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

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (13710)	4/9/2004 10:19:28 PM
From: American Spirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Don't change the subject. Kerry and the campaign including Cheney-Bush are the subjects on this thread. I haven't done anything wrong, for instance like Anne Corrigan pretending to be a dean and Edwards supporter so she'd be seen as more credible when she smears JK with rightwing propaganda lies. I am what I am, a Kerry supporter. I was not a DEan support. I was not a Gephardt or Lieberman supporter. I am a Kerry supporter and I am here to spread the good word and defend Kerry against lies. Every single Bush campaign ad so far as been a total lie. All those taxes they say JK will raise are just BS. Only the rich get a modest rollback to Clinton levels when all millionaires did great. Corporate welfare must also be cut. Almost all people would agree that needs to be done. Why cut welfare for the needy and not the rich?

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (13710)	4/9/2004 11:07:29 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 81568

APRIL 10, 2004 Tough going for Bush FIGHTING an insurrection on two fronts - one against the Sunni militias and the other against radical Shi'ites, American troops face the daunting prospect of a long hard slog in Iraq as the casualties mount. Could the quagmire become President George W. Bush's 'Vietnam' as the war escalates? Not yet, but it could well be that if the current uprising becomes a nationwide rebellion against the United States occupation. There is no evidence yet that the minority Sunnis, who enjoyed favours while Saddam Hussein was in power, and the majority Shi'ites, who suffered under the deposed dictator, are collaborating to attack the US troops. But any sort of alliance between them can only make it tougher for the Bush administration. Contrary to what the Pentagon says, US intelligence officials believe that the Shi'ite rebellion is not just confined to the group led by Moqtada Al-Sadr, a radical cleric. Significantly, none of the moderate Shi'ite clergy has spoken out against him. What is certain is that more Shi'ites are getting impatient and frustrated with the American occupation. As the fighting escalates, there are also signs of impending problems on the political front. There are reservations whether the new Iraqi governing body that is going to inherit power on June 30 is sufficiently united to rule the country. So far, there is little evidence to show that the Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds, all bitter rivals pursuing their own agendas, can work with each other. Similarly, it is unlikely that the reconstituted Iraqi forces can maintain security on their own. The 78,000 Iraqi police trained by the Americans might not have defected, but they did nothing to help the US troops to put down the current rebellion. Indeed, there are grave doubts that Iraq's security forces are able to take full control of the country for the next three years. Despite these difficulties, Mr Bush is determined to stick to his timetable to establish a government in Baghdad. He won't be 'intimidated by thugs and assassins' in his plan to transfer sovereignty to the Iraqis on June 30, he said. True, the US has no choice but to press on doggedly because any retreat in the face of the intensified fighting will mean weakness in its resolve. This is no time for self-doubt. But there could be more troubles ahead for Mr Bush as he seeks re-election in November. The US will have to stay the course in Iraq. But one year after toppling Saddam, the Bush administration has shown it does not have a viable exit strategy. The US wants Nato to expand its role in restoring security to Iraq. But Mr Bush has not been able to get more help from it, given the resistance from France and Germany. Already, 18 members of the alliance have troops in Iraq. Spain's new socialist government plans to pull out its 1,300 troops while Australia's Labor Party has pledged to bring the country's troops home if it gets into power. The three Japanese taken hostage this week by an Iraqi group, which threatened to kill them if Japanese troops do not leave the country, will only put more pressure on the US coalition. Above all, Mr Bush is unable to persuade the United Nations to go back to Iraq. Clearly, Mr Bush faces an uphill and lonely battle in the days ahead. The upsurge in fighting has forced the Pentagon to rethink its plans about the rotation and deployment of its troops in Iraq. While the polls show that American public support for Mr Bush remains constant, the approval rating for his handling of the war has dropped. Like the US troops in the front line, he'll have to soldier on to finish a war he started. straitstimes.asia1.com.sg