Dean Blasts Bush on Iraq
By Charles Mahaleris
Talon News
October 28, 2003

Dr. Howard Dean took advantage of Monday's series of car bombings in Iraq to highlight how President Bush has failed to win the peace after winning the war.

"Today's attacks underscore the fact that we are not winning the peace. Let's be honest," Dean said while campaigning in Chicago. "Despite the hard work of US troops, we are failing in Iraq because this Administration has gone about it the wrong way from the start."

Dean has scored points with more liberal likely voters in the upcoming Democrat primaries with his strong opposition to America's war against terror in Iraq.

He continued on Monday to highlight the differences in his position with that of President Bush by capitalizing on the series of attacks by car bombers on police stations and on the Red Cross in Iraq that left 35 dead.

Dean said, "I am fed up with the President's efforts to paint a rosy picture when the situation is so grim. From claiming success after a mediocre donors' conference in Madrid to blaming the news media for simply reporting on the reality of the situation, this Administration is doing everything it can to lead the American public to believe that we are on the right path. We are not."

Bush on Monday condemned the attacks, promised to hunt down those responsible, and pledged to continue the efforts to root out terror.

"The best way to describe the people who are conducting these attacks are cold-blooded killers, terrorists. That's all they are. They're terrorists," Bush told reporters. "And the best way to find them is to work with the Iraqi people to ferret them out and go get them."

He continued, "These people will kill Iraqis. They don't care who they kill. They just want to kill."

Bush said that the opposition from these terrorists comes from their desire to stop coalition progress in the former dictatorship.

"The Iraqi people understand that there's a handful of people who don't want to live in freedom, aren't interested in their children going to schools, aren't -- don't really care about the nature of the health care they get, aren't pleased with the fact that the electricity is coming back on line, aren't happy about the fact that Iraq is now selling oil on the world markets and people are finding work. And they'll do whatever it takes to stop this progress," Bush said Monday morning.

Despite Dean's calls for a new direction, Bush promised to follow the plan and recruit Iraqi police officers, build an Iraqi army, and find the terrorists before they can strike.