Posted on 02/19/2005 11:03:06 AM PST by neverdem
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:01 p.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday a string of attacks killing more than 50 Iraqis in two days were failed attempts to sow sectarian strife and destabilize the country.
Clinton, a New York Democrat, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., were part of a five-member congressional delegation that met with U.S. officials and members of Iraq's interim government.
Both Clinton and McCain have been strident critics of the Pentagon's planning and management of the war in Iraq. But Clinton said Saturday that Sunni Muslim insurgents were failing in their efforts to destabilize Iraq through sectarian violence.
Her comments came as numerous suicide bombings and other insurgent attacks across Iraq killed dozens of people, Iraqi officials said, as Shiite Muslim worshippers celebrated their holiest day of the year. A U.S. soldier was among those killed in the attacks, the military said.
On Friday, insurgents staged five attacks killing at least 36 people and Shiites blamed radical Sunni Muslim insurgents for attacking them in a string of bombings, shootings and kidnappings.
Authorities had hoped to prevent a repeat of last year's attacks during the Ashoura festival when insurgent blasts killed at least 181 people in Karbala and Baghdad.
Clinton said insurgents had also failed to disrupt Iraq's landmark Jan. 30 elections, won by the Shiite clergy-backed ticket. The United Iraqi Alliance won 140 seats in the 275-seat National Assembly.
``Not one polling place was shut down or overrun and the fact that you have these suicide bombers now, wreaking such hatred and violence while people pray, is to me, an indication of their failure,'' she said.
``The results of the election are a strong rebuke to those who did not believe that the Iraqi people would take this opportunity to demonstrate their own commitment to their own future.''
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said he did not believe the U.S. military would leave Iraq anytime soon.
``How long I don't know, but to leave too soon would be devastating to stay too long is unnecessary,'' Graham said. ``I ask the American people to be patient, because what happens here will affect our security back home.''
McCain said the U.S. military presence was tied to the numbers of casualties taken by American forces, but he was heartened by the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.
``We have a long hard difficult struggle ahead of us and I'm far more optimistic now,'' McCain said.
In December, McCain said he had ``no confidence'' in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, but he added that keeping Rumsfeld in the position was President Bush's choice, not his.
The delegation also was briefed by U.S. Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who is leading the effort to create an independent Iraqi security force, McCain said.
The group had not left the Green Zone, home to Iraqi government institutions and the American and British embassies, because of the security situation, McCain said. They were expected to meet with U.S. troops stationed elsewhere in Iraq on Sunday.
At least 1,476 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The five senators that flew into Iraq included Clinton, McCain, Graham, Maine Republican Susan Collins and Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold.
Geesh, Dane....she IS a Chi-town groupie, a "long-time" Yankee fan, an Arkie, a N.Y.'er, a moderate, a village keeper, a "Land of Lincoln" lover, a futures trader, a "stand-by-her man" woman, a Cubs fan, a cookie baker, and a candlestick maker...fer crying out loud..!!
She's anything and everything she wants to be.....And by gosh don't you question it..!! Just vote for her, man!!
NP. We all seem to be more hyper than usual lately.
Why do you make me tie one arm behind my back to start? LOL!! When was that part of the equation?
Frankly you want to know something...I think Dennis Miller actually could be as fair, if not more fair than 95% of the talking heads on T.V. I've watched him a time or two...and he makes more sense than many people.
Besides that....why are you limiting this to T.V. only?
FWIW-
Someone needs to take the jackass behind the barn and kick his a$$. How Rummy doesn't stand up and pop him one is beyond me.
Perhaps one of these days Rummy will get the chance to Leahy him as Cheney did.
I was reading on the net that Russert even went after her for those comments to the troops last time.
and yet the MSM refuses to expose her fakery.
By the time we reach 2006 the MSM will have her as the one who personally loaded the bullets in the guns of the US troops.
Where was Hilary during viet nam?
Not a single question. She was always on her listening tour, never took questions and never answered questions.
Her opponent dared to walk over to her podium and ask her to sign a pledge and you'd think he attacked her with a samuri sword.
you can easily make you point without calling him a fool, jackass or traitor.........those are the tactics of the liberals......throwing invectives and insults around.
ok......let me ask...if he blasts the President at every opportunity.....why did he campaign for him so strongly and probably bring alot of moderate votes with him.....are you saying Rove and Bush are so shallow that they needed a sore loser to campaign with Bush and deliver a speech at the convention.......you must be alot smarter then Rove is
"Maybe I have such a jaded view of the Hildabeast that I am imagining things."
I'm that way, too. I'm pretty sure that she has, and will again, participate in underhanded and dispicable things behind the scenes that neither you nor I could even BEGIN to imagine, in her quest for power. My main sticking point is her overlooking the fact that her husband is a rapist!
She is one person in which I cannot find a single redeeming quality; and while I like to laugh at the libs as much as the next person, I truly loathe that woman.
I will agree with both of you that McCain is a media whore. Don't confuse my rhetoric with being a McCain supporter. On the other hand, my mission sometimes is for us to disagree but not to eat our own.........if McCain is such a loser, why on earth did Bush and Rove have him campaign for him in many states and also have him as a main speaker at the convention......any names you call me must relate to Rove and Mehlman and Bush as well.....either they appreciate the Repub part of McCain, or they simply "used" him to get what they wanted.......doesn't speak well for them if you are correct....I don't mind being in the same camp as them
See post no. 152
Huh? Anyone calling them a conservative wouldn't even consider voting for the crusty one.
No you can include radio as well. Dennis Miller is more comedy than interview.
You don't think that the terrorists were already thinking that we would withdraw our troops if we suffered too many casualties.
Here are two examples of why John McCain is a traitor:
His comments definitely do not rise to the level of treason.
Exactly. I think that he was stating some fairly obvious points. The terrorists certainly did not learn anything by listening to his comments.
Words do have meaning, which is why I object to lowering the bar for accusing people of treason. Treason is a crime punishable by death and should be reserved for the truly deserving. McCain's comments certainly do not meet that standard.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.