Kerry Press Release: Kerry Statement on Bush Failure to Secure Explosives

[Skinner]

For Immediate Release
October 25, 2004

Kerry Statement on Bush’s Failure to Secure Explosives in Iraq

Dover, NH – Senator John Kerry released the following statement today on the Bush administration’s failure to secure nearly 380 tons of high-grade explosives in Iraq:

“George W. Bush who talks tough and brags about making America safer has once again failed to deliver. After being warned about the danger of major stockpiles of explosives in Iraq, this administration failed to guard those stockpiles – where nearly 380 tons of highly explosive weapons were kept. Today we learned that these explosives are missing, unaccounted for and could be in the hands of terrorists.

“Terrorists could use this material to kill our troops and our people, blow up airplanes and level buildings.

“In May of this year, the administration was warned that terrorists may be helping themselves to ‘the greatest explosives bonanza in history.’ And now we know that our country and our troops are less safe because this president failed to do the basics. This is one of the great blunders of the Bush policy in Iraq.

“The unbelievable incompetence of this president and his administration has put our troops at risk. George W. Bush has failed the essential test of any commander in chief to keep America safe.

“Every step of the way this administration has miscalculated – miscalculated about how many troops we need. Secretary Rumsfeld cavalierly dismissed the danger of looting -- and now we know the impact.

“Make no mistake: our troops are the best-trained and best-led forces in the world, and they have been doing their job honorably and bravely. The problem is the Commander-in-Chief has not being doing his.

“If President Bush can’t recognize his failures in Iraq, he can’t fix them. And he’s doomed to repeat the same mistakes there and elsewhere. We can’t afford to risk four more years of George W. Bush.

“With President Bush, we face the prospect of a war that’s spiraling out of control in Iraq. As president, I will succeed in Iraq and bring our troops home.”

-30-

Paid for by Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc.

[spooky3]

1. Kerry accuses Bush of incompetence--rate this at Yahoo!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1...

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. - President Bush (news - web sites), presenting himself as the best candidate to keep America safe, was accused by John Kerry (news - web sites) on Monday of "unbelievable incompetence" in the disappearance of hundreds of tons of powerful explosives in Iraq (news - web sites).


"Every step of the way, this administration has miscalculated," Kerry said in Dover, N.H. He spoke shortly before traveling to Philadelphia for a rally with former President Clinton (news - web sites), who was making his first political appearance since heart surgery nearly seven weeks ago.

snip

[liberal_in_GA]

3. kick!

rate this up! It's only at 3.47...

[fob]

6. Did you catch this little gem from that story?

Asked in the interview if he has considered the fact that he could lose, Bush replied, "I'm not there yet."

I KNOW there was a story a week or two ago where he was asked the same thing and replied along the lines. "No way, we ain't gonna lose" in his best "We know 'cuz we're stealing this one again" voice.

Now he says, "I'm not there yet", well give it another week georgie*, you will be!

[spooky3]

15. strangely, this link now goes to an article with approximately the

same vote count and mean, but entitled "Bush: I'm the Best Candidate to Protect the US." There are more pro-Bush paragraphs in it. I guess the reporter received the memo.

[DU9598]

2. Terrific

I hope Clinton can put all of this in perspective today as well. This is the very basic stuff that a President needs to be held accountable for.

Go Kerry, keep up the strong closing arguments.

[nikatnyte]

4. Strong words, but

This press release is probably as strongly worded as Kerry can get away with, but how I'd love to hear him come right out and let Bush have it. "This so-called president is the biggest screw-up this country has ever seen! He's an imbecile! How could you want another four years of this crap? And if you think it hasn't been so bad, just you wait -- he and that pack of lying assholes who pull his strings are getting set to fuck this country over so bad it'll make you heave."

[Guaranteed]

5. How about saying that Bush is responsible for the deaths

of hundreds of our troops in Iraq?

All the IEDs and car bombs...where do you think those explosives are coming from?

[GainesT1958]

7. They didn't care enough to have it guarded in the first place...

But they DID care enough--after the fact--to demand that the "Interrim Iraqi Government" COVER UP the loss of those explosives from the U.S. media!

I sure hope this is finally the "fuse" that lights the fire under all those who had any apprehensions about voting for Kerry...no clearer sign that he'd be a better C-I-C could be given--and, simultaneously, that Dub is as LOUSY a C-I-C as there could be!

Events BEG this nation to make a change--NOW!

[timezoned]

8. Rumsfeld addresses the issue

in a direct quote from April 2003. I posted this elsewhere but it's important I think.


April 12, 2003
"Declaring that freedom is "untidy," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday the looting in Iraq was a result of "pent-up feelings" ...

<clip>

He also asserted the looting was not as bad as some television and newspaper reports have indicated...

<clipplity>

Looting, he added, was not uncommon for countries that experience significant social upheaval. "Stuff happens," Rumsfeld said."

<clop>

More:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/04/11/sprj.irq.pentagon/

[cubsfan forever]

9. Dumsfeld is a dyspeptic JERK! n/t

Professor 2

[TwentyFive]

10. BUSH - Traitor to the USA

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld are guilty of TREASON! How many people are going to have to die before conservatives wake up and smell the blunders?

[liberalpragmatist]

11. I wish he could show more outrage in the press release

I realize he has to be someone restrained. Still, I'd love if he were to absolutely rip Bush a new one. Saying things like:

"criminal negligence"

"unbelievable incompetence"

"hopelessly deluded, dangerous"

"coverup"

"dishonesty"

"I am outraged"

"How the hell do you lose 40 truckloads of dangerous explosives?!"

Oh well. I read in Reply #1 that he said "incompetence" at his rally today. Hopefully he'll say some of these things over the next couple of days or on Wednesday during his "major homeland security address."

[donkeyotay]

12. more stonewalling by this maladministration

“In May of this year, the administration was warned..."

How come we just heard about it? How come so many issues and investigations are being put off until after the election? How can we make an informed decision if we don't have the information?

[Bucky]

18. It's unfair to accuse the administration of "stonewalling"....

...when in fact what they were doing is a cover-up, not a stonewall. Stonewalling means you don't give responses that can lead to the truth. Covering up means you're actively leading people away from the truth and are effectively lying.

[AnIndependentTexan]

13. we need to hit the media hard that this means cover up and Bush has made

us unsafe by this action of allowing them weapons that could harm us. Use this and point out that Bush could have stopped 9/11, but didn't and now they are trying to allow a new 9/11 to happen so that they can abuse and miss use it for their own political idea.

[kanrok]

14. Ironic how the oil fields were well guarded, no?

[juliagoolia]

16. They are not there!!!!!!!! What happened to them?

What does Robert Acosta think of that?

mms://69.31.93.156/NotThere.wmv

or quicktime

http://69.31.93.156/NotThere.mov

[HulkamaniacUM]

17. Absolutely stunning

I can't wait to hear Shrub's response to this.

The most amazing aspect is this -- we wasted no time securing Iraq's oil fields, but we just forgot to guard a cache of the 380 tons of high-grade explosives???? AMAZING!

[Chiyo-chichi]

19. Where's the administration's response?

Any yet?

[StElsewhere]

20. Did ya really think................

Bushie would be able to secure a cache of explosives the size of Mount Olympus ? He was busy doing the hard work, like trying to get a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage. And didn't Rumsfeld tell us we were just seeing video of the same looting scenes over and over again ? Didn't he ask, "I mean, how many big vases could there be in Iraq?" Bush is a lunatic surrounded by fellow lunatics.The inmates are running the asylum.