Kerry, Bush spar over 'Mission accomplished'

The Washington Post ^ | September 27, 2004 | Lois Romano and Mike Allen

[justaboutanybody]

MADISON, WIS. -- Sen. John Kerry excoriated President Bush on Sunday for saying that he had no regrets about his declaration more than a year ago that the mission in Iraq was accomplished, when the country continues to be in a state of war.

"I will never be a president who just says, 'Mission accomplished.' I will get the mission accomplished," Kerry told a couple of hundred supporters who greeted him in Madison before he went to a Spring Green resort to prepare for a presidential debate Thursday.

Kerry was referring to an interview Bush gave Bill O'Reilly of Fox News in which O'Reilly asked Bush if he would still do the carrier landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln beneath the "Mission Accomplished" banners. At the time, 17 months ago, Bush had referred to Iraq as a "victory" and declared an end to major combat there.

"Absolutely," the president replied in the interview, to air on today's "O'Reilly Factor." O'Reilly, apparently surprised, replied, "You would?"

"Of course," Bush said. "I'm saying to the troops, on this carrier and elsewhere, 'Thanks for serving America.' Absolutely. And by the way, those sailors and airmen loved seeing the commander in chief. ... You bet I'd do it again."

In Madison, Kerry held a rally on the tarmac and ridiculed Bush for "insisting that the situation [in Iraq] is improving, that freedom is on the march. ... The president continues to live in a fantasy world of spin."

Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, also mocked Bush on Sunday, telling 1,500 raucous supporters in Lewiston, Maine, that "these people are so out of touch."

[ConservativeMan55]

Hahahaha

[Oliver_Clozoff]

So, in his four months in Viet Nam, by his own standards, John Kerry never accomplished a single mission. And he wants to be president?

[kayak]

Well, in a wet car, anyway.

[Polybius]

It was my understanding thet the "Mission Accomplished" referred to the Carrier and her battlegroup having finished their mission.

John Kerry wouldn't know about that. He bugs out when his tour of duty is only one third finished..

[topdog1]

>It was my understanding thet the "Mission Accomplished" referred to the Carrier and her battlegroup having finished their mission.

Tommy Franks was quoted as saying he asked Bush to say that "major combat was over"... some of the "allies" said they wouldn't help until Bush said that " Then they reneged.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Nearly 25% 0f Troops in Iraq are Non US Troops - Kerry wrong again!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/foreigntroops.html

In addition to the United States, which has more than 130,000 troops in Iraq, many other countries have sent military personnel. The number of non-American coalition troops is more than 40,000, though numbers fluctuate.

United Kingdom: 9,000 soldiers
Italy: 3,000 soldiers, some serving as police and engineers
Poland: 2,400 soldiers
Ukraine: 1,600 soldiers
Netherlands: 1,100 soldiers plus a logistics team, a field hospital, military police and 200 engineers
Japan: 1,100 soldiers assigned to reconstruction
Australia: 800 soldiers
Romania: 700 soldiers plus 149 de-mining specialists, military police and "special intelligence" members
South Korea: 600 military engineers and medics
Bulgaria: 480 soldiers plus chemical warfare experts
Thailand: 440 soldiers assigned to humanitarian missions
Denmark: 420 soldiers including medics and military police
El Salvador: 360 soldiers
Hungary: 300 soldiers
Norway: 179 soldiers, mostly engineers and mine clearers
Mongolia: 160 soldiers involved in peacekeeping
Azerbaijan: 150 soldiers taking part in law enforcement and protection of historic monuments
Portugal: 125 soldiers functioning as police officers
Latvia: 120 soldiers
Lithuania: 115 soldiers
Slovakia: 102 soldiers
Czech Republic: 80 soldiers, serving as police
Philippines: 80 soldiers plus police and medics
Albania: 70 non-combat troops
Georgia: 70 soldiers
New Zealand: 60 army engineers assigned to reconstruction (expected to leave in Sept. 2004)
Moldova: 50 soldiers including de-mining specialists and medics
Macedonia: 35 soldiers
Estonia: 30 soldiers
Kazakhstan: 30 soldiers (expected to leave end of May 2004)
Spain withdrew its troops from Iraq following the election of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on March 14. Honduras and the Dominican Republic quickly followed suit. The three countries combined had nearly 2,000 troops in Iraq. Nicaragua withdrew its 115 troops at the end of March 2004 for economic reasons.

Countries that provide non-military support include: Kuwait and Qatar, which have hosted the U.S. Central Command and the invasion force; Ethiopia and Eritrea, which have given use of bases or ports; and Turkey, which has given permission for airspace use. Others countries have opted to give political support: Angola, Costa Rica, Colombia, Iceland, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Palau, Panama, Rwanda, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Uganda and Uzbekistan.

In early April 2004, the Bush administration indicated it was negotiating with another 50 countries that had expressed interest in providing peacekeeping troops.

FOREIGN WORKERS

The exact number of foreign workers in Iraq is hard to gauge, but it's at least 30,000. Many work for companies that have contracts with the American military to provide support or to rebuild the country. Others work for aid agencies.

