Daschle stands by criticism of
Bush
WASHINGTON (CNN) --Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle said Tuesday he
would not retract his criticism of President Bush's diplomatic efforts on
Iraq, despite criticism from the White House and top
Republicans.
"I don't know that anyone in this
country could view what we've seen so far as a diplomatic success," said
Daschle, D-South Dakota.
Daschle told unionized public
employees Monday that he was "saddened that this president failed so
miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to war."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist,
R-Tennessee, called Daschle's remarks "deeply disappointing" and
"counterproductive."
"Our men and women literally are in a
countdown before fighting is initiated and any remarks that their lives in
some way have been compromised is irresponsible," Frist said.
Frist was one of several Republicans
who responded Tuesday to Daschle's comments.
Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania
said the remarks were "unfortunate, it was disappointing. It was uncalled
for. I hope he thinks better of it and retracts his statement."
Even the usually reserved House
Speaker Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, was compelled to react, saying
the senator's words "may not undermine the president as he leads us into
war, and they may not give comfort to our adversaries, but they come
mighty close."
And House Majority Leader Tom DeLay,
R-Texas, issued a statement urging Daschle to "Fermez la bouche" -- French
for "Shut your mouth."
The White House called Daschle's
comments "inconsistent" with his earlier complaints that issues of war and
peace were being politicized.
The United States, Britain and Spain
dropped efforts Monday to seek U.N. backing for a military confrontation
with Iraq, saying consensus was impossible among Security Council
members.
They blamed French threats to veto
any U.N. resolution that would authorize force for scuttling a
compromise.
Bush delivered an ultimatum Monday
night to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to go into exile by 8 p.m. ET
Wednesday or face war.
Daschle said Bush's diplomatic
efforts were weak compared to the support his father built for the 1991
Persian Gulf War, when allies paid most of the bills and provided a larger
portion of the troops involved.
"As a veteran, there is no question
that I stand strongly with the troops," Daschle said.
But he added, "We have to be honest
and open in a democracy. I think to do anything less is unpatriotic and
I'm going to continue to speak out where I think I have a responsibility
to do so."
Daschle was among many leading
Democrats, including presidential hopefuls John Edwards, John Kerry and
Joseph Lieberman, who voted to give Bush the authority to go to war with
Iraq in October.
Kerry, D-Massachusetts, issued a
statement saying Bush "has clumsily and arrogantly squandered the
post-9/11 support and goodwill of the entire civilized world."
Lieberman said congressional leaders
would pull together to support Bush once the fighting begins, and
predicted the spat over Daschle's comments "is going to be the last of
this."
"The blame for the war is Saddam
Hussein's," Lieberman, D-Connecticut, told CNN's "Inside
Politics."
"We gave him 12 years to do what he
promised to do at the end of the Gulf War, which was to disclose the
weapons of mass destruction."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
said Bush failed to take into account the United States' dependency on
other countries in his push to disarm Iraq by military force.
"Our military is the best-trained and
best-equipped military in the world," Pelosi, D-California, told a
gathering of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
employees.
"Never have we been stronger. And
yet, at the same time, never have we been more dependent on other
countries and other people for the safety and security of our people,"
said Pelosi, who opposed the Iraq resolution in October.
"I think the president has failed to
face that in how he has proceeded. So, wherever you are on the war, one
way or another, you have to know that America deserves better leadership
in how we disarm Iraq." | 