Friday, Sept. 17, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.
President Bush is living in a "fantasy world of spin" while ignoring the deteriorating situation in Iraq and around the world, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said Thursday.
Kerry, who has stepped up his criticism in recent days with a series of tough speeches, attacked Bush's military and foreign policies Thursday while speaking to the National Guard Association in Las Vegas.
"Two days ago, the president stood right where I'm standing and he didn't even acknowledge that more than 1,000 men and women have lost their lives in Iraq," Kerry told the group, which had hosted Bush on Tuesday.
"He didn't tell you that with each passing day, we're seeing more chaos, more violence, indiscriminate killings. He didn't tell you that with each passing week our enemies are getting bolder -- that Pentagon officials report that entire regions of Iraq are now in the hands of terrorists and extremists. He didn't tell you that with each passing month, stability and security seem further and farther away."
A good leader, Kerry charged, should look Americans in the eye and tell them the truth about the situation.
"The Bible says the truth will set you free," he said.
The crowd was obviously less enthusiastic for Kerry than for Bush, who received six standing ovations and numerous bursts of applause.
Former Democratic presidential contender and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who attended the speech, called Kerry's words "very courageous" and said he expected the crowd to have a mixed reception.
"The truth is that when President Bush came out here he gave a bunch of platitudes and one-liners," Clark said. "John Kerry gave a thoughtful critique about where we are and what needs to be done. We need a commander-in-chief who tells the truth to the American people."
In his speech, and in his subsequent interviews with local media, Kerry said Bush has pushed forward with his military and foreign policies despite obvious failings.
Several times he called the president "stubborn" when talking about the war in Iraq, the economy and even the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, which Kerry strongly opposes.
He pointed to situations in Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran and Russia that he said didn't get needed attention because Bush was focused on Iraq.
North Korea and Iran both have made progress toward nuclear weapons under Bush's watch, he said.
"We are in greater jeopardy simply because they're moving toward nuclear weapons, which is the very reason we supposedly went to war in Iraq," he said.
Kerry argued that Bush rushed to war in Iraq without a plan for peace and turned his attention to Afghanistan while there was still a chance of capturing Osama bin Laden.
Bush turned over military operations in Tora Bora too early and, "as a result, Osama bin Laden escaped, and we haven't seen him since," Kerry said.
Bush also deploys National Guardsmen overseas without giving them the same health benefits and equipment that the enlisted military enjoys, Kerry said. He promised to rectify that.
Kerry also proposed to add 40,000 soldiers -- two active duty Army divisions -- to hunt down terrorists outside of Iraq and to solidify forces in case they are needed in other areas of the world such as North Korea or Iran.
He promised to double the military's special forces to hunt down terrorists, and to create new forces trained to find weapons of mass destruction around the world.
About 40 percent of the U.S. forces in Iraq are from the National Guard and reserves, leaving the country more vulnerable on the homefront, which the guard is designed to protect, Kerry said.
"Many of you are our first responders here at home -- firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians," he told the group of guardsmen. "To take you out of your communities is to take down our critical first line of defense. That's no way to protect America."
While polls released Thursday show Kerry has made up some of the bounce that Bush enjoyed after the Republican National Convention, Kerry consistently lags behind Bush in polls of veterans.
In an interview with a local television reporter after his speech, Kerry said he knew some in the crowd wouldn't agree with him, but he was "honored" to receive a standing ovation at the end of his speech.
"There are a lot of people who do agree with me," he said. "There were a lot of people who came up to me afterward and said, 'Boy I'm voting for you. I'm with you. You told the truth and it was important to have the courage to come here and do it.' "
When talking with newspaper reporters, Kerry continued his attacks on foreign policy, and he said he stands behind his decision to vote against a bill giving $87 billion for resources in Iraq.
The bill was the source of Kerry's infamous "I voted for it before I voted against it" remark. But Kerry said he was making the point that Congress was throwing money into Iraq without an exit strategy.
"My vote was the right move and it's proven to be the right move because George Bush has messed up Iraq and messed up the money," Kerry said.
The bill, for example, gave $18.4 billion for construction but only $300 million has been spent so far, Kerry said. The rest is sitting in a slush fund, he said.
"The president clearly didn't put our country on the right track, that's why I voted the way I did," Kerry said. "I said at the time you have to get the policy right. He hasn't gotten the policy right.
"I've said from the beginning there's a right way to do this in Iraq and a wrong way. And for two years now I have laid out what the right way is ... but the president has stubbornly resisted our advice. I think we need new leadership.
"This president rushed to war without a plan to win the peace," Kerry said. "He did not go to war as a last resort. The fact is he took his eye off the real war on terror, which was in Afghanistan. We're paying a high price for his judgment, for his choice, which was wrong.
"I will never cede America's security to any other country or any institution," he said. "I won't let the United Nations make a decision for us."
archive
