Posted on 12/07/2005 6:29:52 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Democratic lawmakers accused President George W. Bush of glossing over problems in Iraq ahead of the war-torn country's elections.
The US opposition returned to the attack over Iraq policy after Bush's latest speech in which the president highlighted "tangible progress" in rebuilding Iraq's economy.
"As he did last week, the president once again failed to provide a strategy for success or speak honestly to the American people about the failures in rebuilding Iraq and the challenges that lie ahead," said Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate.
"Instead, he cherry picked isolated examples of Iraq's reconstruction from two cities that provide an inaccurate and incomplete picture of the situation on the ground for most Iraqis," Reid charged.
Although the president had for the first time acknowledged errors and setbacks, he failed to explain how the reconstruction effort would be improved, according to Senator Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"While the President was forthcoming about mistakes, he did not share with the American people any benchmarks by which we can measure progress, or his strategy and timeline for achieving them," Biden said in a statement.
Representative Henry Waxman (news, bio, voting record) called the president's claims "mindboggling".
"Either he doesn't understand the facts or simply doesn't want to face them. The reconstruction of Iraq has been an enormous boondoggle -- not an example of 'quiet, steady progress'.
"Halliburton has repeatedly overcharged American taxpayers through fraud, waste, and abuse. The US officials in charge of the reconstruction have been incompetent and, in some cases corrupt. And billions of dollars have been squandered without increasing oil or electricity production," Waxman said in a statement.
Steny Hoyer, the Democratic whip in the House of Representatives, said that "the President does himself no good when he describes 'amazing progress' in Iraq, without even acknowledging that two-thirds of Iraqis lack electricity, oil production is below pre-war levels, and unemployment is estimated to be as high as 40 percent."
The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said in October that billions of dollars invested in restoring water, electricity and health services in Iraq were wasted because Iraqis cannot maintain the facilities.
In a rare acknowledgement that Iraq has not gone as planned, Bush agreed Wednesday that "mistakes have been made" but said US-led reconstruction and security efforts were paying off.
"Reconstruction has not always gone as well as we had hoped, primarily because of the security challenges on the ground," he said in the latest of a series of speeches ahead of Iraq's crucial December 15 elections.
Bush is seeking to reverse a steady slide in public support for his administration's efforts in Iraq, where a deadly insurgency has claimed the lives of more than 2,100 US troops.
The US leader specifically pointed to the reconstruction of the cities of Najaf and Mosul, where he said Iraqis were "gaining a personal stake in a peaceful future" because of "tangible progress" on economic issues.
Washington has helped Iraq introduce a new currency, re-open its stock exchange and provide 21 million dollars in credit to small businesses and individuals, Bush said.
"This is quiet, steady progress. It doesn't always make the headlines in the evening news. But it's real, and it's important and it is unmistakable to those who see it close up," said the president.
U.S. Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington December 7, 2005. Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran and one of Congress's most hawkish Democrats who had supported the Iraq war, but criticized U.S. President George W. Bush's handling of it, had called for a quick withdrawal from Iraq. REUTERS/Mannie Garcia
Shouldn't these headlines read:
Democrats lambast President ad infinitum.
The way I read the Constitution, the Congress is responsible for controling the country's borders. Who is holding them accountable for their responsibilities? What the heck is that idiot Specter doing interviewing Alito when he should be doing that in public in a committee hearing? Congress needs to held responsible for doing their jobs.
I have two words for the Dems: New Orleans.
cherry picked
Well dammit, we sure haven't heard about the successes from the MSM.
Dingy Harry still keeps looking like a mangy cur yapping without thought.
IF the GOP will do this for the next 8 months they will win a landslide in Nov 06 -
They just have to stand firm. The American public (that silent majority) will not tolerate a political party running down our Countries efforts, our military efforts (if there is a true alternative voice to vote for).
Those weak-kneeed GOP'ers in the Senate and House though need to cowboy the hell up and stand firm. Tell it like it is....we are systematically winning this war!
TERM LIMITS! Take a look at this old geezer!
They think the way Newt defeated them was by constant yapping. They think the same approach will work against us.
Murtha looks a lot like Chappaquiddick Kennedy. Reid should run for office in North Korea.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT): "I Have Just Returned From My Fourth Trip To Iraq In The Past 17 Months And Can Report Real Progress There. ... Progress Is Visible And Practical." (Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Op-Ed, "Our Troops Must Stay," The Wall Street Journal, 11/29/05)
Lieberman: "None Of These Remarkable Changes Would Have Happened Without The Coalition Forces Led By The U.S. And, I Am Convinced, Almost All Of The Progress In Iraq And Throughout The Middle East Will Be Lost If Those Forces Are Withdrawn Faster Than The Iraqi Military Is Capable Of Securing The Country." (Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Op-Ed, "Our Troops Must Stay," The Wall Street Journal, 11/29/05)
Will they ever stop the carping?
The Rooters caption is highly misleading, Murtha had come out earlier against the Iraq war, hardly a hawkish demoncrat, he.
Send all Liberal Democrats and Moderate Republicans in Congress to Iraq and let them patrol the streets as well as hunt for terrorists. A good dose of reality might clear the fog from their skulls full of mush.
Typical .. until a few days ago the democrats didn't even know there was reconstruction.
Democrats lambast Bush over reconstruction huh?
When I read the headline my thought was that they were bashing him for daring to reconstruct which hurts their claims it is a quagmire. LOL
The problem with hitting him over his detail oriented speeches is that-
1) People hear details from the President the MSM never reported, they jump to conclusion progress is being made.
2) People's eyes gloss over when you get into arguing minute details.
3) The President is telling the Truth.
Advantage to the President.
They want a date as an election issue. If the date slides they can cry failure during the elections next year.
They've been relegated to being naggin ex-wives and they know it.
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