Mercury News: Different views of Iraq war

[rndmprsn]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/9667814.htm?1c


nice to see the press picking up on iraq from the campaign trail...and i'm glad to see kerry taking a firmer stance and calling shrub for what he is.


LAS VEGAS - President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry provided sharply different assessments of the outlook in Iraq on Tuesday, with Kerry suggesting that the conflict has veered way off track.

``Our strategy is succeeding,'' Bush told nearly 4,000 National Guard delegates at a convention in Las Vegas. ``Despite ongoing violence in Iraq, that country now has a strong prime minister, a national council, and national elections are scheduled in January.''

Kerry responded to Bush's optimism by accusing the president of distorting the truth.

``No matter what he says, all of us can see for ourselves what's happening in Iraq,'' Kerry said in a statement issued from Toledo, Ohio, where he was campaigning. ``Things are getting worse. More than 1,000 Americans have been killed. Instability is rising. Violence is spreading. Extremism is growing. . . . The situation is serious.''

Kerry further said Bush cannot be trusted to tell the truth about Iraq.

``Why would we expect George Bush to level with us about Iraq? He never has,'' Kerry said. ``There are now havens for terrorists that weren't there before. And the Pentagon has even admitted that entire regions of Iraq are now controlled by insurgents and terrorists.''

The differences of opinion about the war overshadowed lingering controversies about America's war in Vietnam. Bush's appearance at the National Guard Association's annual meeting came as Democrats again accused him of shirking his duties with the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.