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.
I believe they work together to put on a good front for the good of the Republican party in general. We're also concerned about the good of the Republican party in general. Disagreeing with someone's policies is not eating our own, it's common sense. He can be a useful ally when he's in the mood to be one. He is not to be trusted.
Bump---Right on---Let us use McCain when we can and when we can't---IGNORE HIM
exactly.....it is usually the Texans for some reason that throw the most insults when a Calif thread comes on.and there are many Californians here to attest to it.....I don't know if it is a cultural thing or not....but like you said I don't think throwing around words like "traitor" is all that conducive to civil discourse but it shows a level of ingnorance about the true meaning of the word
No print media? Wow...you are a hard nose negotiator. LOL!!
The times I've caught Dennis Miller he's asked better questions than most of the MSM...even when he's joking. In a head to head with Russert...I'd place money on Miller. And that's no joke...
FWIW-
I don't care who disagrees with him at all.......but calling him traitor like some here is beyond the pale.. did any of you guys salute him when he spoke on behalf of the Prez.......I kind of doubt it caues instead of disagreeing with specific ideas, many here hate the man all out and would never give him credit for anything......that sounds too much like what liberals do
exactly......doesn't make him a traitor......we should do that with anyone no matter what the party affiliation. Just like we did with Zell Miller.....give him credit when he is right and bang him when you disagree.......hating him just to hate him (not you) is just uncivil and poor strategy
I agree. His words were stupid and self serving, but not on a level with treason. Besides, what he was telling the terrorists was not to kill more Americans, but to kill less of us so we'll go away. That would tanslate to telling them to kill more Iraqis, not more Americans. While inhuman, it's not treason.
I don't think his words at the presser were treasonous. I believe his actons in shredding documentation regarding POW/MIA in Vietnam was treasonous, at least to his brothers. We seem to be talking about two different things, you and I.
No, I didn't salute him, but did thank him for not saying anything nasty about the president at the RNC.
Well said--We should use McCain any time he is with us--and when he goes off the reservation- sort of ignore him! To do other damage to him would only HURT US in the long run. Let's become practical as well as honorable!
well instead of writing to Oldfriend you could have written me back in regards to what I said......it is not the harshness of your words as much as the inappropriateness and intolerance of them......so if I disagree with you, then by your definition you are a jacka** and a fool if I so chose to call you one......I don't think you would find that at all complimentary and would show an immaturity on my part if I did.....
You had me wondering what you're thinking in comment# 193. I believe you're on the money in 194.
It's the key to deafeating the witch. Any RINO that pops up to run for the presidency must be taken down, no way in the world a RINO beats Hitlery. It worries me that the GOP is doing everything they can to build her up. The fix may be in.
well I put the thing in about my past medical thing cause you seem to think all Californians are somehow sensitive which of course is just an insult thrown to get my goat. JUst wanted you to know that what I went thru is not easily endured by someone with a thin skin...I've heard all that Calif is this and that before.....and I never insult another state so what I was doing was throwing back at you what many Texan's do.....of course not all are like that but I don't generalize to an entire state....I know it makes you guys feel superior to insult like that but it really is just a generalization that is inherently accurate in and of itself....that is what I was referring to about McCain. What did you think of McCain when he gave that great speech glorifying Bush and different states stumps and at the convention......thought he gave a stirring speech FOR Bush, not against him
Yes, I heard his speech and agree it was exceptional. I believe he gained a lot of votes for the president that day. I didn't accuse you of having a thin skin. You're welcome to support him if you wish. I personally don't trust him and would never support him for president.
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