How do these words significantly differ from Kerry's?
Hil hits W on Iraq, 9/11
nydailynews.com
Some think Bush whacks tip run
Originally published on October 30, 2003
By JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Sen. Hillary Clinton delivers stinging rebuke of President Bush's foreign policy.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) delivered her sharpest attack yet on President Bush's handling of foreign policy - reviving speculation she may challenge him for the presidency.
Clinton's speech slammed Bush for excessive secrecy that she suggested shields the American people from the truth about Iraq and 9/11 intelligence failures.
She even suggested the administration was trying to hide casualty figures in the Iraq war.
"We must always be vigilant against letting our desire to keep information confidential be used as a pretext for classifying information that is more about political embarrassment," she said.
The hard-hitting tone of her comments come at a time when poll numbers indicate public confidence in Bush's foreign policy is slipping.
And it prompted some to speculate Clinton was keeping presidential options open.
Clinton fund-raiser John Catsimatidis, the chief executive officer of the Gristede's supermarket chain who is supporting John Kerry, said, "I know for a fact a lot of her supporters are urging her to do it."
One top Republican strategist said yesterday's speech puts her in the company of "the nine other Democrats running."
"You've got to wonder if she's keeping her foot wedged in the door," the GOP strategist said.
Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines reiterated her denial.
"Sen. Clinton has repeatedly said that she will serve out her full six-year term," Reines said.
At least one Clinton supporter was unconvinced.
"My opinion is that the door is still not closed. ... Part of her wants to do it," the supporter said.
Political observers also note she is a featured speaker at an Iowa Democratic event next month, where she is expected to overshadow several leading Democrats running for the party's nomination.
Clinton told the Center for American Progress - a moderate think tank - that Bush hasn't been straight with Americans about the costs of the country's Iraq policy.
"The Bush administration describes progress on many fronts in direct contravention to what we are seeing and hearing every day. ... There is too much at stake to treat war as a political spin zone," she said.
Clinton faulted Team Bush for sparing Americans "the sight of caskets coming home" and "refusing to release" timely casualty reports.
"We should be willing to admit the price that is being paid by these brave young men and women to pursue this policy," Clinton said.
Bush foreign policy, she said, has been marked by an "aggressive unilateralism."
"We now go to war as a first resort against perceived threats, not as a necessary final resort," she said.
And the federal 9/11 commission shouldn't have to threaten to subpoena White House intelligence documents.
"The administration unnecessarily raises the suspicion that it has something to hide," she said.
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