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08-09-2004, 04:04 PM
Kerry: Still Would Have Approved Force for Iraq
1 hour, 17 minutes ago Add Politics to My Yahoo!
By Patricia Wilson
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites) said on Monday he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing force against Iraq (news - web sites) even if he had known then no weapons of mass destruction would be found.
Taking up a challenge from President Bush (news - web sites), whom he will face in the Nov. 2 election, the Massachusetts senator said: "I'll answer it directly. Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it is the right authority for a president to have but I would have used that authority effectively."
Speaking to reporters from the Powell's Landing on the rim of the Grand Canyon above a mile-deep drop, Kerry also said reducing U.S. troops in Iraq significantly by next August was "an appropriate goal."
"My goal, my diplomacy, my statesmanship is to get our troops reduced in number and I believe if you do the statesmanship properly, I believe if you do the kind of alliance building that is available to us, that it's appropriate to have a goal of reducing the troops over that period of time," he said.
On that timetable, Kerry's aim would be to pull out a large number of the 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq in the first six months of his administration.
"Obviously, we'd have to see how events unfold," he added. "I intend to get more people involved in that effort and I'm convinced I can be more successful than President Bush in succeeding in doing that. It is an appropriate goal to have and I'm going to try to achieve it."
Kerry refused to say if he had any private assurances from Arab or European nations that they would help with security and reconstruction in Iraq but said "right now the administration ... is scrambling and struggling to try to find a way to do that."
"All of this should have happened in the beginning, all of these things should have been achieved beforehand," he said. "American presidents should not send American forces into war without a plan to win the peace."
BUSH CHALLENGE
Bush last week challenged Kerry, who Republicans accuse of flip-flopping on Iraq by voting for the war resolution and against the $87 billion request to fund operations, to say straight out if he would have voted the same way if only to eliminate the danger that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) could have developed weapons of mass destruction.
"Now, there are some questions that a commander-in-chief needs to answer with a clear yes or no," Bush said. "My opponent hasn't answered the question of whether knowing what we know now, he would have supported going into Iraq."
"I have given my answer," Bush said. "We did the right thing, and the world is better off for it."
Kerry challenged Bush to answer some questions of his own -- why he rushed to war without a plan for the peace, why he used faulty intelligence, why he misled Americans about how he would go to war and why he had not brought other countries to the table.
"There are four not hypothetical questions like the president's, real questions that matter to Americans and I hope you'll get the answers to those questions, because the American people deserve them," he told reporters.
Kerry, who is on day 11 of a two-week coast-to-coast campaign trip, used the majestic backdrop of the Grand Canyon to criticize Bush for neglecting America's national parks system and pledged to restore $600 million he said the president had cut from the budget.
Kerry Stands by Iraq War Voting Record
1 hour, 9 minutes ago
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - Responding to President Bush (news - web sites)'s question with several of his own, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) said Monday he would have voted to authorize the war in Iraq (news - web sites) knowing what he does now, but added that he would have used the power more effectively than the current commander in chief.
The Democratic presidential nominee said he hoped to begin reducing the number of U.S. forces in Iraq within six months of taking office if he is elected. "It is an appropriate goal to have," he said, but added that achieving it would depend on broader international assistance, better stability within Iraq and other related factors.
Fielding questions from reporters after he and wife Teresa Heinz Kerry hiked along the rim of the Grand Canyon, Kerry also said he opposes raising the retirement age for Social Security (news - web sites) as part of any plan to overhaul the system.
"People who start talking about raising the retirement age are people who may not have worked at real jobs for a lifetime," he said.
Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, voted in October 2002 to give Bush authority for using military force to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
At the same time, public opinion polls show that Bush's handling of the postwar period is unpopular, and the Democratic presidential nominee routinely accuses Bush of having sent troops into war without a plan to win the peace.
Last Friday, Bush challenged Kerry to answer yes-or-know to the question of whether he would have supported the invasion of Iraq "knowing what we know now" about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction.
"I have given my answer. We did the right thing and the world is better off for it," the president said.
In response, Kerry said, "Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it was the right authority for a president to have."
Then he had a few barbed questions for Bush.
"Why did we rush to war without a plan to win the peace? Why did you rush to war on faulty intelligence and not do the hard work necessary to give America the truth?
"Why did he mislead America about how he would go to war. Why has he not brought other countries to the table in order to support American troops in the way they deserve it and relieve the pressure on the American people?"
Kerry faulted Bush for the use he made of the authority he had to wage war.
"American presidents should not send American forces into war without a plan to win the peace. This president did not have a plan to win the peace and the evidence is still that they are scrambling and struggling to try to find a way to do it," the Democrat said.
Specifically, Kerry noted that the administration is scrambling to persuade Arab countries to dispatch Muslim forces to Iraq. "All of this should have happened in the beginning," he said.
The presidential nominee said he intends "to get more people involved in that effort and I'm convinced I can be more successful than President Bush in succeeding in doing that."
Kerry said in an interview last week his goal was to begin reducing the number of troops in Iraq within the next year. Asked about his plans, he said he would use diplomacy to help build stronger international alliances.
The feasibility of that goal, he said, would hinge on "the stability of Iraq, the ability to have the elections, and the training and transformation of the Iraqi security force itself."
Kerry made his comments as he continued to campaign by train through several western battleground states — Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, where he was scheduled to end his day.
He used the spectacular scenery of the Grand Canyon as the backdrop for an attack on the Bush administration's handling of the nation's parks. He said administration policies have resulted in a backlog of $600 million in underfunding.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040809/ap_on_el_pr/kerry&cid=694&ncid=2043
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040809/pl_nm/campaign_kerry_dc&cid=615&ncid=2043
1 hour, 17 minutes ago Add Politics to My Yahoo!
