April 19, 2004
"If we are stuck for a long period of time in a
quagmire where young Americans are dying without
any sense of that (stability) being able to be
achieved, I think most Americans will decide
that's failure,"
John Kerry said.
"I think this administration has proven, frankly,
stunningly ineffective in diplomacy,"
John Kerry said.
War and security
The Iraq War continues to be a dominant force in
the Presidential election. Bob Woodward’s new
book, “Plan of Attack,” has taken center
stage in the debate.
Woodward’s book depicts Secretary of State Colin
Powell as being out of the loop regarding making
the decision of going to war. Condoleezza Rice
went on CBS’s Face the Nation to correct
the account of her telling President Bush he
needed to call Powell and inform him of his
feeling that diplomacy wasn’t working.
Rice also challenged Woodward’s assumption that
the President decided to go to war in January.
Rice stated that the final decision was not made
until March.
The transfer of $700 million into war planning and
re-deployment of troops was another questioned
raised. The issue was whether the money complied
with Congressional appropriation. Rice pointed out
that the commander of the area could transfer
funds within the area as he saw fit.
Kerry used the Woodward book as citations several
times in his appearance on Sunday’s Meet the
Press.
Kerry cited the book as a fact that President Bush
not only deceived the American public but also his
own administration.
Kerry also defended his position that the War on
Terrorism is a principally a police action.
"You need the best intelligence, the best law
enforcement cooperation in the world," he said. "I
will not hesitate to use those forces effectively.
I think I could fight a far more effective war on
terror."
Kerry offered no comment on what he would do
concerning states that harbored terrorists.
Kerry also defended his vote against the $87
billion saying that President Bush said he would
veto the bill if certain offensive provisions were
put in the bill. He further stated that if he had
his way, rich people would be paying for this war.
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