ST. JOSEPH, United States (AFP) - US Vice President Richard Cheney said he was apalled by what he described as the "lack of respect" shown by Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry (news - web sites) to the interim leader of Iraq (news - web sites) Iyad Allawi. AFP/File Photo Allawi met President George W. Bush (news - web sites) at the White House earlier Thursday and addressed a rare joint session of the US Congress where he told lawmakers: "We are succeeding in Iraq." Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, shortly after Allawi's speech, Kerry said the interim Iraqi premier was painting an unrealistically upbeat picture of the situation in his homeland. Kerry's comments drew a sharp rebuke from the vice president just 40 days before Americans go to the polls on November 2 to cast their presidential ballots. "I must say I was appalled at the complete lack of respect Senator Kerry showed for this man of courage when he rushed to hold a press conference and attack the prime minister, a man America must stand beside to defeat the terrorists," Cheney told an audience in St. Joseph, Missouri. "John Kerry is trying to tear down all the good that has been accomplished, and his words are destructive to our effort in Iraq and in the global war on terror. "As Prime Minister Allawi said in his speech, and I quote, 'When political leaders sound the siren of defeatism in the face of terrorism, it only encourages more violence,'" Cheney added. http://http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1521&ncid=696&e=4&u=/afp/20040923/pl_afp/us_vote_iraq_cheney
What did kerry say exactly? Because allawi did say some stuff that was either overly optomistic or a downright lie depending on how you look at it. NPR ran a pretty interesting story about how allawi said that the good news doesn't get reported from Iraq, and that reporters should go to fallujah, ramadi, and najaf to see for themselves. They then interviewed two reporters from Ramadi and Najaf, who said that the security was deteriorating and that reporters were being censored. They said that they would have to pull men off the street into an alley for an interview because if the police saw a notebook, camera, tape recorder etc. it would be confiscated and/or destroyed. They couldn't interview anyone from Fallujah because it is run by a Sunni Militia group that doesn't look to kindly on western reporters.
Bush is like that foreign minister in Iraq when Saddam was in power who always claimed that everything was just fine and the American troops weren't anywhere near Baghdad. Can't remember his name right now. He was in a state of denial just like Bush is now.
and of course some one that the bush administration personally appointed would never do something like that
Bush should have this guy as his VP (or press spokesman). He can twist the truth even better than Bush: http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/baghdad_bob.htm
Well look folks, if you don't understand that now is the time for optimism for success in Iraq (which we HAVE to go through with) and the morale of our troops (no matter whether you agree with what they are doing or not) I have no idea what to tell you. Unless of course you think we should walk out right now....is that what you are advocating? Kerry is interested in trying to get elected, not seeing success in Iraq. Of course, it wasn't until the other day that we finally knew where he stood.
Bush is trying to get elected and is not being realistic about the problems in Iraq. He has no clear plan either, other than saying 'as long as it takes.' People in the U.S. want to see a plan from either candidate and they want to see an end point.
Point taken, but not until now do we see that Kerry actually has a positive agenda for Iraq and it turns out it's the same thing Bush has been doing, he can't be a monday morning quarterback if he's planning on being the President. 'Sides, Bush's plan is not to waver in Iraq, to get the job done, and I think that's what we have to do. No cut and run strategy, no hand it off to the UN and let them botch the hell out of it. No matter what we have to get the job done, that is the end point now.
what the hell are you talking about, can you give me websites to prove what you are saying here? Because we must've read different websites.
Why should we think that Bush is not going to invade more countries in a second term and without a plan? Bush just gave five hundred 2000-pound bunker busting bombs to Israel. Sounds like they are getting ready for Iran. What next? We're going to be in Iran for 'as long as it takes'?
The war is a disaster, how can this even be debatable? Even if you are a Bush supporter, why would you deny it? The facts are there. How can people be so partisan that they are blind to the TRUTH? And I think the troop morale is down because they keep DYING! Cheney is a dumbass. No, he's probably not, but people who support him are.