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.
Why? Isn't it obvious?
She's right. She's coming to the conclusion a bit later then most R's, but she's ahead of most of her party.
She knows Iraq will be OK in the end, and she wants to be ahead of the curve. She's the smartest D around, which is why she's so dangerous.
The more I think of this myself, I believe it all the more. Note for the record that I see nothing conservative whatsoever in Hitlery's behavior -- and there won't be. She simply has to look like the moderate in a race consisting mostly of whackos. What's more: the media will jump on that bandwagon in a heartbeat. I still think the public will eventually see through this ploy, but it will work with rank-n-file Dems - and the union types.
As far as McCain goes, my true opinion of him is that he's a joyless, jealous, abusive man who is incapable of admitting a mistake or taking the high road.
I've said many times that we have made serious mistakes and we've paid a heavy price for those mistakes. And I have pointed them out a long time ago.
He's not going to give up making this point. He joined the "there aren't enough troops in Iraq" team and like most of his positions, his ego won't let him budge. His first point regarding withdrawal and that pressure is accurate, American opinion and demands are driven by casualties. It is also an incredibly stupid thing to say to our troops, the Iraqis, Americans and our enemies. All that needed to be said was what Graham said.
CLINTON: Well, it is mixed. Because I was last here at the end of 2003. And I was able to drive from the airport into Baghdad, for example. It is regrettable that the security needs have increased so much....
When was the last time Hillary! actually drove herself anywhere? She's been under USSS protection since 1992 and Arkansas State Police protection 1978-1980 and 1983 to when the USSS took over the job.
wow.....I was apprciative until you said "support him"...I have said several times that I don't support McCain as much as I support not throwing memebers of our party out the door cause of some disagreements and sorry, it was another guy who said "thin skinned'..Maybe you were not one of the ones that basically said he was a traitor, I think I responded to you first saying I said he was a conservative which of course I never did....MY main thing is those who villify some in our party that have some different ideas but are with us most of the time.....I agree that McCain is on the fence but the same folk say the same crap about Graham or Hagel cause of one or two things but you look at their voting records and scores by the conservative groups and they are as close to solid as you can get......
I found it a while ago, but I just missed where your comment was located.
I have another interesting thread, "In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President".
If you don't read the whole thread, I forgot the /sarcasm tag. I thought everyone understood it was obvious. Do you think I'm that naive?
fine we can drop it but it was calling him a traitor that I first objected to......I'm sure we are just fussy that neither of our football teams have reached the Super Bowl after winning five apeice.........LOL.....
Are you on McC's payroll?
Trust is something earned, and as you mention, even his VN POW/MIA brothers know he can't be trusted.
That VN issue is what was behind Perot's campaign against Papa Bush.
that is noted.....again, if you disagree with his politics, that doesn't offend me......speculating on him being a traitor did........I too disagree with him on some points and on others like getting pork the hell out of our budgets I do.......and no one else speaks much to this issue..have a nice weekend.....
of course not......and before we get into it......go back and read my posts......my objections were to calling him traitor or fool which he is neither.....and I was objecting to some of those invectives considering he votes with the Repubs 80% of the time......maybe that makes him a RINO but some here villify him and make him worse than many Dems. I don't think most of us agree with our spouses much more than that.....
I don't believe he promoted Kerry at anytime.....what he said is that Kerry was his friend and he wasn't going to bad mouth him....I think that is a little different....
McCain specifically said that he thought Kerry would be a good Commander in Chief.
Would you speak against your spouse to others?
but you know like what was posted earlier that that was a friend saying that and not a promotion cause in the next breath he said that Bush is the only one who had what it took to go into AFghanistan and Iraq and that he had the moral courage at the right time.......that still trumps any friendship statement.....like when Bush gave Kerry some back handed compliments......they are just political gamesmanship IMO
of course not but my spouse is not a matter of public policy....my intention was to say that you can disagree with someone and not throw them overboard.....if he was so vile and hateful like Kennedy or Kerry or such, than yeah, give him the heave ho, but I just don't see him like that.
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