Kerry Outlines Anti-Terrorism Plan
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LOS ANGELES - Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) outlined his plan to combat terrorism Friday that relies on stronger intelligence-gathering, law enforcement and international alliances, rebutting increasing criticism of his national security credentials from President Bush (news - web sites)'s campaign.
"I am convinced that we can prove to the American people that we know how to make them safer and more secure with a stronger, more comprehensive, more effective strategy for winning the war on terror than the Bush administration has ever envisioned," Kerry said in a speech at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Kerry said Bush has "no comprehensive strategy for victory in the war on terror."
"We cannot win the war on terror through military power alone," said the four-term Massachusetts lawmaker, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kerry also accused the president and "his armchair hawks" of weakening the U.S. military by failing to provide proper equipment. He lambasted Bush for "stonewalling" the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Bush campaign has criticized Kerry in recent days for voting against some increases in defense spending and military weapons programs during his 19-year congressional career. Bush spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry made "a political speech filled with defeatist rhetoric and factual inaccuracies."
"John Kerry ignored the real progress being made on all fronts of the war on terror, and he ignored his own long voting record that would undermine America's ability to fight the war on terror," Schmidt said.
Kerry said he would protect chemical and nuclear facilities, increase security at ports and airports, restore federal funding for 100,000 police officers and add 100,000 firefighters across the country.
Kerry referred to reports that Pakistani forces may be moving in to capture al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), in remote areas along the Afghanistan (news - web sites) border, but criticized Bush for failing to capture him earlier.
"We've heard that news before," Kerry said. "We had him in our grasp more than two years ago, definitely in our grasp, at Tora Bora but George Bush held U.S. forces back and instead called on Afghan warlords with no loyalty to our cause to finish the job. We all hope that the outcome this time will be different."
Kerry's speech came a day after a Democratic debate in which he sparred with rival John Edwards (news - web sites) over trade, the death penalty and who has the best chance of defeating Bush in November. But days before a 10-state showdown, the two found common ground in opposing gay marriages along with Bush's request to make them unconstitutional.
Edwards hoped Thursday night's debate would help emphasize differences in an attempt to galvanize support and narrow the large gap with the front-running Kerry.
"I know he's looking for some differences because you need them," Kerry chided Edwards at one point.
Both Kerry and Edwards were campaigning Friday in some of the 10 states with Democratic contests on what is known as Super Tuesday. After his speech, Kerry was heading to Oakland, Calif. Edwards was traveling to St. Paul, Minn., to meet voters.
Together, next week's primaries and caucuses, stretching from New England to California, offer 1,151 delegates — more than half of the 2,162 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. |
