Kerry Edwards Fact Sheet On Iraq War & Policy

Bush’s Rhetoric Does Not Match Reality in Iraq
Bush Fills Stump Speeches with Happy Talk on Iraq

Bush: “Our strategy is succeeding… Despite ongoing violence in Iraq, that country now has a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national elections are scheduled in January.” [Bush Remarks, 9/14/04]

Bush: “We’re making progress there. I’m impressed -- I’m impressed by Prime Minister Allawi. He’s a strong guy who believes that democracy is the future of Iraq, and he’s got hard work to do. It wasn’t all that long ago that people were brutalized by Saddam Hussein. But we’re making progress.” [Bush Remarks, 9/9/04]

Bush: “We talked about Iraq, the way forward in Iraq, the way to help the Iraqis get to elections. We’re making progress on the ground.” [Bush Remarks, 8/23/04]

Bush: “We talked about Iraq, and I told him I was pleased with the progress being made in Iraq, and the prime minister had some helpful suggestions.” [Bush Remarks, 7/19/04]

New Intelligence Report Shows Bush Is Not Telling the Truth about the Situation in Iraq

Bush Received Briefing With Pessimistic Predictions For Iraq. Bush received a classified National Intelligence Estimate in late July which “spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq.” The three possibilities outlined in the estimate paint a grim picture for Iraq through the end of 2005, “with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms.” A government official who read the document admits “there’s a significant amount of pessimism.” [New York Times, 9/16/04]

Pessimistic Estimate Was Produced Even Before Recent Worsening Of The Situation On The Ground In Iraq. The pessimistic conclusions in the estimate, produced by the National Intelligence Council and approved by Acting C.I.A. Director McLaughlin in July, “were reached even before the recent worsening of the security situation in Iraq, which has included a sharp increase in attacks on American troops and in deaths of Iraqi civilians as well as resistance fighters.” [New York Times, 9/16/04]

Reality on the Ground in Iraq

Regions Of Iraq Are Still Under The Control Of Insurgents. Major Iraqi cities including Ramadi, Fallujah, Samarra, and Bukhara remain under the control of insurgents. Retaking the cities depends on having adequately trained and equipped Iraqi soldiers, which Rumsfeld and Myers admit may not happen until December - one month before Iraq’s scheduled elections. [NBC, “Meet The Press,” 9/12/04; Rumsfeld/Myers New Briefing, 9/7/04]

-Two Americans Recently Kidnapped In Iraq. Two Americans and Briton were kidnapped in Iraq by insurgents on Thursday. Throughout the 17-month insurgency, more than 100 foreigners have been kidnapped. [Associated Press, 9/16/04]

-More Troops Have Died Since The Handover Of Sovereignty Than In The Initial Invasion. Since the transfer of sovereignty on June 28, at least 162 American troops have been killed; 138 were killed in March and April of 2003. [Washington Post, 9/9/04]

-More Troops Died In August Than In July; More In July Than June. In August, 66 U.S. service personnel were killed in Iraq. American forces suffered 54 casualties in July as compared to 42 in the month of June. [Wash Post, 9/5/04]

-Attacks On U.S. Forces Have Been Increasing Since The Transfer Of Sovereignty. On average, U.S. forces are now being attacked 60 times per day. This is a 20% increase from the three months before the transfer of sovereignty. [Los Angeles Times, 8/31/04]

-Number Of Soldiers Wounded Has Doubled Since April. The total number of American soldiers wounded since the invasion was launched in March 2003 is 7,245. There were more wounded over the past five months - about 4,000 - than in the first 13 months of the war, when there were about 3,300. [Associated Press, 9/1/04, 9/15/04; Time, 9/20/04 issue]
August Was Month of Highest Injury Toll In Iraq. “About 1,100 U.S. soldiers and Marines were wounded in Iraq during August, by far the highest combat injury toll for any month since the war began...” [Wash Post, 9/5/04]

-U.S. Forces Are Still Doing The Majority Of the Fighting. In the recent fighting in Sadr City, U.S. forces “appeared to be carrying out most - if not all - of the fighting.” [Associated Press, 9/7/04]

-State Department Requests Reconstruction Funding Be Shifted To Security. In an indication of the Bush Administration’s failure to plan for the increasing violence in post-war Iraq, the Bush Administration asked Congress to shift $3.4 from the reconstruction to the security of Iraq. [Associated Press, 8/30/04]
Hagel: Failure of Reconstructing Iraq Shows “We Are In Deep Trouble.” Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said it “does not add up, in my opinion, to a pretty picture, to a picture that shows that we’re winning. But it does add up to this, an acknowledgment that we are in deep trouble.” [NYT, 9/16/04]
Lugar: “Lack of Planning Is Apparent.” Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) said the slow pace of spending on reconstruction “means that we are failing to fully take advantage of one of our most potent tools to influence the direction of Iraq.” Lugar criticized “the blindly optimistic people” inside and outside the administration. “The lack of planning is apparent,” he said. [AP, 9/15/04]

