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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TopCat who wrote (4980)	3/4/2004 1:41:38 AM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 81568

Iraq could become somewhat of a greater issue in the campaign. Kerry is against "cut and run" and I am sure Bush stands for the same policy. MARCH 4, 2004 Iraq's bloody future More attacks feared as US pullout nears WASHINGTON - Sectarian violence will escalate as the United States approaches a June 30 deadline for ending its occupation in Iraq, according to military and intelligence officials. There is no 'definitive' evidence of who was behind the bombings in Karbala and Baghdad, which left 271 dead and 393 injured - figures far higher than the US estimates of 117 dead and scores others injured. But many officials pointed the finger at Al-Qaeda associate Abu Masab Al-Zarqawi. Tuesday's attacks 'fit the modus operandi, the pattern and the writings of Al-Zarqawi', a senior intelligence official said. Al-Zarqawi, who is a 37-year-old radical Jordanian-born Sunni, is seeking to lead his own terrorist network throughout the Middle East. In a 17-page letter to Al-Qaeda leaders, seized by US intelligence in January, he had written that he would reignite the traditional rivalry between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq 'through martyrdom operations and car bombs'. Al-Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for two dozen bombings in recent months and was on record threatening new attacks against Iraqi Shi'ites before Tuesday's bloodshed. But US officials are also increasingly concerned about Al-Zarqawi's ambitions beyond Iraq. Although he has worked with the Al-Qaeda in the past, officials say it is increasingly clear that he operates independently of Osama bin Laden's organisation. Trained in Afghanistan in the late 1980s, Al-Zarqawi established his own extremist group - called Al-Tawhid - several years ago in Jordan. Military and intelligence officials have also said repeatedly that Ansar Al-Islam, a Kurdish radical Islamic terrorist organisation driven from its former base in northern Iraq, is active in the Sunni Triangle. An offshoot Islamic fundamentalist group, which calls itself Army of the Helpers of the Sunnah, claimed recently to have carried out dozens of attacks against US and other coalition forces, including the November killings of seven Spanish intelligence officials. Late yesterday, a letter purporting to come from the Al-Qaeda denied any role in Tuesday's anti-Shi'ite explosions in Iraq. It was signed by the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades, with 'Al-Qaeda' in brackets, and sent to the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper. 'We, and with God as our witness, say we are innocent of this act and of anything that will drive the Shi'ites away,' it said. Meanwhile, three missiles hit a telephone exchange building yesterday in Baghdad, knock- ing out international phone service. One Iraqi worker was killed and another injured, officials said. After Tuesday's devastating attacks, Iraq's US-backed Governing Council postponed yesterday's scheduled signing of the interim Constitution. -- Washington Post, AFP, Reuters

To: TopCat who wrote (4980)	3/4/2004 2:05:47 AM
From: American Spirit	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81568

I met Kerry the first or second Earth Day celebration in Concord Mass. Around 1971. I was just a kid. Kerry helped start Earth Day. He spoke then and came by our school where it seemed all the kids were working for Kerry for Congress painting signs, etc. He was serious and oh so meaningful. One got the feeling about him that he was going to much higher places. I didn't think about it much at the time but later on I remembered. However, I think he lost that election. Faint memories now. Much later I met him twice more. In the 80's it was. In conjunction with a DEA investigation I was researching, when he gave me some stunningly honest answers to some tough questions, at a Boston Republican function (he's close friends with moderate Republicans) and a fundraiser in LA. All those times he just had that intense Lincolnesque stature and credibility you don't forget. Very trustworthy and deep. I also met Gore for the first time in those days. But although impressive he didn't have quite the gravitas. Much later, in 2002 I began to realize that it was Kerry's time, that he'd prepared all his life for 2004, that he was ready to serve. That's when I volunteered to help him. The first campaign I've ever volunteered to help. About 18 months ago. It was amazing the first few times I met him again because they were very small gatherings and I got some quality time to talk to him one on one without the crowds and reporters around. I asked him and his people some tough questions before I agreed to pitch in. The answers I got greatly impressed me. We're talking integrity. Very straight shooter and not an egotist either. Very personable and relaxed. But very-very smart and caring. I wish you all could have that opportunity but now he's such a VIP I may never even see him again except for one big fundraising theme I'm organizing for him. Bush I've never met, but I did go to school with guys like him. Bush has the gift of gab and cool, but he's a lightweight inside. I don't get the feeling he truly cares about anything but his own scams, and some kind of competition with his father and brothers. he also likes money a great deal, money he doesn't need to work for. Kerry vs. Bush is a no-brainer. Kerry makes Bush look like a midget in every way except fundraising and family power.