First Bush-Kerry debate: on War & Peace
George W. Bush:
FactCheck: Iraq reconstruction money is not flowing
BUSH: (Referring to Iraq) There will be elections in January. We're spending reconstruction money. And our alliance is strong.FACT-CHECK: Bush gave a rosy picture of progress in Iraq, glossing over significant problems
with reconstruction contracts and training of Iraqi security forces. Bush cited as a sign of progress in Iraq that the US is "spending reconstruction money," when in fact the slow pace of spending has become a major problem for US officials.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage testified to a House Appropriations subcommittee Sept. 24 that only $1.2 billion in reconstruction money had actually been spent so far,
out of the total of $18 billion that was appropriated almost a year earlier in "emergency" funds for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Source: Analysis of first Bush-Kerry debate (FactCheck.org Ad-Watch)
George W. Bush:
FactCheck: "100,000 trained" are mostly 3-week police course
BUSH: The best way for Iraq to be safe and secure is for Iraqi citizens to be trained to do the job. And that's what we're doing. There are 100,000 troops trained, police, guard, special units, border patrol. There's going to be 125,000 trained by the en
of this year. Yes, we're getting the job done. It's hard work.FACT-CHECK: Bush's "100,000 troops" trained to date is the official figure, but the President failed to mention that many trainees have received nothing more than a 3-week course in police
procedures-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage clarified in House testimony:
ARMITAGE: It's 100,000 total security forces, and I don't want anyone to make the mistake that security force equals soldier-could be the 8-week trained policemen, of
which there are a little over 8,000, or it could be what I refer to as the shake-and-bake 3-week police force, which are previous policemen who are now given a 3-weeks course. So it's a mixed bag , but there are about 100,000 total security forces.
Source: Analysis of first Bush-Kerry debate (FactCheck.org Ad-Watch)
George W. Bush:
FactCheck: Kerry never claimed he'd withdraw in 6 months
BUSH: I know putting artificial deadlines won't work. My opponent at one time said, "Well, get me elected, I'll have them out of there in six months." You can't do that and expect to win the war on terror.KERRY: I want to correct the president,
because he's misled again on what I've said. I didn't say I would bring troops out in six months. I said, if we do the things that I've set out and we are successful, we could begin to draw the troops down in six months.
FACT CHECK: The President
misquoted Kerry's position on how quickly troops might be withdrawn from Iraq. What Kerry actually said was that he believed he could "significantly reduce" US troop levels in Iraq within six months of taking office-not at all the same thing as having
all troops "out of there." Kerry's remark was on NPR on Aug 6:
KERRY: I believe that within a year from now, we could significantly reduce American forces in Iraq, and that's my plan. I believe we can. Absolutely we can reduce the numbers. You bet.
Source: Analysis of first Bush-Kerry debate (FactCheck.org Ad-Watch)
George W. Bush:
FactCheck: new al Qaeda recruits reduce 75% capture figure
BUSH: 75 percent of al Qaeda leaders have been brought to justice. FACT CHECK: As The Associated Press reported Oct. 1, Bush was referring to the deaths or arrests of 75 percent of bin Laden's network at the time of the September 11 attacks-
not those who are running the terrorist organization today. The AP also reported that the CIA said earlier in the year two-thirds of those leaders are gone; at his acceptance speech in September, Bush increased his count to three-fourths
based on unreleased intelligence data. Furthermore, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies reported May 25 that the occupation of Iraq has helped al Qaeda recruit more members.
The institute quoted "conservative" intelligence estimates as saying that al Qaeda has 18,000 potential operatives and is present in more than 60 countries.
Source: Analysis of first Bush-Kerry debate (FactCheck.org Ad-Watch)
John Kerry:
FactCheck: US didn't have bin Laden surrounded at Tora Bora
KERRY: I would not take my eye off of the goal: Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, he escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best trained in the world, to go kill him.
The president relied on Afghan warlords and he outsourced that job too. That's wrong.FACT CHECK: Kerry said U.S. forces allowed Osama bin Laden to escape in 2001 during the battle at Tora Bora in Afghanistan because the administration "outsourced"
fighting to Afghan "warlords." Actually, it's never been clear whether bin Laden actually was at Tora Bora. It is true that military leaders strongly suspected bin Laden was there, and it is also true that the Pentagon relied heavily
on Afghan forces to take on much of the fighting at Tora Bora in an effort to reduce US casualties. But Kerry overstates the case by stating flatly that "we had him surrounded."
