Kerry Slams Republican’s for Pentagon Talking Points in Forced Iraq Debate

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Slams Republican’s for Pentagon Talking Points in Forced Iraq Debate
June 15th, 2006 @ 11:40 pm

Both the House and the Senate delved into a divisive, “angry, intensely partisan debate” on the Iraq war Thursday, as the announcement came that the U.S. military death toll reached 2,500.

The Senate soundly rejected a call to withdraw combat troops by year’s end, and House Republicans laid the groundwork for their own vote. In a move Democrats criticized as gamesmanship, Senate Republicans brought up the withdrawal measure and quickly dispatched it — for now — on a 93-6 vote.

The debate in both branches of Congress was fueled by a Pentagon distributed “debate prep book” that was filled with ready-made talking points for criticism of the Iraq war and the Republicans had a hey day spewing them out on both floors. AP News reports on the debate prep book: “‘We cannot cut and run,’ the Pentagon battle plan says at one point, anticipating Democratic calls for a troop withdrawal on a fixed timetable.”

The partisan politics maneuver was not lost on the Democrats, as Republicans in both the Senate and House forced the debates in attempt to “put lawmakers of both parties on record on an issue certain to be central in this fall’s congressional elections.” In a statement released Thursday, on the Pentagon “debate prep book” sent out to Republican members of the House and Senate, John Kerry said:

“This is disgusting proof that Republicans are thinking about the politics of Iraq instead of a real debate about the security of our troops. This is how we got into the Iraq mess in the first place. American soldiers are being killed every day in Iraq but somehow Donald Rumsfeld’s crew at the Pentagon has time to write ridiculous talking points that won’t do a thing for young Americans caught in the crossfire. Add this to Karl Rove’s partisan cheerleading and it’s pretty clear where their priorities are. Pathetic. Rumsfeld needs to get focused on our troops, not pages of hollow words and talking points.”

Republican’s in the Senate, armed with their Pentagon talking points attempted to force a debate on legislation that was introduced by Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who admitted that his legislation was lifted “from a proposal by” Senator John Kerry. McConnell’s legislation called for the Bush administration to “agree with the Iraqi government on a schedule for withdrawal of combat troops by Dec. 31, 2006.”

{snip}

Things got hot on the Senate floor as John Kerry called the phony Senate vote what it was, “a fibbing fictitious vote” and suggested that some of his “colleagues go back and reread the resolution which gave the president the authority to go into Iraq“… From the Floor Transcript:

{snip}

MR. KERRY: ... THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME IN SOME TIME THAT WE WILL HAVE DEBATED THIS ISSUE. I SUGGEST SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES GO BACK AND REREAD THE RESOLUTION WHICH GAVE THE PRESIDENT THE AUTHORITY TO GO INTO IRAQ.

THERE’S NOTHING IN THAT RESOLUTION THAT GIVES AUTHORITY FOR WHAT WE’RE DOING TODAY.

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