John Kerry Responds to Bush Address on Iraq: Bush plan “Is Neither New nor Forward Looking”
by Pamela LeaveyJohn Kerry responded to Bush’s address to the nation tonight in interviews on NPR and ABC Radio. Kerry noted on NPR that Congress must act to stop Bush’s escalation of the war. Bush “gave no indication” tonight in his speech “that the troop increase would be short-lived.”
Kerry said that he strongly opposes Bush’s plan for expanding the US troop presence in Iraq and he urged Bush to redouble his effort to find a political and international solution to the worsening civil war in Iraq. However, Bush offered no hope for diplomacy in his speech tonight and clearly there was little evidence of anything “forward looking.” A chorus of Democrats were skeptical on Bush’s speech today.
Kerry noted that there was little support in Congress for expanding the war in Iraq and he said that Bush must ask lawmakers to vote on a new authorization of the war if he wants to expand the mission beyond the current one.
“This plan is neither new nor forward looking. This is more of what’s taken us backwards. There’s no military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution, and the President has no plan to achieve it. We’re caught in a civil war in Iraq. Escalation is not the answer. The best answer is to set a deadline to bring our heroes home, force Iraqis to stand up for Iraq, and get Iraq’s neighbors to start taking more responsibility for Iraq’s security.”
Tomorrow, word has it that John Kerry will ask Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the war in Iraq to explain how Bush’s new plan differs from a similar plan that Bush proposed in 2005.
John Kerry is right — it’s not new… it’s the same old “stay the course” message with a side of “surge.”
UPDATE: Audio of John Kerry on NPR is available here.
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We’ve stoppped staying the course over here a few months ago, it’d be nice if the rest of the US would catch up.
There are a lot of changes taking place in how we’re fighting, especially with the Marines in Anbar Province. While its really difficult to explain what we’re doing different to people who only look at the number of troops on the ground, there ARE a lot of things we are doing differently. And the Iraq government seems to be figuring out why we’ve been pushing them to do certain things (like take on their militias, for instance).
Posts like this are misleading at best, and show a willingness to gloss over what’s happening in Iraq in order to support whatever opinions the author already has.
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Thanks for checking in with us here on the Dem Daily with a first hand report on what’s happening over there. As you may know Senator Kerry was recently there and actually traveled to Anbar Province and met with commanders there. Whether we agree or disagree with the CiC here on the Dem Daily we support the troops 100% around here. You input is welcomed.
Nobody that I have met in the last 3 years doubts the resolve, bravery, commitment, or training of our troops. The sacrifices of all of our soldiers has never been in question.
But most people are unconvinced of the determination of others. They also feel that more troops will simply escalate the violence, not end it. It’s been a lesson I feel we should have learned many years ago that for a country to be successful in a pursuit of democracy its OWN citizens have to be at the forefront of the will and sacrifice to create such a government.
Without that, be it 1 year, 5 years or 10 years eventually it will succomb to violence and overthrow. I have definitely witnessed our own soldiers’ and nation’s commitment to this cause, but I believe that the Iraqi people and its government’s commitment must far outweigh ours to even approach a successful conclusion. Harsh as it sounds, I don’t think that going to happen.
Not my words, but I believe that the best way to support our troops is to dissent a failed policy that squanders their lives and dishonors their sacrifices. To me, if I support our president in this decision I would be , in effect, NOT supporting our troops.
[...] it should look behind occasionally to see who is following. But JC linked John Kerry’s response: “This plan is neither new nor forward looking …” Actual [...]