Source: Analysis of first Bush-Kerry debate (FactCheck.org Ad-Watch)
John Kerry:
FactCheck: Bush has spent $120B in Iraq, not $200B
KERRY: Today, we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost: $200 billion-$200 billion that could have been used for health care, for schools, for construction, for prescription drugs for seniors, and it's in Iraq. FACT CHECK:
Kerry continued to refer to "the cost" of the Iraq war as $200 billion, when it fact the cost to date is just over $120 billion, according to budget officials. Kerry is counting money that has been appropriated to be spent in the fiscal year that started
Friday, Oct. 1. Much of the money Kerry counts has not even been requested formally by the Bush administration, and is only an estimate of what will be sought sometime in the coming year, to be spent later.
We've pointed this out before, in detail. [John Edwards cited the same figure in his October 5 debate].
Source: Analysis of first Bush-Kerry debate (FactCheck.org Ad-Watch)
George W. Bush:
The UK and Poland are our allies that must not be denigrated
KERRY: What need a president who understands how to bring these other countries together to recognize their stakes in this. The Arab countries have a stake in not having a civil war. The European countries have a stake in not having total disorder on
their doorstep. Bush hasn't even held the kind of statesman-like summits that pull people together and get them to invest in those states. He's done the opposite. He pushed them away. To save for Halliburton the spoils of the war, they actually issued a
memorandum from the Defense Department saying, If you weren't with us in the war, don't bother applying for any construction. BUSH: The UN was invited in. And we support the UN efforts there. They pulled out after Sergio de Mello got killed. But
they're now back in helping with elections. What's he say to Tony Blair and Alexander Kwasniewski of Poland? You can't expect to build an alliance when you denigrate the contributions of those who are serving side by side with American troops in Iraq.
Source: [Xref Kerry] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Kerry voted to give me the authority to invade Iraq
KERRY: A fresh start, new credibility, a president who can understand what we have to do to reach out to the Muslim world to make it clear that this is not, you know - Osama bin Laden uses the invasion of Iraq in order to go out to people and say that
America has declared war on Islam. We need to be smarter about now we wage a war on terror. We need to deny them the recruits. We need to deny them the safe havens. We need to rebuild our alliances.BUSH: Kerry said Osama bin Laden uses the invasion of
Iraq as an excuse to spread hatred for America. Osama bin Laden isn't going to determine how we defend ourselves. I decided the right action was in Iraq. He said I misled on Iraq. I don't think he was misleading when he called Iraq a grave threat in the
fall of 2002. I don't think he was misleading when he said that it was right to disarm Iraq in the spring of 2003.What is misleading is to say you can lead and succeed in Iraq if you keep changing your positions on this war. And he has.
Source: [Xref Kerry] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Can't change the dynamics in Iraq by criticizing the leader
KERRY: I will make a flat statement: The US has no long-term designs on staying in Iraq. Our goal in my administration would be to get all of the troops out of there with a minimal amount you need for training and logistics as we do in some other
countries in the world after a war to be able to sustain the peace. But that's how we're going to win the peace, by rapidly training the Iraqis themselves. Even the Bush administration has admitted they haven't done the training, because they came back
to Congress a few weeks ago and asked for a complete reprogramming of the money.BUSH: You can't change the dynamics on the ground if you've criticized the brave leader of Iraq. The way to make sure that we succeed is to send consistent, sound messages
to the Iraqi people that when we give our word, we will keep our word, that we stand with you, that we believe you want to be free. And I do. I reject the notion that some say that if you're Muslim you can't free, you don't desire freedom.
Source: [Xref Kerry] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Went to the UN hoping the world would listen to our demands
The world is better off without Saddam Hussein. I was hoping diplomacy would work. I understand the serious consequences of committing our troops into harm's way. It's the hardest decision a president makes. So I went to the UN. I went there hoping that,
once and for all, the free world would act in concert to get Saddam Hussein to listen to our demands. They passed the resolution that said, Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. When an international body speaks, it must mean what it says.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Saddam Hussein was systematically deceiving the inspectors
Saddam Hussein had no intention of disarming. He had 16 other resolutions and nothing took place. As a matter of fact, my opponent talks about inspectors. The facts are that he was systematically deceiving the inspectors. That wasn't going to work.
