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September 20, 2004

Kerry at NYU: "George Bush has no strategy for Iraq. I do."

John Kerry has just given a powerful speech at NYU where he presents his plan for Iraq and lays bare the truth that this administration has been hiding since the beginning.

In fact, the President has made a series of catastrophic decisions ... from the beginning ... in Iraq. At every fork in the road, he has taken the wrong turn and led us in the wrong direction.

The first and most fundamental mistake was the President's failure to tell the truth to the American people.

He failed to tell the truth about the rationale for going to war. And he failed to tell the truth about the burden this war would impose on our soldiers and our citizens.

By one count, the President offered 23 different rationales for this war. If his purpose was to confuse and mislead the American people, he succeeded.

His two main rationales - weapons of mass destruction and the Al Qaeda/September 11 connection - have been proved false... by the President's own weapons inspectors... and by the 9/11 Commission. Just last week, Secretary of State Powell acknowledged the facts. Only Vice President Cheney still insists that the earth is flat.

The President also failed to level with the American people about what it would take to prevail in Iraq.

He didn't tell us that well over 100,000 troops would be needed, for years, not months. He didn't tell us that he wouldn't take the time to assemble a broad and strong coalition of allies. He didn't tell us that the cost would exceed $200 billion. He didn't tell us that even after paying such a heavy price, success was far from assured.

More below the fold...

Regarding the vote to give President Bush authority to use force against Hussein, Kerry clearly states the truth of the matter:

Two years ago, Congress was right to give the President the authority to use force to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. This President... any President... would have needed the threat of force to act effectively. This President misused that authority. (emphasis added)

He also offers this warning regarding four more years of George W. Bush, a man who is currently running on the false claim that he has made our country safer:

If George W. Bush is re-elected, he will cling to the same failed policies in Iraq -- and he will repeat, somewhere else, the same reckless mistakes that have made America less secure than we can or should be.

Kerry goes on to offer a series of very specific actions to begin correcting the disaster in Iraq. Among them are:

• restoring our international relations damaged by the arrogance of this administration
• give other nations a stake in Iraq's restoration
• collect on the pledges of monetary support from the world community
• get serious about training Iraq's security forces (and stop inflating false numbers)
• give Iraqis tangible roles in their reconstruction rather than lining the pockets of huge corporate interests such as Halliburton. This last point is partially illustrated by the $18 billion granted this admininistration to help the Iraq people while less than $1 billion has been spent to date.

Finally, Kerry insists that President Bush must take immediate action to guarantee that Iraq can conduct safe and valid elections in January.

George Bush has no strategy for Iraq. I do.

George Bush has not told the truth to the American people about why we went to war and how the war is going. I have and I will continue to do so.

I believe the invasion of Iraq has made us less secure and weaker in the war against terrorism. I have a plan to fight a smarter, more effective war on terror - and make us safer.

Today, because of George Bush's policy in Iraq, the world is a more dangerous place for America and Americans.

George Bush has not been honest with the American people. John Kerry can set this country on the proper course regarding its role in Iraq. November 2nd is your chance to vote for this change of course so that we can have a stronger America that is, once again, respected in the world.

Posted by amahler at September 20, 2004 12:36 PM

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