both those countries, and their violent and merciless attacks may increase as elections draw near. But all the world can be certain: America and our allies will keep our commitments to the Afghan and Iraqi people. Our long-term security -- the safety of our children and grandchildren -- will be served when the broader Middle East is home to stable, democratic governments that fight terror. ...***President Bush's radio address (text)

1 posted on 09/19/2004 12:07:43 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Kerry is sick. What is bad for America is good for him. What is good, hurts Kerry.


2 posted on 09/19/2004 12:10:01 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Who would the terrorists vote for?)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

..'by January'..'within 6 months'..'within four years'...kerry will undo himself again..AND Bush can point to Kerry's pessimism, talk up the American fighting man, and if kerry gets traction, ask, is kerry going back to his 1971 days and say the American troops need a leader, not a wobbler and bring Zell back. Man, the possibilities are endless....


3 posted on 09/19/2004 12:14:16 AM PDT by madison46 (Bandwagon was full when it left the gate - I hope it remains too full for frogs & co.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
By John Kerry telling the National Guardsman on Thursday that President Bush lied to them and placed them in harms way for no reason, he basically did what he did back in 1971 when he said war crimes were being committed with the full knowledge of all levels of command.

John Kerry is an opportunist who doesn't care one bit who he craps on, as long as it benefits him

4 posted on 09/19/2004 12:14:33 AM PDT by MJY1288 (John Kerry Says He Can Do a Better Job of Implementing President Bush's Policies :-))
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To: Jet Jaguar; All
An educator an American and a Kerry voter.

***...Amid all this hopelessness, I gingerly offer an analysis which, while not quite tongue-in-cheek, may be double edged at best. It's the best I can do before Scotty beams me up. Antiwar writers from Cockburn to Jensen and Jacobs and others describe an antiwar movement in disarray, and they are certainly on point. But it helps to reassess some of the successes we have wrested from The Beast that is Empire. Jacobs points out that it would be foolish to think that any movement could "force Washington's hand into pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan before Inauguration Day, 2005." But stopping the war outright was an equally daunting task. Instead of moping, we should be taking credit for the alienation and isolation that put the U.S. in its current corner. ...Source

5 posted on 09/19/2004 12:20:09 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: madison46; MJY1288

Bump!


6 posted on 09/19/2004 12:20:57 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Well, about the only thing he hasn't done...

Next week Kerry and his old crew will put back on their Vietnam uniforms and pilot their Swift Boat across the sands of Iraq.

7 posted on 09/19/2004 12:22:41 AM PDT by CWOJackson
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Bump that. Wow.


8 posted on 09/19/2004 12:26:14 AM PDT by Jet Jaguar (Who would the terrorists vote for?)
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To: CWOJackson

Maybe he can go to Washington and throw his medals over the fence. Oh wait! He did that already. Or did he? I get so confused at times.


9 posted on 09/19/2004 12:28:56 AM PDT by Marak
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

So Kerry's going anti-war. It didn't work for McGovern, but hey, McGovern wasn't from Boston. Maybe it takes a life-time leftist from Boston to convince the American electorate that we need an anti-war president.


10 posted on 09/19/2004 12:31:16 AM PDT by samtheman (www.swiftvets.com)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

The fact of the matter is that John Kerry and the Democrat Party in not getting fully behind our commander-in-chief in the conduct of the war on terror have given aid and comfort to our enemies. They have emboldened the terrorists to continue fighting and killing/wounding Iraq/Afghanistan citizens, our allies, innocent bystanders and most of all our own military folks. There are plenty of "other" issues the Democrats could argue about, but they have chosen and continue to go forward with a policy of division that smacks of treason. I consider every Democrat a "traitor", and hold them responsible for deaths and injuries that need not have occurred to our troops if the United States had gone forward as one nation, united, in working for the defeat of the terrorists seeking to destroy our freedom and security. I urge every single American to vote against John Kerry and the Democrat Party on November 2nd. The current Democrat Party must be destroyed at the ballot box this year!!!


11 posted on 09/19/2004 12:31:37 AM PDT by JLAGRAYFOX
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

McGovernite, John Kerry - Loser


12 posted on 09/19/2004 12:31:45 AM PDT by gpapa
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Karen and I read this. Our only response it that we Hope to God that this vermin does not see the the day of the White House of the Republic of the United States of America. Six former Davis's are going to vomit in their graves if this BASTARD "takes the oath of office." My brother would take a Huey and... nevermind. Lots of military in the family that hates this freepin bastard. Sorry for the words. So much emotion. We're cryin'. Night for now.


13 posted on 09/19/2004 12:34:49 AM PDT by Cobra64 (Babes should wear Bullet Bras - www.BulletBras.net)
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To: JLAGRAYFOX
***The fact of the matter is that John Kerry and the Democrat Party in not getting fully behind our commander-in-chief in the conduct of the war on terror have given aid and comfort to our enemies. They have emboldened the terrorists to continue fighting and killing/wounding Iraq/Afghanistan citizens, our allies, innocent bystanders and most of all our own military folks. ...***

Kerry is turning his nose up at Americans while Bush is fighting terrorists.

14 posted on 09/19/2004 12:35:55 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cobra64
Poll: Bush ahead in six 'red' swing states
15 posted on 09/19/2004 12:48:48 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Its just like John F*ckin' not to listen to Clinton to stay away from Vietnam and Iraq. Well, he's made his own funeral. All he can say is everything is going wrong. The flaw in his strategy is he can't tell the American people HOW he would handle the situation in Iraq differently than President Bush. And therein lies the difficulty in seeking an advantage on issue on which Kerry has NO clear and consistent position.


16 posted on 09/19/2004 3:51:57 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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Comment #17 Removed by Moderator

To: nohangups
"In all honesty, he probably couldn't handle the current situation in Iraq much worse than Bush is doing right now. I don't think you realize what a mess currently is. And a lot of it is because of much much too optimistic thinking by the Bush adminstration."

Specifics please. What are you talking about? Where did you get your information?

18 posted on 09/19/2004 5:10:11 AM PDT by VoteHarryBrowne2000 (Mad as Zell!)
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To: JLAGRAYFOX

BTTT


19 posted on 09/19/2004 7:08:49 AM PDT by AF68
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