Kerry on Iraq Report: Immoral to Wait to Change a Failed Policy
by Pamela LeaveyThe WaPo reports that the White House gives “mixed marks” in the Iraq report today.
Bush, in a White House news conference, said that enough progress has been made to justify release of U.S. funds that Congress made contingent on a positive assessment. He asked lawmakers to delay an effort to try to force an early troop reduction until a second report, due in September, is delivered.
In response to the White House report on Iraq progress, Senator John Kerry today made the following statement:
“Spin can’t change the overwhelming conclusion of this report, that the Iraqi politicians have failed miserably to achieve any political progress,” Senator Kerry said. “The President must stop exploiting the same old straw men, while real men and women are dying for a policy that’s not working. This misguided escalation was supposed to give the Iraqi politicians breathing room to achieve the political compromises needed to end their civil war. During the escalation, 600 American soldiers have given their lives to give the Iraqis a chance, and the Iraqis have only wasted time and squandered opportunities. That’s a disgrace. It would be immoral to wait until September to change a failed policy.
“It’s now even clearer that no number of American troops can make Iraqis reach benchmarks for political reconciliation. With the Iraqi parliament set to go on vacation in August, there is no reason to believe the Iraqis will get their act together by September. How many American soldiers have to give their lives while Iraqis squabble? The President needs to change course now and set a deadline to make Iraqis take responsibility and redeploy American troops.”
The report is available here.
Andrew Sullivan has quite an interesting assessment of Bush’s presser earlier today, which I missed. Sullivan says:
He’s arguing he didn’t decide to go to war; Saddam did.
The transcript of Bush’s press conference is here.
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Here’s where Iraq is at today: Someone put $300,000,000 and three guys together in a room and said “See you tomorrow”. Or not. The odds that the true owner of that money really didn’t know how to keep it safe are not real good, so that was most likely some smooth little money laundering thing. And the only safe bet is that that money is now out there being used in a way that will lead to the death of U.S. soldiers if that continues to be an option.
A country where people willy nilly dirve off with truck loads of cash is no real country. They’re not even trying.
I saw the story of the $300,000,000 on MSNBC yesterday, and then it disappeared. Strange.