That's kind of a pre-September 10th mentality, the hope that somehow resolutions and failed inspections would make this world a more peaceful place. He was hoping we'd turn away. But there was fortunately others who believed that we ought to take action.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
The front on the war on terror is more than just one place
The front on this war is more than just one place. The Philippines - we're helping them there to bring Al Qaida affiliates to justice there. And, of course, Iraq is a central part in the war on terror. That's why Zarqawi and his people are
trying to fight us. Their hope is that we grow weary and we leave. The biggest disaster that could happen is that we not succeed in Iraq. We will succeed. We've got a plan to do so. We'll succeed because the Iraqis want to be free.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
You can't lead the country if you criticize the Iraqi war
Kerry wants you to forget is that he voted to authorize the use of force and now says it's the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place. I don't see how you can lead this country to succeed in Iraq if you say wrong war, wrong time, wrong place.
What message does that send our troops? What message does that send to our allies? What message does that send the Iraqis? The way to win this is to be steadfast and resolved and to follow through on the plan that I've just outlined.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Start bringing troops home when Iraq is stable and free
The best way for Iraq to be safe and secure is for Iraqi citizens to be trained to do the job. And that's what we're doing. We've got 100,000 trained now, 125,000 by the end of this year, 200,000 by the end of next year. That is the best way. We'll never
succeed in Iraq if the Iraqi citizens do not want to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves. The best indication about when we can bring our troops home - which I really want to do, but I don't want to do so for the sake of bringing them
home; I want to do so because we've achieved an objective - is to see the Iraqis perform and to see the Iraqis step up and take responsibility. When our general is on the ground and Ambassador Negroponte tells me that Iraq is ready to defend herself from
these terrorists, that elections will have been held by then, that their stability and that they're on their way to, you know, a nation that's free; that's when we will start bringing our troops home. But I know putting artificial deadlines won't work.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
A free Iraq is essential for the security of America
BUSH: A free Iraq will be an ally in the war on terror, and that's essential. A free Iraq will set a powerful example in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom. A free Iraq will help secure Israel. A free Iraq will enforce the hopes and
aspirations of the reformers in places like Iran. A free Iraq is essential for the security of this country. KERRY: The other day in Wisconsin, a couple of young returnees were in the line, one active duty, one from the Guard. And they both looked at
me and said: We need you. You've got to help us over there. Bush's father did not go into Iraq, into Baghdad, beyond Basra. And the reason he didn't is, he said - he wrote in his book - because there was no viable exit strategy.
And he said our troops would be occupiers in a bitterly hostile land. The only building that was guarded when the troops when into Baghdad was the oil ministry. We didn't guard the nuclear facilities. We didn't guard the foreign office.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Commander in chief shouldn't give mixed messages to troops
BUSH: Kerry says help is on the way, but what kind of message does it say to our troops in harm's way, wrong war, wrong place, wrong time? Not a message a commander in chief gives, or this is a great diversion. As well, help is on the way, but it's
certainly hard to tell it when he voted against the $87-billion supplemental to provide equipment for our troops, and then said he actually did vote for it before he voted against it. KERRY:
When I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talk about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse? I believe that when you know something's going wrong, you make it right.
That's what I learned in Vietnam. When I came back from that war I saw that it was wrong. Some people don't like the fact that I stood up to say no, but I did. And that's what I did with that vote. And I'm going to lead those troops to victory.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
There are summits being held-world won't follow "wrong war"
BUSH: I sit down with the world leaders frequently and talk to them on the phone frequently. They're not going to follow somebody who says this is the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time. They're not going to follow somebody whose core
convictions keep changing because of politics in America. There are summits being held. Japan is going to have a summit for the donors; $14 billion pledged; the Prime Minister is going to call countries to account, to get them to contribute. And there's
going to be an Arab summit, of the neighborhood countries. And Colin Powell helped set up that summit.KERRY: The UN and Kofi Annan offered help after Baghdad fell. We never took him up on that and did what was necessary to transfer authority and to
transfer reconstruction. It was always American-run. Secondly, when we went in, there were three countries: Great Britain, Australia and the US. That's not a grand coalition. We can do better.
