|
For Immediate Release Date: January 11, 2004
Statement By Wes Clark On Paul O'Neill's 60 Minutes Interview
Today, Paul O'Neill confirmed what I have been saying all along: the Bush Administration's focus on Iraq was not tied to the war on terror. It was a long-standing plan that was discussed from the opening days of the Bush White House.
In White House meetings during the months of January and February 2001, President Bush and his advisors were planning for what they presented to the public in January and February of 2003: peacekeeping troops, war crimes tribunals and nation building memos for a post-Saddam Iraq. Bush and his advisors even went so far as to plan for the divvying up of Iraq's oil wealth.
According to Secretary O'Neill, President Bush was focused on finding a way to overthrow Saddam, and he demanded that those around him find a way to do it. In the end, they used the war on terror as an excuse to execute their long-standing plans.
This is wrong. This is not leadership. The American people deserve to know the truth, especially something involving young service men and women. But given the track record of the Bush Administration, the last thing the American people can count on is the truth.
It is no wonder that Donald Rumsfeld tried to stop Paul O'Neill from speaking to the author of the book.
I am running to bring a higher standard of leadership to the White House. One that puts the national interests above the special interests, and holds its leaders accountable. Leadership that values America's working families and provides tax relief to the people that need it most.
When the Bush Administration began work on the second round of massive tax cuts, President Bush actually asked if they "hadn't already given money to rich people? This second tax cut's gonna do it again. Shouldn't we be giving money to the middle, won't people be able to say, 'you did it once, and then you did it twice, and what was it good for?'"
Yes, Mr. President, that is exactly what people are asking! That is what I'm asking. It's time to put America's working families first again, and I have a plan that does exactly that.
|