““Once again the president had an opportunity to lay out for the American people the facts on the ground in Iraq and his strategy to achieve the military, political and economic success needed in order to bring our troops home.” Sen. Harry Reid says of Bush’s speech today. “[H]e failed to do so. [He] continued to falsely assert there is a link between the war in Iraq and the tragedy of September 11th, a link that did not and does not exist.”
Raw Story reports that “Feingold says Democrats will announce plan for Iraq.” Sen. Feingold also accuses Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of “literally making things up, saying that Iraq was a hotbed of terrorism before we went there … The recruiting is done because we are there.”
More Harry below, and a letter sent by 40 Democratic senators to Bush:
Minority leader Reid’s statement today continues:
“The truth is the Administration’s mishandling of the war in Iraq has made us less safe and Iraq risks becoming what it was not before the war: a training ground for terrorists.
“It is clear our window of opportunity is closing in Iraq and the president continues to fail to provide a strategy for success in order to prevent this outcome. My Democratic colleagues and I submitted four specific questions to the president about his strategy for Iraq that the American people demand be answered. Instead of answering those questions, the president offered the same failed approach, stay the course. We cannot continue to stay the course, we must change the course. The American people and our brave men and women in Iraq deserve better.”
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’S KEY QUESTIONS ON IRAQ
- How many capable Iraqi forces do we need before we can bring our troops home?
- What is the administration doing to forge a political consensus?
- What is the administration doing to make Iraq’s neighbors a part of our strategy?
- What progress is being made on the reconstruction in Iraq and how do we know taxpayers dollars are being spent wisely?
NOTE: We are attempting to get a text copy of the October 5, 2005 letter signed by Democratic senators. In the meantime, please use this PDF version of the actual letter — with their original signatures — sent by 40 Democratic senators to Pres. Bush on Oct. 5.
Update [2005-10-6 15:2:47 by susanhu]: We got the link to the text version of the senators’ letter, thanks to RBA.
Anybody think the administration would fail any math test required to graduate from high school?
Our troops are engaged in a struggle in Iraq that could shape the future not only of that nation but the entire region. Despite the fact that our troops have performed heroically for more than 2 ½ years, the situation there remains extremely violent and volatile. There are disturbing reports of increasing sectarian strife, which could lead to a full blown civil war. We are increasingly concerned that Iraq could become what it was not before the war: a haven for radical fundamentalist terrorists determined to attack America and American interests. It is clear our window of opportunity is closing and you need to immediately provide a strategy for success in order to prevent this outcome.
These troubling conditions — and the disconnect between how your Administration describes the situation on the ground in Iraq and what Americans see every day on their televisions — have eroded the American public’s support for the war. In addition, these conditions and contradictions have fueled concerns about whether your Administration has a strategy for success that will preserve our fundamental national security interests and permit us to bring our troops home.
Last week your Administration was afforded several important opportunities to set forth your plan and lay these concerns to rest. The Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commander of the Central Command, and the Commander of U.S. and Coalition Forces in Iraq all appeared before the Congress to report on the Administration’s progress in Iraq. Prior to their appearances in the House and Senate, in a statement from the White House Rose Garden, you specifically encouraged members of Congress to hear what these officials had to say in order to “get the latest information about our strategy” and “the progress in increasing the size and capability of the Iraqi security forces.”
Unfortunately these officials provided neither the Administration’s strategy for success, nor a record of progress in training and equipping Iraqi forces to take over their own defense. To the contrary, we learned that the Administration has actually lost ground on this score. In June, you said there were “160,000 Iraqi security forces trained and equipped for a variety of missions.” And during your Rose Garden statement last week you stated “100 Iraqi battalions are operating throughout Iraq”. However, last week the Congress and the American people learned that only one Iraqi Army battalion — less than 1,000 soldiers — is sufficiently trained and equipped to fight without U.S. assistance. Additionally, General Casey, testified that the message that our military presence in Iraq is not unlimited has not been communicated forcefully enough to the Iraqis. …
READ ALL, and see the printed list of the 40 Democratic senators who signed the letter to Bush.
I like this AP headline:
oh – hang on a minute…
The article was originally titled, “Bush: Radicals Seek to Intimidate World”. Just take out that colon and you got that one right. Now, the headline has been changed to “Bush: Militants Seek to Establish Empire”. There you go. Just get rid of that colon again and it’s accurate too.
Some reactions:
“I believe the president has offered America a false choice, between resolve and retreat,” Durbin said. “The real choice is between a strategy of accountability and more vague generalities. We must move beyond policies of fear to a forceful commitment to protect the United States and its values.”
…
Sen. Rick Santorum R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said the speech was “one he should’ve made a few years ago. I’m glad he made it now.”
“I’ve been saying for a long time the president needs to better define this war,” Santorum said.