BUSH: He forgot Poland. And now there's 30 nations involved
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Allocated $7 billion over months for reconstruction efforts
BUSH: We're training Iraqi soldiers so they can do the hard work. And it's not only just America, but NATO is now helping, Jordan's helping train police, UAE is helping train police. We've allocated $7 billion over the next months for reconstruction
efforts. There's going to be a summit of the Arab nations. Japan will be hosting a summit.KERRY: You can't tell me that that we have a genuine coalition when the most troops any other country has on the ground is Great Britain, with 8,300, and below
that the four others are below 4,000, and below that, there isn't anybody out of the hundreds. You can't tell me that on the day that we went into that war and it started - it was principally the US, Great Britain and one or two others. That's it.
Today, we are 90% of the casualties and 90% of the costs. Meanwhile, North Korea has got nuclear weapons. Talk about mixed messages. Bush is the one that said, "We can't allow countries to get nuclear weapons." They have. I'll change that.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
I know bin Laden attacked; but Saddam had WMD-capabilities
BUSH: I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. Secondly, to think that another round of resolutions would have caused Saddam Hussein to disarm, disclose, is ludicrous, in my judgment. It just shows a significant difference of opinion. We tried diplomacy. We
did our best. He was hoping to turn a blind eye. He would have been stronger had we not dealt with him. He had the capability of making weapons, and he would have made weapons.KERRY: 35 to 40 countries in the world had a greater capability of making
weapons at the moment the president invaded than Saddam Hussein. And while he's been diverted, with 9 out of 10 active duty divisions of our Army, either going to Iraq, coming back from Iraq, or getting ready to go, North Korea's gotten nuclear weapons
and the world is more dangerous. Iran is moving toward nuclear weapons and the world is more dangerous. Darfur has a genocide. The world is more dangerous. I'd have made a better choice.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Busted the A.Q. Khan network and convinced Libya to disarm
We busted the A.Q. Khan network. This was a proliferator out of Pakistan that was selling secrets to places like North Korea and Libya. We convinced Libya to disarm. It's a central part of dealing with weapons of mass destruction and proliferation.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
George W. Bush:
Kerry agreed that Saddam Hussein was a grave threat
BUSH: Saddam Hussein was a grave threat. I don't hold it against him that Kerry said grave threat. I'm not going to go around the country saying he didn't tell the truth, when he looked at the same intelligence I did.
KERRY: It was a threat. That's not the issue. The issue is what you do about it. Bush said he was going to build a true coalition, exhaust the remedies of the UN and go to war as a last resort.
Those words really have to mean something. And, unfortunately, he didn't go to war as a last resort. Now we have this incredible mess in Iraq-$200 billion. It's not what the American people thought they were getting when they voted.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Bush Sr said our troops would be occupiers in a hostile land
BUSH: A free Iraq will be an ally in the war on terror, and that's essential. A free Iraq will set a powerful example in a part of the world that is desperate for freedom. A free Iraq will help secure Israel. A free Iraq will enforce the hopes and
aspirations of the reformers in places like Iran. A free Iraq is essential for the security of this country. KERRY: The other day in Wisconsin, a couple of young returnees were in the line, one active duty, one from the Guard. And they both looked at
me and said: We need you. You've got to help us over there. Bush's father did not go into Iraq, into Baghdad, beyond Basra. And the reason he didn't is, he said - he wrote in his book - because there was no viable exit strategy.
And he said our troops would be occupiers in a bitterly hostile land. The only building that was guarded when the troops when into Baghdad was the oil ministry. We didn't guard the nuclear facilities. We didn't guard the foreign office.
Source: [X-ref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Voted against a $87 billion supplemental that hurts veterans
BUSH: Kerry says help is on the way, but what kind of message does it say to our troops in harm's way, wrong war, wrong place, wrong time? Not a message a commander in chief gives, or this is a great diversion. As well, help is on the way, but it's
certainly hard to tell it when he voted against the $87-billion supplemental to provide equipment for our troops, and then said he actually did vote for it before he voted against it. KERRY:
When I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talk about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse? I believe that when you know something's going wrong, you make it right.
