Commentary ~ January 14, 2004: Senator Edward M. Kennedy
of Massachusetts blasted Bush Jr. and his administration today for
lying to the American public about Iraq in order to attack the middle
eastern country. It was, he said "one of the worst blunders
in more than two centuries" of American foreign policy.
Kennedy's anger was reportedly fueled by former Treasury Secretary
Paul O'Neill's blasts at the Bush administration. [see
related story]
The New York Times quoted Kennedy as saying Bush took the nation
into an "avoidable" war, thereby putting " the state
of our union at risk" — costing lives, overstretching
the military and diverting attention from the war on terror.
Kennedy also said the Iraq war has made the effort to stop terrorism
more difficult. "We knocked al Qaeda down in the war in Afghanistan,
but we let it regroup by going to war in Iraq," he said.
Kennedy said that hawkish aides surrounding Bush — "the
axis of war" — had overwhelmed objections from some in
the administration, like Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who
felt Mr. Hussein could be contained. Kennedy said the "the
axis of war" was led by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz,
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Kennedy said the administration had used "scare tactics"
and a "gross abuse of intelligence" to gain Congressional
approval and public support for war with Iraq.
Not pulling any punches, Kennedy said Bush and his administration
were "breathtakingly arrogant" and "vindictive and
mean-spirited."
Links:
Back to News Index
|
