Bush to hold morning news conference
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush faced questions Friday about sharp divisions among Republicans about the war on terrorism and disputes over his proposed strategies for interrogating and trying enemy combatants.
Bush was to hold a late-morning news conference in the Rose Garden.
The session came one day after rebellious Republicans led the Senate Armed Services Committee in rejecting Bush's proposal for interrogating and prosecuting terrorism suspects. The dissident group, led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Bush's approach would jeopardize the safety of U.S. troops.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell joined with McCain's group. Powell said Bush's proposal to redefine the Geneva Conventions would encourage the world to "doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism" and "put our own troops at risk."
It was Bush's first news conference since Aug. 21, when he said the Iraq war was "straining the psyche of our country" but that leaving now would be a disaster. Bush has made the struggle against terrorism and the war in Iraq the top issues in the November elections, hoping to persuade voters that Republicans are better than Democrats at protecting the country.
What planet is Powell living on? Do we have to show the burnt corpses on the bridge in Baghdad to remind him what is being done ROUTINELY by the towel-headed fanatics? Do we have to have Kumbaya playing in the background, as heads are sawed off?
You can't take a knife to a gunfight and succeed....