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For Immediate Release
September 16, 2004
Excerpts of Senator John Kerry’s Remarks to the National Guard Association
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Las Vegas, Nevada
The way I see it, this is a matter of values and priorities – and on these issues, President Bush and I couldn’t be more different. I believe that America’s security begins and ends with our men and women in uniform – with every member of our armed forces who stands guard at the gates of freedom. I will be a President who goes into the Oval Office every morning knowing that it is my job to help you do yours. I will fight for you every day, and I will never let you down. General Clark and I were talking on the way out here about the quality of our armed forces. You are America’s finest, the most capable, the most skilled troops in our history, led by the best military leaders in the world. And you deserve no less than the best.
And there’s something else we owe you and all the men and women serving right now in Iraq. We owe you the truth. True leadership is about looking people in the eye and telling the truth – even when it’s hard to hear. And two days ago, President Bush came before you and you received him well, as you should. But I believe he failed the fundamental test of leadership. He failed to tell you the truth. You deserve better. The Commander in Chief must level with the troops and the nation. And as president, I will always be straight with you – on the good days, and the bad days.
Two days ago, the President stood right where I’m standing and did not even acknowledge that more than 1,000 men and women have lost their lives in Iraq. He did not tell you that with each passing day, we’re seeing more chaos, more violence, more indiscriminate killings. He did not tell you that with each passing week, our enemies are getting bolder – that Pentagon officials report that entire regions of Iraq are now in the hands of terrorists and extremists. He did not tell you that with each passing month, stability and security seem farther and farther away.
He did not tell you any of this, even though – as the country learned today in the New York Times – his own intelligence officials have warned him for weeks that the mission in Iraq is in serious trouble. But that is the truth – hard as it is to hear. You deserve a president who will not play politics with national security, who will not ignore his own intelligence, while living in a fantasy world of spin, and who will give the American people the truth about the challenge our brave men and women face on the front lines.
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FACT SHEET:
BUSH’S RHETORIC DOES NOT MATCH REALITY IN IRAQ
BUSH FILLS STUMP SPEECHES WITH HAPPY TALK ON IRAQ
Bush: “Our strategy is succeeding… Despite ongoing violence in Iraq, that country now has a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national elections are scheduled in January.” (Bush Remarks, 9/14/04)
Bush: “We’re making progress there. I’m impressed -- I’m impressed by Prime Minister Allawi. He’s a strong guy who believes that democracy is the future of Iraq, and he’s got hard work to do. It wasn’t all that long ago that people were brutalized by Saddam Hussein. But we’re making progress.” (Bush Remarks, 9/9/04)
Bush: “We talked about Iraq, the way forward in Iraq, the way to help the Iraqis get to elections. We’re making progress on the ground.” (Bush Remarks, 8/23/04)
Bush: “We talked about Iraq, and I told him I was pleased with the progress being made in Iraq, and the prime minister had some helpful suggestions.” (Bush Remarks, 7/19/04)
NEW INTELLIGENCE REPORT SHOWS BUSH IS NOT TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SITUATION IN IRAQ
Bush Received Briefing With Pessimistic Predictions For Iraq. Bush received a classified National Intelligence Estimate in late July which “spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq.” The three possibilities outlined in the estimate paint a grim picture for Iraq through the end of 2005, “with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms.” A government official who read the document admits “there’s a significant amount of pessimism.” (New York Times, 9/16/04)
Pessimistic Estimate Was Produced Even Before Recent Worsening Of The Situation On The Ground In Iraq. The pessimistic conclusions in the estimate, produced by the National Intelligence Council and approved by Acting C.I.A. Director McLaughlin in July, “were reached even before the recent worsening of the security situation in Iraq, which has included a sharp increase in attacks on American troops and in deaths of Iraqi civilians as well as resistance fighters.” (New York Times, 9/16/04)
REALITY ON THE GROUND IN IRAQ
- Regions Of Iraq Are Still Under The Control Of Insurgents. Major Iraqi cities including Ramadi, Fallujah, Samarra, and Bukhara remain under the control of insurgents. Retaking the cities depends on having adequately trained and equipped Iraqi soldiers, which Rumsfeld and Myers admit may not happen until December - one month before Iraq’s scheduled elections. (NBC, “Meet The Press,” 9/12/04; Rumsfeld/Myers New Briefing, 9/7/04)
- Two Americans Recently Kidnapped In Iraq. Two Americans and Briton were kidnapped in Iraq by insurgents on Thursday. Throughout the 17-month insurgency, more than 100 foreigners have been kidnapped. (Associated Press, 9/16/04)
- More Troops Have Died Since The Handover Of Sovereignty Than In The Initial Invasion. Since the transfer of sovereignty on June 28, at least 162 American troops have been killed; 138 were killed in March and April of 2003. (Washington Post, 9/9/04)
- More Troops Died In August Than In July; More In July Than June. In August, 66 U.S. service personnel were killed in Iraq. American forces suffered 54 casualties in July as compared to 42 in the month of June. (Wash Post, 9/5/04)
- Attacks On U.S. Forces Have Been Increasing Since The Transfer Of Sovereignty. On average, U.S. forces are now being attacked 60 times per day. This is a 20% increase from the three months before the transfer of sovereignty. (Los Angeles Times, 8/31/04)
- Number Of Soldiers Wounded Has Doubled Since April. The total number of American soldiers wounded since the invasion was launched in March 2003 is 7,245. There were more wounded over the past five months - about 4,000 - than in the first 13 months of the war, when there were about 3,300. (Associated Press, 9/1/04, 9/15/04; Time, 9/20/04 issue)
August Was Month of Highest Injury Toll In Iraq. “About 1,100 U.S. soldiers and Marines were wounded in Iraq during August, by far the highest combat injury toll for any month since the war began...” (Wash Post, 9/5/04)
- U.S. Forces Are Still Doing The Majority Of the Fighting. In the recent fighting in Sadr City, U.S. forces “appeared to be carrying out most - if not all - of the fighting.” (Associated Press, 9/7/04)
- State Department Requests Reconstruction Funding Be Shifted To Security. In an indication of the Bush Administration’s failure to plan for the increasing violence in post-war Iraq, the Bush Administration asked Congress to shift $3.4 from the reconstruction to the security of Iraq. (Associated Press, 8/30/04)
Hagel: Failure of Reconstructing Iraq Shows “We Are In Deep Trouble.” Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said it “does not add up, in my opinion, to a pretty picture, to a picture that shows that we’re winning. But it does add up to this, an acknowledgment that we are in deep trouble.” (NYT, 9/16/04)
Lugar: “Lack of Planning Is Apparent.” Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) said the slow pace of spending on reconstruction “means that we are failing to fully take advantage of one of our most potent tools to influence the direction of Iraq.” Lugar criticized “the blindly optimistic people” inside and outside the administration. “The lack of planning is apparent,” he said. (AP, 9/15/04)
- Bush Losing Coalition Forces In Iraq. Since the beginning of the war, eight countries are planning to or have already withdrawn troops from the coalition in Iraq: Thailand, Norway, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Philippines, Singapore, and Spain. In all, nearly 3,000 troops have pulled out or planning to pull out of Iraq this month. Costa Rica asked the United States to remove it from a list of Iraq coalition partners in September after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that inclusion on the list violated the Constitution, which bars support for any military action not authorized by the United Nations. (AP, 8/13/04, 9/10/04)
- Annan Said Lack Of Security May Threaten January Elections. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the continuing violence in Iraq “may threaten elections planned for January.” (Reuters, 9/8/04)
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