Companies with U.S. Department of Defence contracts:
Kellogg, Brown and Root
Washington Group International
Fluor Intercontinental
Perini Corporation
Vinnell Corporation
CSC DynCorp International

Companies with U.S. Agency for International Development contracts:
International Resources Group
Air Force Augmentation Program
Stevedoring Services of America
Creative Associates International
Research Triangle Institute
Abt Associates
Skylink Air and Logistics Support
Bearing Point Inc.
Bechtel (including subcontractors from the UK, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Kuwait, Switzerland)

Non-governmental organizations with USAID grants:
United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF)
World Health Organization (WHO)
Mercy Corps
International Relief and Development Incorporated
Agriculture Co-operative Development International
Volunteers in Overseas Co-operative Assistance
Co-operative Housing Foundation
Save the Children Federation
Iraqi Nursing Association

[risk]

Kerry's still a traitor.

[GraceofGod]

..."this is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces??"...

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

9/26/04 CENTCOM Leader : War in Iraq Moving in the Right Direction,

http://www.dod.mil/news/Sep2004/n09262004_2004092602.html

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2004 – As January elections loom in Iraq, Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said today the country is headed in the right direction.

"We are in fact moving in the direction that will allow Iraq to emerge as a democratic and representational state. I think that our military activities there have moved it ahead in a positive manner," Abizaid told host Tim Russert on "Meet the Press." "It's a tough fight, it's a hard fight. But we shouldn't lose heart because there are difficult times. We know that there will be fighting through the elections."

Insurgent resistance continues to plague coalition and Iraqi troops, Abizaid said. He was asked about a Turkish journalist's report that all Iraqis near Mosul, including the children, are involved in or supporting the resistance. Abizaid responded that if that was true, Iraqi forces would not number 100,000, nor would that number be climbing.

"If everybody in Iraq was in the resistance, Prime Minister Allawi would not be trying to lead his nation forward to a better future. If everybody in Iraq happened to be part of the resistance, they wouldn't be volunteering for the armed forces," Abizaid aid. "There's more people that are coming forward to fight for the future of Iraq than are fighting against it."

While the resistance continues, Abizaid said he thinks there are fewer than 1,000 foreign fighters in Iraq, adding that the primary problem in Iraq is former regime elements fighting against the government. He said those elements are trying everything in their power to upend the election process.

"Yes, there is a resistance. Yes, it is hard," the general noted. "But the truth of the matter is that Iraqis and Americans and other members of the coalition will face that resistance together (and) will, through a series of political, economic and military means, figure out a way to defeat it and will move on to allow the elections to take place and a constitutional government to emerge."

Abizaid said that regardless of the insurgency situation, he and his commanders feel sure they can provide stability for the January elections. "Commanders in the field are confident about the military mission, they're confident about our ability to have an election period that is fair and relatively stable," he said.

Abizaid also commented on statements that it's possible only a portion of Iraq, maybe three-fourths of the country, would be stable enough to hold elections. He replied that no election is perfect and that to have most of the country to vote was the goal.

"That the election will be able to be held in the vast majority of the country under good circumstances is our goal. But right now, considering that 25,000 more Iraqi forces will join the effort, between now and the late-January elections, that election will be able to be held," Abizaid said. "We'll have to fight our way through the elections with a lot of violence between now and then."

He noted that Iraqi forces will most likely take the lead on securing elections in the stable areas, while U.S. troops would probably handle the hotspots.

The CENTCOM commander said Americans need to brace themselves for a long war in the Middle East and Central Asia, though not necessarily one that requires huge numbers of American troops. But the war will be long because the battle being waged is between extremists and moderates.

"It'll be a long process. It'll be a difficult process. But it'll be one that can be successfully fought not only at home, but in the international community and with the peoples of the region to set the standards for good government and the standards for a moderate lifestyle," he said.

[GoLightly]

Yes, he actually said it & he was in Green Bay at the time.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"First I picked Edwards BUT now I pick Hanoi Jane!"

Edwards played football in 1971 when he turned 18
instead of serving in Vietnam.
Hanoi Jane at least was a Viet Cong!
Just like me!

Hanoi Jane and I know how to demoralize US Troops serving today!

We hate US Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We hate all US Troops!

We lie about them in 2004 the same as we did in the 60's and 70's!

We vow to insult and undermine Iraq Prime Minister Ayad Allawi

We vow to protect the UN and the Oil for Food Scandal

We vow to keep secret the ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaida

We vow to free Saddam Hussein with help from our old friend Ramsey Clark.

John F. Kerry
Timeline of a traitor.
Click Here

[ConservativeMan55]

What an idiot.

[coconutt2000]

Bush did not say "mission accomplished". In the interveiw Bush said that the banner referred to the aircraft carrier having accomplished it's mission.

SHHHH!!!! You'll ruin their buzz...

[McGavin999]

Kerry doesn't recognize the difference between a mission and the war? And he wants to be Commander in Chief?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[GoLightly]

::snicker::

http://www.footballfansfortruth.us/

[commish]

OH jesus! We are back to this shit again????

What in the hell is this? Is the Kerry campaign already in reruns? When was the season finale?

[LisaMalia]

"Of course," Bush said.

THAT'S OUR MAN!!!!! President Bush is the epitomy of the "no spin zone!"

[Go Gordon]

Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, also mocked Bush on Sunday, telling 1,500 raucous supporters in Lewiston, Maine, that "these people are so out of touch."

You know you are in trouble...:

When the challening Democratic VP has to be shuttled off to Maine to campaign 35 daus before the election.

[Future Useless Eater]

Kerry walks into a gay bar....

I assume you were joking, but THINK about it... Kerry's drinking buddy was drinking beer THROUGH A STRAW!!!

And let's not forget in Ohio, when Kerry was pictured in Abdullah's Tavern...
that Abdullah means "Servant of Allah"