John Kerry Demands US Troop Pullout

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Demands US Troop Pullout
June 14th, 2006 @ 12:57 pm

Rick Klein of the Boston Globe, reports today on John Kerry’s speech Tuesday at the Take Back America Conference, in Washington, D.C..

Senator John F. Kerry is placing himself at the center of congressional action over the war in Iraq this week with a crisply worded resolution to require President Bush to withdraw almost all US troops by the end of this year.

Klein notes that Kerry’s measure has exposed him to attacks from “Republicans and some Democrats, as critics rushed to tag the plan as a “cut-and-run” strategy,” however, it has “also has made him a rallying point for antiwar activists.”

The “cut-and-run” reference, obviously refers to the statement made by Karl Rove on Monday in NH, when Rove “specifically targeted Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha.” Kerry spokesman David Wade issued a statement yesterday righteously smacking down Karl Rove’s attack on Kerry and Murtha:

“The closest Karl Rove ever came to combat was these last months spent worrying his cellmates might rough him up in prison. This porcine political operative can’t cut and run from the truth any longer. When it came to Iraq, this Administration chose to cut and run from sound intelligence and good diplomacy, cut and run from the best military advice, cut and run from their responsibility to give our troops body armor, and in November, Americans will cut and run from this Republican Congress.”

In a discussion here, on Monday, I stated in response to a Republican talking point dropped in our comments about “cutting and running,” that:

“it seems to me that Bush CUT & RUN, when he failed to get Osama bin Lost in Tora Bora. One of the greatest failures of Bush’s war on terrorism was when Bush dropped the ball on Terrorist #1, when they had him cornered in Tora Bora.”

{snip}

Klein notes that Republican’s have been on the defensive over Kerry’s stance on Iraq, throwing out all the traditional right-wing talking points.

Kerry said he is tuning out Republican criticism as “scare tactics” designed to avoid a real discussion of the Bush administration’s war position.

“It’s time to stand up and make clear to them we’re not going to get pushed around,” he said in the interview.

In his speech, Kerry attacked the war’s architects as “armchair warriors whose front line is an air-conditioned conference room,” and dropped in a pointed reference to Bush’s not having fought in Vietnam.

“I understand fully that Iraq is not Vietnam; after all, President Bush is even there today,” Kerry said. Bush served in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam era, which allowed him to avoid being deployed to Vietnam.

Bush is the master of “cut and run,” as he proved when he dropped the ball in Tora Bora and failed to capture Osama bin Lost. Republican’s never question that massive failure on Bush’s part, nor do they question the fact that their “fearless leader” showed early in life that he had also mastered “tucking tail and pulling up” when he served in the Air National Guard during Vietnam and somehow managed to wind up AWOL.

The NY Times reports today that a survey finds that the “Global Image of the U.S. Is Worsening.”

As the war in Iraq continues for a fourth year, the global image of America has slipped further, even among people in some countries closely allied with the United States, a new opinion poll has found.

{snip}

The Bush administration has alienated America with it’s lies and failed policies. It’s time for the Bush administration to step up to the plate and follow the lead of a true leader — John Kerry. Kerry has the right idea on what the next steps are for Iraq — it’s time to set a plan in motion to withdraw our troops. Bring ‘Em Home.

FULL POST & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=3309