John Kerry today delivered a scathing critique of President Bush's leadership in the war on terrorism and the Iraq war, saying that Bush's colossal failures of judgment and reckless mistakes have weakened U.S. national security and mired the country in a costly conflict with no end in sight:
"...President Bush tells us that he would do everything all over again, the same way," Kerry said. "How can he possibly be serious? Is he really saying to America that if we knew there were no imminent threat, no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to al Qaeda, the United States should have invaded Iraq? My answer, resoundingly: no -- because a commander-in-chief's first responsibility is to make a wise and responsible decision to keep America safe."
"Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell. But that was not, in itself, a reason to go to war. The satisfaction we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: we have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure."
He also hits Bush on Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea and outlined his own plans for Iraq saying the we must obtain promised international support, "get serious about training Iraqi security forces," carry out an effective reconstruction plan and take urgent steps to guarantee the holding of elections scheduled for next year.
1 comment:
Good stuff, as usual. But, as always, the question is whether anyone hears what he's saying.
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