By Patricia Wilson
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (news - web sites) said on Monday he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing force against Iraq (news - web sites) even if he had known then no weapons of mass destruction would be found.
Taking up a challenge from President Bush (news - web sites), whom he will face in the Nov. 2 election, the Massachusetts senator said: "I'll answer it directly. Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it is the right authority for a president to have but I would have used that authority effectively."
Speaking to reporters from the Powell's Landing on the rim of the Grand Canyon above a mile-deep drop, Kerry also said reducing U.S. troops in Iraq significantly by next August was "an appropriate goal."
"My goal, my diplomacy, my statesmanship is to get our troops reduced in number and I believe if you do the statesmanship properly, I believe if you do the kind of alliance building that is available to us, that it's appropriate to have a goal of reducing the troops over that period of time," he said.
On that timetable, Kerry's aim would be to pull out a large number of the 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq in the first six months of his administration.
"Obviously, we'd have to see how events unfold," he added. "I intend to get more people involved in that effort and I'm convinced I can be more successful than President Bush in succeeding in doing that. It is an appropriate goal to have and I'm going to try to achieve it."
Kerry refused to say if he had any private assurances from Arab or European nations that they would help with security and reconstruction in Iraq but said "right now the administration ... is scrambling and struggling to try to find a way to do that."
"All of this should have happened in the beginning, all of these things should have been achieved beforehand," he said. "American presidents should not send American forces into war without a plan to win the peace."
BUSH CHALLENGE
Bush last week challenged Kerry, who Republicans accuse of flip-flopping on Iraq by voting for the war resolution and against the $87 billion request to fund operations, to say straight out if he would have voted the same way if only to eliminate the danger that Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) could have developed weapons of mass destruction.
"Now, there are some questions that a commander-in-chief needs to answer with a clear yes or no," Bush said. "My opponent hasn't answered the question of whether knowing what we know now, he would have supported going into Iraq."
"I have given my answer," Bush said. "We did the right thing, and the world is better off for it."
Kerry challenged Bush to answer some questions of his own -- why he rushed to war without a plan for the peace, why he used faulty intelligence, why he misled Americans about how he would go to war and why he had not brought other countries to the table.
"There are four not hypothetical questions like the president's, real questions that matter to Americans and I hope you'll get the answers to those questions, because the American people deserve them," he told reporters.
Kerry, who is on day 11 of a two-week coast-to-coast campaign trip, used the majestic backdrop of the Grand Canyon to criticize Bush for neglecting America's national parks system and pledged to restore $600 million he said the president had cut from the budget.
Kerry Stands by Iraq War Voting Record
1 hour, 9 minutes ago
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - Responding to President Bush (news - web sites)'s question with several of his own, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) said Monday he would have voted to authorize the war in Iraq (news - web sites) knowing what he does now, but added that he would have used the power more effectively than the current commander in chief.
The Democratic presidential nominee said he hoped to begin reducing the number of U.S. forces in Iraq within six months of taking office if he is elected. "It is an appropriate goal to have," he said, but added that achieving it would depend on broader international assistance, better stability within Iraq and other related factors.
Fielding questions from reporters after he and wife Teresa Heinz Kerry hiked along the rim of the Grand Canyon, Kerry also said he opposes raising the retirement age for Social Security (news - web sites) as part of any plan to overhaul the system.
"People who start talking about raising the retirement age are people who may not have worked at real jobs for a lifetime," he said.
Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, voted in October 2002 to give Bush authority for using military force to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
At the same time, public opinion polls show that Bush's handling of the postwar period is unpopular, and the Democratic presidential nominee routinely accuses Bush of having sent troops into war without a plan to win the peace.
Last Friday, Bush challenged Kerry to answer yes-or-know to the question of whether he would have supported the invasion of Iraq "knowing what we know now" about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction.
"I have given my answer. We did the right thing and the world is better off for it," the president said.
In response, Kerry said, "Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it was the right authority for a president to have."
Then he had a few barbed questions for Bush.
"Why did we rush to war without a plan to win the peace? Why did you rush to war on faulty intelligence and not do the hard work necessary to give America the truth?
"Why did he mislead America about how he would go to war. Why has he not brought other countries to the table in order to support American troops in the way they deserve it and relieve the pressure on the American people?"
Kerry faulted Bush for the use he made of the authority he had to wage war.
"American presidents should not send American forces into war without a plan to win the peace. This president did not have a plan to win the peace and the evidence is still that they are scrambling and struggling to try to find a way to do it," the Democrat said.
Specifically, Kerry noted that the administration is scrambling to persuade Arab countries to dispatch Muslim forces to Iraq. "All of this should have happened in the beginning," he said.
The presidential nominee said he intends "to get more people involved in that effort and I'm convinced I can be more successful than President Bush in succeeding in doing that."
Kerry said in an interview last week his goal was to begin reducing the number of troops in Iraq within the next year. Asked about his plans, he said he would use diplomacy to help build stronger international alliances.
The feasibility of that goal, he said, would hinge on "the stability of Iraq, the ability to have the elections, and the training and transformation of the Iraqi security force itself."
Kerry made his comments as he continued to campaign by train through several western battleground states — Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, where he was scheduled to end his day.
He used the spectacular scenery of the Grand Canyon as the backdrop for an attack on the Bush administration's handling of the nation's parks. He said administration policies have resulted in a backlog of $600 million in underfunding.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040809/ap_on_el_pr/kerry&cid=694&ncid=2043
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040809/pl_nm/campaign_kerry_dc&cid=615&ncid=2043