Bush 'exploiting 9/11'
2005-06-29 13:28
Washington - Democrats criticised President George W Bush for raising the September 11 attacks while he defended his plan to keep United State troops in Iraq as long as it takes to ensure peace in the country.
Bush, urging patience on an American public showing doubts about his Iraq policy, mentioned the deadly 2001 terrorist attacks five times during a 28-minute address on Tuesday night at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Some Democrats accused him of falsely reviving the link that he originally used to help justify launching strikes against Baghdad.
"The president's frequent references to the terrorist attacks of September 11 show the weakness of his arguments," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said. "He is willing to exploit the sacred ground of 9/11, knowing that there is no connection between 9/11 and the war in Iraq."
Bush first mentioned the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre at the beginning of his speech, delivered at an army base that has 9 300 troops in Iraq. He acknowledged that Americans are disturbed by frequent deaths of US troops at the hands of insurgents, but tried to persuade an increasingly sceptical public to stick with the mission.
"The war reached our shores on September the 11th, 2001," Bush told a national television audience and 750 soldiers and airmen in dress uniform who mostly listened quietly as they had been asked to do.
Bush said he understands the public concerns about a 27-month-old war that has killed more than 1 700 Americans and 12 000 Iraqi civilians and cost $200bn. He said the sacrifice "is worth it and it is vital to the security of our country."
Republican Senator John McCain defended Bush's call to stop terrorism abroad before it reaches the US shore in an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" programme. He said those spreading violence in Iraq "are the same guys who would be in New York if we don't win in Iraq."
"The president's numerous references to September 11 did not provide a way forward in Iraq," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said. "They only served to remind the American people that our most dangerous enemy, namely Osama bin Laden, is still on the loose and al-Qaeda remains capable of doing this nation great harm nearly four years after it attacked America."
Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, said it's because of the lessons of the September 11 attacks that he opposes Bush's approach to keeping the troops in Iraq without any timetable for withdrawal.
"The US military presence in Iraq has become a powerful recruiting tool for terrorists, and Iraq is now the premier training ground and networking venue for the next generation of jihadists," Feingold said.
- AP