More headlines: John Edwards on Homeland Security
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FactCheck: Bush didn’t lobby for pay cut, just let it expire
EDWARDS: They sent 40,000 American troops into Iraq without the body armor they needed. They sent them without the armored vehicles they needed. While they were on the ground fighting, they lobbied the Congress to cut their combat pay. This is the height
of hypocrisy.FACT CHECK: In fact the White House never supported a plan to cut the combat pay of troops in Iraq. Rather, the Defense Department proposed allowing a temporary pay increase for all troops worldwide (even those not in Iraq or Afghanistan)
to expire, and promised to maintain current pay levels for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with separate pay raises if necessary. A Pentagon budget assessment sent to Congress in July called for letting a temporary combat pay raise enacted earlier
that year for troops worldwide expire at the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. The result would have been a cut of $75 a month in “imminent danger pay” and $150 a month in “family separation allowances.”
Source: Edwards-Cheney debate analysis by FactCheck.org
Oct 6, 2004
It is wrong to say that electing Kerry will cause terrorism
What he said to the American people was that if you go to the polls in November and elect anyone other than us, and another terrorist attack occurs, then it’s your fault. This is un-American.
The truth is that it proves once again that they will do anything and say anything to keep their jobs. A Kerry administration will keep the American people safe, and we will not divide the country to do it.
Source: CNN.com
Sep 7, 2004
We are not as safe as we can be
Q: A majority of Americans thought that because of the administration policy on Iraq, the chance of a terrorist attack had grown. Do you agree with that?
A: When you’re evaluating what the effect has been of the Bush administration, you can’t look at Iraq in isolation, because Iraq acts in concert with what’s happening in Afghanistan, what’s happening with the war on terrorism in general,
what’s happening with the deterioration of our relationships around the world, all those things go together in order to evaluate what the impact is. I do not believe we are as safe as we can be, that’s what I believe.
Source: New York Times, “Bad Iraq Intelligence Cost Lives”
Jul 11, 2004
Independent commission needed to look at intelligence flaws
Q: Did you believe National Intelligence Estimate when you saw it? A: I think it is not for the Bush administration to get to the bottom of this. It’s actually not for the Congress to get to the bottom of this. The American people, we,
need to get to the bottom of this, with an independent commission that looks at -- that will have credibility and that the American people will trust, about why there is this discrepancy about what we were told and what’s actually been found there.
Source: Democratic 2004 primary Debate in Greenville SC
Jan 29, 2004
Reduce $9B spending on missile defense
[I support] reducing the more than $9 billion we are spending each year to build a missile defense system that so far has succeeded in shooting down only one thing-the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. While we need to maintain deterrence
and keep a strong defense, it doesn’t make sense to spend nine times as much on one program that might work some day than we spend on all the other programs that do work today to protect our citizens from weapons of mass destruction.
Source: Campaign speech in Des Moines Iowa
Dec 15, 2003
FBI failing to go after terrorist cells in America
Q: What about the terrorist cells all over America today? A: If we don’t aggressively go after those cells, which in my judgment means taking that responsibility away from the FBI-- because we know that they’re structurally incapable of doing it
because of what we’ve seen happen in the past, the failures that existed before 9/11. They’re a law enforcement agency. They’re not in the business of fighting terrorism, and we’ve seen the problems that exist as a result.
Source: Democratic 2004 Primary Presidential Debate in Durham NH
Dec 9, 2003
Protect civil rights from Ashcroft, even if unpopular
Q: As president, what would be the least popular, most right thing you would do?EDWARDS: I know the American people are worried about their safety and security. But we can’t ever forget what it is we’re supposed to be fighting for. And in this effort
to protect ourselves and fight our war on terrorism, we cannot allow people like John Ashcroft to take away our rights, our freedom and our liberties. Those things are under assault. After September 11th, it’s much harder to stand up for those things.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
Sep 25, 2003
Page last updated: Feb 08, 2010