That's what I learned in Vietnam. When I came back from that war I saw that it was wrong. Some people don't like the fact that I stood up to say no, but I did. And that's what I did with that vote. And I'm going to lead those troops to victory.
Source: [X-ref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
The issue of Saddam Hussein was what to do about it
BUSH: Saddam Hussein was a grave threat. I don't hold it against him that Kerry said grave threat. I'm not going to go around the country saying he didn't tell the truth, when he looked at the same intelligence I did.
KERRY: It was a threat. That's not the issue. The issue is what you do about it. Bush said he was going to build a true coalition, exhaust the remedies of the UN and go to war as a last resort.
Those words really have to mean something. And, unfortunately, he didn't go to war as a last resort. Now we have this incredible mess in Iraq-$200 billion. It's not what the American people thought they were getting when they voted.
Source: [X-ref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
It was a coalition of three countries when we went in Iraq
BUSH: I sit down with the world leaders frequently and talk to them on the phone frequently. They're not going to follow somebody who says this is the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time. They're not going to follow somebody whose core
convictions keep changing because of politics in America. There are summits being held. Japan is going to have a summit for the donors; $14 billion pledged; the Prime Minister is going to call countries to account, to get them to contribute. And there's
going to be an Arab summit, of the neighborhood countries. And Colin Powell helped set up that summit.KERRY: The UN and Kofi Annan offered help after Baghdad fell. We never took him up on that and did what was necessary to transfer authority and to
transfer reconstruction. It was always American-run. Secondly, when we went in, there were three countries: Great Britain, Australia and the US. That's not a grand coalition. We can do better.
BUSH: He forgot Poland. And now there's 30 nations involved
Source: [Xref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
North Korea's got nuclear weapons due to Bush's ambivalence
BUSH: We're training Iraqi soldiers so they can do the hard work. And it's not only just America, but NATO is now helping, Jordan's helping train police, UAE is helping train police. We've allocated $7 billion over the next months for reconstruction
efforts. There's going to be a summit of the Arab nations. Japan will be hosting a summit.KERRY: You can't tell me that that we have a genuine coalition when the most troops any other country has on the ground is Great Britain, with 8,300, and below
that the four others are below 4,000, and below that, there isn't anybody out of the hundreds. You can't tell me that on the day that we went into that war and it started - it was principally the US, Great Britain and one or two others. That's it.
Today, we are 90% of the casualties and 90% of the costs. Meanwhile, North Korea has got nuclear weapons. Talk about mixed messages. Bush is the one that said, "We can't allow countries to get nuclear weapons." They have. I'll change that.
Source: [Xref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Preferred strong alliances when Bush decided to go to war
BUSH: The intelligence I looked at was the same intelligence my opponent looked at. When I stood up there and spoke to the Congress, I was speaking off the same intelligence he looked at to make his decisions to support the authorization of force.
KERRY: I wasn't misleading when I said Saddam Hussein was a threat. Nor was I misleading on the day that Bush decided to go to war when I said that he had made a mistake in not building strong alliances and that I would have preferred that he did more
diplomacy. I've had one position, one consistent position, that Saddam Hussein was a threat. There was a right way to disarm him and a wrong way. And Bush chose the wrong way.
BUSH: You cannot change positions in this war on terror if you expect to win. And we have a duty to our country and to future generations of America to achieve a free Iraq, a free Afghanistan, and to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction.
Source: [Xref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Make sure the outcome of war honors soldiers' nobility
BUSH: I understand the stakes of this war on terror. I understand we must find Al Qaida wherever they hide. We must deal with threats before they fully materialize. And Saddam Hussein was a threat, and that we must spread liberty because in the long run,
the way to defeat hatred and tyranny and oppression is to spread freedom. In the long term a free Iraq, a free Afghanistan, will set such a powerful in a part of the world that's desperate for freedom.KERRY: I am determined for those soldiers and for
those families, for those kids who put their lives on the line. That's the most noble thing that anybody can do. And I want to make sure the outcome honors that nobility. We have a choice here. I've laid out a plan by which we can be successful in Iraq:
with a summit, by doing better training, faster, by cutting - by doing what we need to do with respect to the UN and the elections. There's only 25 percent of the people in there. They can't have an election right now. Bush's not getting the job done.
