GOP blasts battle plan
By Andrew Miga
Monday, September 20, 2004
WASHINGTON - As Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] struggles to revive his flagging White House bid with a new line of attack on President Bush's Iraq war policies, he got a boost yesterday from a surprise source: three top GOP senators.
John McCain, the popular maverick senator from Arizona, and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) ripped Bush's handling of the war, pointing to a spate of Bush administration missteps in Iraq and insisting a new ground offensive was needed to quell the spiraling violence.
``The fact is, we're in deep trouble in Iraq,'' Hagel said on CBS' ``Face the Nation'' show, just two days before Bush makes a major speech on Iraq at the United Nations.
McCain, who endorsed Bush this year despite strained relations in the past, spoke bluntly about mistakes made in Iraq, including the failure to destroy insurgent strongholds across the war-torn country.
``We made serious mistakes,'' McCain said on ``Fox News Sunday'' program. A third senator, Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman and a respected voice on global affairs, criticized the Bush administration for spending just $1 billion of the $18.4 billion Congress approved to rebuild Iraq.
``This is the incompetence in the administration,'' Lugar said on ABC's ``This Week.'' McCain said Bush must attack the insurgent strongholds.
``We're going to have to sustain, tragically, some more casualties,'' McCain said. ``Airstrikes won't do it. Artillery doesn't do it. Boots on the ground do it. And the longer we delay, the more difficult the challenge is going to be and the more casualties we will incur.''
Some Democrats suggested Bush is waiting until after the election to launch a major offensive.
``The only thing I can figure as to why they're not doing it with a sense of urgency is that they don't want to do it before the election,'' Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), said on ABC.
The criticism comes against a bloody backdrop of car bombings, kidnappings and mounting U.S. casualties. Kerry plans to focus on what he calls ``the mess in Iraq'' as he tries to regain momentum during the campaign's six final weeks. His mixed messages on Iraq have been widely criticized and today he will begin airing a new TV aid hammering Bush.
``Two hundred billion dollars,'' Kerry says in the ad. ``That is what we are spending in Iraq because George Bush chose to go it alone.''
The ad charges the war is draining precious tax dollars away from vital needs such as schools and health care, because Bush bungled efforts to win international support for the war.
Kerry today will take aim at Bush's Iraq policies during a speech at New York University.
http://news.bostonherald.com/election/view.bg?articleid=45064
By Andrew Miga
Monday, September 20, 2004
WASHINGTON - As Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] struggles to revive his flagging White House bid with a new line of attack on President Bush's Iraq war policies, he got a boost yesterday from a surprise source: three top GOP senators.
John McCain, the popular maverick senator from Arizona, and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) ripped Bush's handling of the war, pointing to a spate of Bush administration missteps in Iraq and insisting a new ground offensive was needed to quell the spiraling violence.
``The fact is, we're in deep trouble in Iraq,'' Hagel said on CBS' ``Face the Nation'' show, just two days before Bush makes a major speech on Iraq at the United Nations.
McCain, who endorsed Bush this year despite strained relations in the past, spoke bluntly about mistakes made in Iraq, including the failure to destroy insurgent strongholds across the war-torn country.
``We made serious mistakes,'' McCain said on ``Fox News Sunday'' program. A third senator, Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman and a respected voice on global affairs, criticized the Bush administration for spending just $1 billion of the $18.4 billion Congress approved to rebuild Iraq.
``This is the incompetence in the administration,'' Lugar said on ABC's ``This Week.'' McCain said Bush must attack the insurgent strongholds.
``We're going to have to sustain, tragically, some more casualties,'' McCain said. ``Airstrikes won't do it. Artillery doesn't do it. Boots on the ground do it. And the longer we delay, the more difficult the challenge is going to be and the more casualties we will incur.''
Some Democrats suggested Bush is waiting until after the election to launch a major offensive.
``The only thing I can figure as to why they're not doing it with a sense of urgency is that they don't want to do it before the election,'' Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), said on ABC.
The criticism comes against a bloody backdrop of car bombings, kidnappings and mounting U.S. casualties. Kerry plans to focus on what he calls ``the mess in Iraq'' as he tries to regain momentum during the campaign's six final weeks. His mixed messages on Iraq have been widely criticized and today he will begin airing a new TV aid hammering Bush.
``Two hundred billion dollars,'' Kerry says in the ad. ``That is what we are spending in Iraq because George Bush chose to go it alone.''
The ad charges the war is draining precious tax dollars away from vital needs such as schools and health care, because Bush bungled efforts to win international support for the war.
Kerry today will take aim at Bush's Iraq policies during a speech at New York University.
http://news.bostonherald.com/election/view.bg?articleid=45064