Well, wake up Santorum! He still hasn’t done it. Sheesh.
Here ya go:
http://democrats.senate.gov/~dpc/press/05/2005A06425.html
Excellent letter. Let’s hope they keep pounding Bushco.
They’ve been waiting five years to have real debates, with a real opposition. Looks like the reeps also grew spines. We might even get some good law passed.
Reid is on fire:
Reid complained that Republicans scuttled the meeting — which had been organized by Democrats — as a way of “keeping the Congress and the American people in the dark.”
“America deserves better than this pattern of avoiding the tough questions,” Reid said, adding that there were at least 20 Democratic senators who had planned to attend the briefing with Negroponte.
“Blocking Senators from receiving vital national security information is wrong, unprecedented and irresponsible,” he said.
But the Senate’s top Republican, Bill Frist, insisted that there is no dearth on information about developments in Iraq, and said he had no objection to briefings from senior Bush administration officials — as long as they are “initiated on a bipartisan basis, and not on a partisan basis.”
As if Frist even knows what bipartisan means anymore. What BS.
I actually caught myself channel-surfing the cable nets after the speech looking for acknowledgement that Bush had not lived up to the “more details than ever before” hype. Alas, not a word was spoken about it being the same old crap.
Good for Reid and Feingold. Perhaps their statements will get some major media coverage, but I wouldn’t bet the mortgage.
Here you go…some decent coverage of dem response..not too shabby from these print outlets..
Exerpts from the WaPo
“In Congress, the speech came in for some tough criticism from Democrats.
“The president still does not understand that his failed Iraq policy is making America weaker and our enemies stronger,” Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) said in a statement. “The administration’s strategy in Iraq is providing terrorists around the world with a recruiting pitch, international networking opportunities, unity with Iraqi nationalists and on-the-job training in urban combat.”
Bush’s open-ended commitment in Iraq “threatens to break the U.S. Army and hurt the economy,” Feingold said. “Such a policy keeps America bogged down in Iraq rather than engaged in what should be a global campaign against terrorism.” Feingold has called for setting a target date of Dec. 31, 2006, for completing the U.S. mission in Iraq and bringing American troops home.
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) complained that Bush did not set out a strategy for drawing down the 140,000 U.S. troops now stationed in Iraq.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/06/AR2005100600455_2.html?nav=rss_world
Excerpts From the NYT…
`After the president spoke today, the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, offered a toughly worded analysis, saying that Mr. Bush “continued to falsely assert there is a link between the war in Iraq and the tragedy of Sept. 11th, a link that did not and does not exist.”
“The truth is the administration’s mishandling of the war in Iraq has made us less safe, and Iraq risks becoming what it was not before the war: a training ground for terrorists,” Mr. Reid said.
The House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, assailed the president’s rationale as flawed and built on false assumptions – that the United States needed to invade Iraq because under Saddam Hussein it had been stockpiling weapons of mass destruction that could have been made available to terrorists.
“The president’s statement that Iraq is the central front on the war on terror is a mistake,” she said. The Bush administration “has totally mismanaged the war in Iraq” and “now he’s trying to justify his actions with a series of excuses that are not reasons for us to be there.”
Ms. Pelosi also renewed calls for the president to present a plan for leaving Iraq. “The president,” she said, “still has not put forth a strategy for success.”
Judging by a 90-to Senate vote on Wednesday for an amendment to prevent abusive interrogations by the military, members of both parties have begun to take a more assertive stance in questioning the way the war has been waged. `
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/international/middleeast/06cnd-prexy.html?hp&ex=1128657600&
;en=1f4aedbe4091995e&ei=5094&partner=homepage
So, Bush lied again today (link to his speech):
Where’d he get that number??
Oopsie …. another “child” left behind in mathematics.
What,
are his poll numbers diving?
Did we turn another coroner in erak?
Nine Eleven? Seven Eleven? Twentyfour Seven?
Hike?
…fourth down and 90? One more for the gripless?
Yes, he was speechifyin’. It’s hard werk – speechifyin’. He didn’t even misproununciate any country’s name.
Ask The White House
Today’s guest at 4pm (ET)
Dr. J.D. Crouch
Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor
Submit your question online here.
Dr. Crouch,
Now that Condi’s gone, do you read the newspapers to the President every day? Do you ever just listen to Bush’s mumbling and bumbling and suddenly burst out laughing? Do you have “imagination”? Cuz that is a Good Thing(tm) to have. Condi didn’t have it and look what happened. On this Iraq thing, does the President have a clue – even one clue – about what he’s doing? Scrap that one. I already know the answer.
This letter resubmitted to GW with twenty more (as in additional) Democratic Senators signatures on it! We do have forty Democrats in the Senate, don’t we??
Otherwise I am encouraged with our Senators who have signed this letter.