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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (142232)	8/2/2004 12:31:43 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

Retired general: Bush foreign policy a 'national disaster' ______________________________ Saturday, July 31, 2004 Posted: 11:15 AM EDT (1515 GMT) (CNN) -- A former Air Force chief of staff and one-time "Veteran for Bush" said Saturday that America's foreign relations for the first three years of President Bush's term have been "a national disaster" but that the president's Democratic rival was "up to the task" of rebuilding. Retired Gen. Tony McPeak, the Air Force chief of staff during the first Gulf War, delivered the Democratic radio address supporting implementation of the 9/11 commission's recommendations for national security. "As president, John Kerry will not waste a minute in bringing action on the reforms urged by the 9/11 commission," McPeak said of the Massachusetts senator nominated by the Democrats this week. "And he will not rest until America's defenses are strong." The president, on the other hand, "fought against the very formation of the commission and continues to the present moment to give it only grudging cooperation, no matter what he says," the general said. "Why should we believe he will do anything to institute the needed change?" Administration officials have said that Bush could approve some of the commission's suggested changes by early next week. McPeak, a former fighter pilot who campaigned for Bob Dole in 1996 as well as Bush in 2000, said Bush's inability to craft a true allied coalition was a serious deficiency. "The report of the 9/11 commission makes this clear: Fighting terrorists alone just doesn't work," he said. "If our enemy hatches a terror plot in Rome, we will need help from the Italians. If German intelligence knows the whereabouts of a senior al Qaeda member, America must have that information." Instead, he said, Bush has "alienated our friends, damaged our credibility around the world, reduced our influence to an all-time low in my lifetime, given hope to our enemies." McPeak said he backed Bush in 2000 because he "had hoped this president could provide" the leadership needed to face modern threats. But disillusionment, he said, has led him to change his voter registration from Republican to independent and shift his support to Kerry. "The real deal for me is not whether a strategy or a plan or an idea is Republican or Democrat, but whether it makes us safer," he said. "And it means an awful lot to me that John Kerry fought for his country as a young man." "We who have some experience -- who have seen war close up and sent troops to battle -- know that victory is not won by single combat," he continued. "War is not like that. War is a team sport. "We built the team that won World War II. We put together the great team that won the Cold War. That's why what has happened over the last three years is such a tragedy, such a national disaster. Rebuilding the team won't be easy." cnn.com

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (142232)	8/2/2004 9:43:12 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Al Qaeda Working Freely in Post-War Iraq _____________________ July 30, 2004 Instead of finishing off al Qaeda in Afghanistan when it had the chance, the Bush administration diverted resources to fight a war of its choice in Iraq. The consequences for America's security are dire. A devastating report released yesterday by the British parliament concludes the failure to secure Iraq has provided an opening for new al Qaeda operations. The report was released the same day Iraqi officials postponed an important national political conference after a rash of terrorist kidnappings and car bombings in the country. * The failure to secure Iraq has created a new terrorist breeding ground where none existed before. As the British House of Commons report states, "Iraq has become a 'battle ground' for al Qaeda, with appalling consequences for the Iraqi people…The Coalition's failure to bring law and order to parts of Iraq created a vacuum into which criminal elements and militias have stepped." * The Bush administration's inability to control post-war Iraq played right into the hands of our opponents. The Commons report also finds that the new violence and rising insurgency is a direct result of the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, particularly the failure to put adequate troops on the ground; the dissolution of the army; and the "heavy handed" tactics in places like Fallujah. * The situation in Iraq is growing worse, and without a plan, it won't get better any time soon. Unfortunately, the situation is getting worse not better. The report concludes: "The security situation has deteriorated further in the six months since our last Report, with an alarming increase in the number of attacks in the approach to the handover of sovereignty. Although the handover was brought forward in an effort to forestall the threat of terrorist violence, no immediate cessation is expected." americanprogress.org