Source: [Xref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
90 percent of our Army is in Iraq instead of fighting terror
BUSH: I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. Secondly, to think that another round of resolutions would have caused Saddam Hussein to disarm, disclose, is ludicrous, in my judgment. It just shows a significant difference of opinion. We tried diplomacy. We
did our best. He was hoping to turn a blind eye. He would have been stronger had we not dealt with him. He had the capability of making weapons, and he would have made weapons.KERRY: 35 to 40 countries in the world had a greater capability of making
weapons at the moment the president invaded than Saddam Hussein. And while he's been diverted, with 9 out of 10 active duty divisions of our Army, either going to Iraq, coming back from Iraq, or getting ready to go, North Korea's gotten nuclear weapons
and the world is more dangerous. Iran is moving toward nuclear weapons and the world is more dangerous. Darfur has a genocide. The world is more dangerous. I'd have made a better choice.
Source: [Xref Bush] First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Bush outsourced to Afghan warlords to kill Osama bin Laden
I would not take my eye off of the goal: Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, he escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora.
We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best trained in the world, to go kill him. Bush relied on Afghan warlords and he outsourced that job too. That's wrong.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden is, is forgotten
Iraq is not even the center of the focus of the war on terror. The center is Afghanistan, where, incidentally, there were more Americans killed last year than the year before; where the opium production is 75 percent of the world's opium production;
where 40 to 60 percent of the economy of Afghanistan is based on opium; where the elections have been postponed three times. Bush moved the troops, so he's got 10 times the number of troops in Iraq than he has in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden is.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
It's wrong to make America bear 90% of war casualties
America is safest and strongest when we are leading the world and we are leading strong alliances. I'll never give a veto to any country over our security. But I also know how to lead those alliances.
We're now bearing 90 percent of the casualties in Iraq and 90 percent of the costs. I think that's wrong, and I think we can do better.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Iraq is diverting our attention from the real war on terror
I believe in being strong, resolute and determined. I will hunt down and kill the terrorists, wherever they are. But we also have to be smart. Smart means not diverting your attention from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and
taking if off to Iraq where the 9/11 Commission confirms no connection to 9/11 itself and Saddam Hussein, and where the reason for going to war was weapons of mass destruction, not the removal of Saddam Hussein. Bush has made a colossal error of judgment
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
"Last resort" means something to someone who's seen combat
Bush promised he would go to war as a last resort. Those words mean something to me as somebody who has been in combat. Last resort. You've got to be able to look in the eyes of families and say to those parents, I tried to do everything in my power to
prevent the loss of your son and daughter. Today, we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost: $200 billion - $200 billion that could have been used for health care, for schools, for construction, for prescription drugs for seniors.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Iraq wasn't the center of the war on terror before invasion
Iraq was not even close to the center of the war on terror before Bush invaded it. He made the judgment to divert forces from under General Tommy Franks from Afghanistan before the Congress even approved it to begin to prepare to go to war in Iraq. He
rushed the war in Iraq without a plan to win the peace. That is not the judgment that a president of the US ought to make. You don't take America to war unless have the plan to win the peace. You don't send troops to war without the body armor they need.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
It's getting worse by the day in Iraq
I don't know if Bush sees what's really happened on there. But it's getting worse by the day. More soldiers killed in June than before. More in July than June. More in August than July. More in September than in August.
And now we see beheadings. And we got weapons of mass destruction crossing the border every single day, and they're blowing people up. And we don't have enough troops there.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Bush promised not to make war inevitable but did just that
From the beginning, I did vote to give the authority, because I thought Saddam Hussein was a threat, and I did accept that intelligence. But I also laid out a very strict series of things we needed to do in order to proceed from a position of strength.
Then Bush, in fact, promised them. He went to Cincinnati and he gave a speech in which he said, We will plan carefully. We will proceed cautiously. We will not make war inevitable. We will go with our allies. He didn't do any of those things.
They didn't do the planning. They left the planning of the State Department in the State Department desks. They avoided even the advice of their own general. The Army chief of staff, said you're going to need several hundred thousand troops.