-Bush Losing Coalition Forces In Iraq. Since the beginning of the war, eight countries are planning to or have already withdrawn troops from the coalition in Iraq: Thailand, Norway,

Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Philippines, Singapore, and Spain. In all, nearly 3,000 troops have pulled out or planning to pull out of Iraq this month. Costa Rica asked the United States to remove it from a list of Iraq coalition partners in September after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that inclusion on the list violated the Constitution, which bars support for any military action not authorized by the United Nations. [AP, 8/13/04, 9/10/04]

-Annan Said Lack Of Security May Threaten January Elections. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the continuing violence in Iraq “may threaten elections planned for January.” [Reuters, 9/8/04]

A New Military to Meet New Threats

Our military is overextended and our troops are overburdened. Nine out of ten active duty Army divisions are committed to Iraq, either currently there, preparing to go, or recently returned. Forty percent of our forces in Iraq are from the Guard and Reserves, and far too many have been on the ground for much longer than was expected or promised. A new report by the General Accounting Office says that the military is in danger of running out of guard and reserve troops. We simply cannot continue like this. The challenges of this new era require a new direction and new solutions.

John Kerry and John Edwards have a plan to transform the world's most powerful military to better address the modern threats of terrorism and the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, while ensuring that we have enough properly trained and equipped troops to meet our enduring strategic and regional missions. To accomplish this, they will (1) expand our active duty forces, (2) double America's Army Special Forces capability and increase other specialized personnel, (3) complete the process of transformation, (4) prepare the National Guard for 21st century missions by adding homeland security as an additional National Guard mission and giving members the benefits they deserve, (5) invest in national security beyond the Department of Defense, and (6) enact a Military Family Bill of Rights to relieve the burden on military families. And John Kerry will ensure that returning veterans receive the transitional support and employment protection that they deserve.

Expand America's Active Duty Forces As president, John Kerry will ensure that our military has sufficient troop strength to protect our national security without placing an undue burden on the men and women of our armed forces. He will:

Complete the Process of Transformation John Kerry and John Edwards are committed to building an American military that leverages technology, training and education across the spectrum of conflict and more fully integrates the active duty, National Guard and Reserves into a new “Total Force” ready for the challenges of the 21st Century. To advance this transformation, John Kerry will:

Prepare the National Guard for 21st Century Missions As president, John Kerry will integrate the National Guard into our broader homeland security strategy and ensure that they receive the benefits they deserve by:

Invest in National Security beyond the Department of Defense. John Kerry knows that America’s power is not limited to its military might. To increase our capabilities government-wide, John Kerry will:

Enact a Military Family Bill of Rights The Kerry-Edwards Military Family Bill of Rights will provide military families with competitive pay, good housing, decent health care, quality education for their children, first rate training and the best possible weaponry, armor and state-of-the-art equipment. The Military Family Bill of Rights will also provide assistance to families affected by extended deployments, or injury or death in the line of duty. And military families

will receive the best possible information on deployments and the gratitude of our nation in the form of a responsive government when military service is completed.

Renew America’s Promise to its Veterans. As president, John Kerry will continue his efforts to ensure that we never forget those who put their lives on the line to defend America. He will:

Ensure Transitional Assistance for Returning Veterans. Nearly 4,000 of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan have not returned to duty. Many have been severely injured and face permanent disability. These individuals with combat-related injuries, including mental health symptoms such as post-traumatic stress disorder, face real challenges and find adjustment to civilian life difficult. While the Army has a pilot assistance program for returning veterans, the lack of personnel and funding has limited the program to severely disabled soldiers. As president, John Kerry will make a commitment to transitional assistance for all those returning from war. He will:

Protect the Jobs of Members of the National Guard and Reserves. Returning service personnel deserve to have full employment protection. Yet the Department of Labor expects to receive 1,440 formal complaints this year under the law that guarantees service members their jobs back upon return from active duty. And since 9/11 there have been more than 3,500 complaints by service members who have had employment difficulties -- in Ohio alone, there were some 236 employment complaints by demobilized troops from FY 2002 through May 2004. John Kerry believes that a job left for duty is a job waiting on return. As president, he will:

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