Ford Says Bush Not Seeing Reality On Iraq

[Jackson4Gore]

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_3868069,00.html

Ford Jr. writes letter on Iraq to Bush

Lawmaker believes president not seeing war the way it really is

By BARTHOLOMEW SULLIVAN, The Commercial Appeal
June 20, 2005

WASHINGTON - The war in Iraq is the most urgent and perplexing issue facing the nation at the moment, so the Congressman from Memphis who wants to be a U.S. Senator needed to be out front - of everybody - with his views on the war last week.

With the first television campaign commercial of the 2006 cycle, U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., introduced himself to all the major media markets in Tennessee with the message, "Let's work hard to bring them home soon, and with honor."

And because it was also the first Senate campaign commercial anywhere in the country, Ford got his message out on the networks and cable nationwide.

In an interview about Iraq with The Commercial Appeal, he summed up his concerns: "We've got a long way to go and we need some new approaches. As you know, we have to win this effort and I don't believe we're going to win with the approach we have on the ground right now."

Ford is careful not to blame the troops. "This is not an indictment of our soldiers," he said. "We have the bravest and best soldiers in the world ... e in government should be inspired to do what's right for them as well, which is to get a better policy on the ground."

After his return from Iraq over the Memorial Day weekend, Ford wrote a letter to President Bush suggesting that he and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld "should stop overstating our success in Iraq because it overshadows and diminishes actual progress being made" there.

While he applauded Bush's steadfast efforts to combat terrorism, his frank suggestion that the administration might be wearing rose-colored glasses struck a new tone.

After visiting with U.S. military officials in Iraq and finding out that only three of 107 needed Iraqi units are fully functional, he told Bush: "(I)t appears, contrary to Secretary Rumsfeld's and your assertions, that the training of the Iraqi military and police forces and the restoration of basic services, including electricity and water, is moving at a slower pace than projected."

Both in the letter and in an interview, Ford suggested Iraqi police recruits might be trained in Europe or the United States.

On the two-day visit to Iraq, Ford said he and the six Republicans in the delegation met with senior military officials. Their questions "primarily centered on 'how long?' " The response was that, more than two years after the invasion, few of the Iraqi forces are fully functional, he said.

"The process isn't going as fast or as smooth as we'd like," Ford said. "Maybe we should consider sending some, if not all, but definitely some, to training academies in other places - get them out of that environment."

"I'm of the opinion the president should come lay out a plan for what has to take place for the troops to begin withdrawing, and how long he thinks that will take ... We've heard people speculate, but we've not heard the commander-in-chief ... deliver an address about what the strategy is and how long he believes it will take.

"I mean, he was excited about announcing the start of the war. He was equally excited about announcing the end of the war, in his mind," Ford said. "He was very excited about announcing the (Iraqi) elections and when he spoke before the Congress shortly after the election, he proclaimed that the elections were a resounding success.

The White House announced the president plans to make a major address on Iraq by the end of the month, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week she will attempt to make a better case for "what it is we are trying to achieve and what it is we are achieving," adding, "this is not going to be an American enterprise for the long term."

Ford last week also endorsed the idea that hearings should be held on the leaked minutes of a meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top advisers that appears to suggest Bush had made up his mind by the summer of 2002 to invade Iraq and that in the U.S. "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

"We probably should hold some hearings," on what's now referred to as The Downing Street memos, said Ford.

[FreedomAngel82]

1. It seems a lot of people

are jumping on the bandwagon now. Even Chuck Hagel (Chuck Hagel!) is saying Bush isn't seeing reality. :crazy: I think this summer is going to be very interesting with Bush.