- Note - More phony political doublespeak. Kerry does
'not anticipate' sending more US troops to Iraq? Clever.
- And he 'hoped' to bring 'significant numbers' home 'during
his first term.' Right. Yes, the tawdry say-anything polical campaign
is on in earnest and talk (and media manipulation) has never been cheaper.
How about 'If elected, I will begin an immediate, orderly American withdrawel,
leaving Iraqis to sort out their own affairs according to the wishes of
the majority in that tragically US-destroyed nation. People forget that
even under the brutal Saddam, Iraq was hailed in a CNN documentary before
the first Gulf 'War' (slaughter) as being the most Westernized, progressive
Moslen-Arab nation of all. -ed
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- DUBLIN, Ohio - Democratic
presidential nominee John Kerry said on Sunday he did not anticipate sending
more American troops to Iraq and hoped to bring "significant numbers"
home during his first term.
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- Promising a fresh start with U.S. allies "burned"
by President Bush, Kerry said, "I would consider it an unsuccessful
policy if I hadn't brought significant numbers of troops back within the
first term. And I will do that."
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- Kerry made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows with
his running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, while on a two-week,
3,500-mile trip through battleground states. He was seeking to capitalize
on momentum generated by last week's Democratic convention as a new CNN-USA
Today Gallup poll showed he had gained only 1 percentage point over Bush.
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- The poll of registered voters showed Kerry leading
50 percent to 47 percent for Bush, compared to a larger lead last month,
49 percent to 45 percent.
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- A Newsweek poll on Saturday gave Kerry a four-point
jump, or "bounce" from the convention among registered voters.
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- The four-term U.S. senator from Massachusetts, who
voted for the congressional resolution authorizing Bush to use force in
Iraq, criticized the president's policy in his speech on Thursday accepting
the Democratic nomination.
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- But Kerry did not offer the exit strategy many Americans
are looking for and rejected suggestions his plans were vague.
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- Regaining credibility
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- "No, not at all," Kerry told CBS' "Face
the Nation." "The problem is that this administration has lost
credibility, they've pushed countries away."
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- He told CNN's "Late Edition" he was "not
going to go into numbers" of troops he wanted to return home from
Iraq by 2008, which would mark the end of his first term if he is elected
Nov. 2.
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- He tied the withdrawal of American soldiers to his
effort to win greater international participation in Iraq, citing increased
roles in the reconstruction effort and decision-making process.
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- "I know how to bring these countries to the
table, and there are some very powerful cards we have to play," Kerry
told "Fox News Sunday."
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- "The truth is, this president has failed in
his conduct of diplomacy."
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- On the CBS program, he added: "A fresh start
changes the equation, particularly changes it for leaders in other countries
who have great difficulty right now associating themselves with our policy
and with the United States because of the way this administration has burned
those bridges."
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- "If we demonstrate an America that has a foreign
policy that is smarter, more engaged ... and more respectful of the world,
we're going to bring people to our side," Kerry added. "We're
not only not going to put additional troops there, that's the way to bring
our troops home."
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- In the past, Kerry has not ruled out sending more
Americans to join the 140,000 U.S. troops already in Iraq but has said
he would encourage other countries, particularly Arab nations, to contribute
forces.
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- 'Real partnership' with Allies
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- "I don't envision it," he said when asked
if he would send more U.S. soldiers. "I believe that my leadership
and my plan to approach these countries - and I'm not negotiating it publicly
- I know what I want to do. I know what I believe can be achieved."
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- Opinion polls suggest a majority of Americans now
believe the decision to invade Iraq last year was a mistake. Kerry and
Edwards, who also voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion, have refused
to call their votes a mistake.
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- "We believed that the president needed the authority
to deal with Saddam Hussein and that him being gone is a very good thing,"
Edwards said. "We did not know that the president would not use his
authority the way he should use it."
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