Instead of listening to him, they retired him. The terrorism czar, who has worked for every president since Ronald Reagan, said, Invading Iraq in response to 9/11 would be like Franklin Roosevelt invading Mexico in response to Pearl Harbor.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Bush misled the American people
In his state of the union message, Bush told Congress about nuclear materials that didn't exist. We know that he promised America that he was going to build this coalition. I just described the coalition. It is not the kind of coalition we were described
when we were talking about voting for this. The president said he would exhaust the remedies of the UN and go through that full process. He didn't. He cut if off, sort of arbitrarily. And we know that there were further diplomatic efforts under way.
They just decided the time for diplomacy is over and rushed to war without planning for what happens afterwards. Now, he misled the American people in his speech when he said we will plan carefully. They obviously didn't. He misled the American people
when he said we'd go to war as a last resort. We did not go as a last resort. And most Americans know the difference. This has cost us deeply in the world. It is important to tell the truth to the American people.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
The oil ministry is guarded but not the nuclear facilities
I didn't say I would bring troops out in six months. I said, if we do the things that I've set out and we are successful, we could begin to draw the troops down in six months. A critical component of success in Iraq is being able to convince the Iraqis
and the Arab world that the US doesn't have long-term designs on it. We're building some 14 military bases there now, and some people say they've got a rather permanent concept to them. When you guard the oil ministry, but you don't guard the nuclear
facilities, the message to a lot of people is maybe, "Wow, maybe they're interested in our oil." The problem is that they didn't think these things through properly. What I want to do is change the dynamics on the ground, by beginning to not back off of
places like Fallujahs, and send the wrong message to the terrorists. You have to close the borders. You've got to show you're serious in that regard. You've also got to show that you are prepared to bring the rest of the world in and share the stakes.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Saddam Hussein didn't attack us, Osama bin Laden did
Saddam Hussein didn't attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al Qaida attacked us. And when we had Osama bin Laden cornered in the mountains of Tora Bora, 1,000 of his cohorts with him in those mountains. With the American military forces nearby
and in the field, we didn't use the best trained troops in the world to go kill the world's number one criminal and terrorist. They outsourced the job to Afghan warlords, who only a week earlier had been on the other side fighting against us,
neither of whom trusted each other. That's the enemy that attacked us. That's the enemy that was allowed to walk out of those mountains. That's the enemy that is now in 60 countries, with stronger recruits. Bush also said Saddam Hussein would have
been stronger. That is just factually incorrect. Two-thirds of the country was a no-fly zone when we started this war. We would have had sanctions. We would have had the U.N. inspectors. Saddam Hussein would have been continually weakening.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
Halliburton should not be a factor that pushes allies away
KERRY: What need a president who understands how to bring these other countries together to recognize their stakes in this. The Arab countries have a stake in not having a civil war. The European countries have a stake in not having total disorder on
their doorstep. Bush hasn't even held the kind of statesman-like summits that pull people together and get them to invest in those states. He's done the opposite. He pushed them away. To save for Halliburton the spoils of the war, they actually issued a
memorandum from the Defense Department saying, If you weren't with us in the war, don't bother applying for any construction. BUSH: The UN was invited in. And we support the UN efforts there. They pulled out after Sergio de Mello got killed. But
they're now back in helping with elections. What's he say to Tony Blair and Alexander Kwasniewski of Poland? You can't expect to build an alliance when you denigrate the contributions of those who are serving side by side with American troops in Iraq.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL
John Kerry:
The US has no long-term designs on staying in Iraq
KERRY: I will make a flat statement: The US has no long-term designs on staying in Iraq. Our goal in my administration would be to get all of the troops out of there with a minimal amount you need for training and logistics as we do in some other
countries in the world after a war to be able to sustain the peace. But that's how we're going to win the peace, by rapidly training the Iraqis themselves. Even the Bush administration has admitted they haven't done the training, because they came back
to Congress a few weeks ago and asked for a complete reprogramming of the money.BUSH: You can't change the dynamics on the ground if you've criticized the brave leader of Iraq. The way to make sure that we succeed is to send consistent, sound messages
to the Iraqi people that when we give our word, we will keep our word, that we stand with you, that we believe you want to be free. And I do. I reject the notion that some say that if you're Muslim you can't free, you don't desire freedom.
Source: First Bush-Kerry debate, Miami FL