Ted Kennedy

“ Is It only coincidence that one of the principal domestic priorities of the Bush Administration is to protect doctors from malpractice lawsuits?
Indeed, the Schlesinger panel, which was handpicked by this administration, found that senior leaders failed to see the insurgency growing in Iraq last year.
In many places in Iraq today, it is too dangerous to go out, even with guards. The streets are so dangerous that parents are keeping their children home from school, afraid they will be kidnapped - or worse - along the way. ”

“ As the President said in his familiar Bush-speak, "The reason that I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and Al Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda."
That's the same logic President Bush keeps using today in his repeated stubborn insistence that the situation is improving in Iraq, and that we and the world are safer because Saddam is gone.
The President and his administration continue to paint a rosy picture of progress in Iraq. Just last Wednesday, he referred to the growing insurgency as "a handful of people." ”

“ For every mistake we make, for every innocent Iraqi child we accidentally kill in another bombing raid, the ranks of the insurgents climb, and so does their fanatical determination to stop at nothing to drive us out. ”

“ President, by any reasonable standard, our policy in Iraq is failing. We are steadily losing ground in the war. No amount of campaign spin can gloss over that fact. We have to do better, and November 2nd is our chance, the people's chance to demand that we do better. ”

“ The defining issue today is our national security. Especially in this post-9/11 world, people have the right to ask Ronald Reagan's question in a very specific and all-important way-are we safer today because of the policies of President Bush?
Any honest assessment can lead to only one answer, and that answer is an emphatic no. President Bush is dead wrong and John Kerry is absolutely right We are not safer today. And the reason we are not safer is because of President Bush's misguided war in Iraq. ”

“ More than 140 foreigners have been kidnapped by insurgents on the roads in the Sunni triangle, from their apartments in Baghdad, and on the road to Najaf. No one is immune. The insurgents have kidnapped aid workers and engineers, truck drivers and telecom workers, journalists and diplomats. In addition to Americans, Insurgents have beheaded citizens from Turkey, Nepal, Bulgaria, and South Korea.
The State Department does not attempt to conceal the truth, at least in its travel warnings. Its September 17th advisory states that Iraq remains "very dangerous." ”

“ For every guerilla we kill with a 'smart bomb,' we kill many more innocent civilians and create rage and anger in the Iraqi community. This rage and anger translates into more recruits for the terrorists and less support for us. ”

“ The Iraqi people's anger is also fueled by the persistent blackouts, the power shortages, the lack of electricity, the destroyed infrastructure, the relentless violence, the massive lack of jobs and basic necessities and services. ”

“ Those aren't the only areas where we've lost control. On Friday, Secretary Powell said, "we don't have governmental control or governmental control is inadequate in Samarra, Ramadi, Erbil and a number of other places." In large parts of Baghdad, frequent car bombs and mortar attacks disrupt daily life. ”

“ The number of their attacks on our troops has gone up. The sophistication of the attacks has gone up. The number of our soldiers killed or wounded has gone up. The number of hostages seized and even savagely executed has gone up. ”