Bush, Kerry lay out economic views

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, his Democratic rival for the White House, offered competing visions of the U.S. economy on Friday, with Bush asserting that the country is on the right track and Kerry calling for a "new direction."

Speaking in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bush noted that a record 68 percent of Americans own their own homes.

He also cited relatively low inflation and a rise in manufacturing.

"Our economy is growing," said Bush, who later traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to deliver a similar speech. "It's strong and getting stronger."

As he often does in speeches, Bush tied what he described as a growing economy to his series of tax cuts -- including a boost in the child tax credit and breaks for small businesses -- and he called on Congress to make them permanent.(Full story)


posted by Frodgie at 10:29 AM

 

Pope Says Sundays for God, Not Sports

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul (news - web sites) on Friday said Sunday should be a day for God, not for secular diversions like entertainment and sports.

"When Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes subordinate to a secular concept of 'weekend' dominated by such things as entertainment and sport, people stay locked within a horizon so narrow that they can no longer see the heavens," the pontiff said in a speech to Australian bishops.

John Paul criticized the "culture of the 'here and now,'" urging Church leaders to "lead men and women from the shadows of moral confusion and ambiguous thinking."

The 83-year-old pope also encouraged Christians, especially young people, to remain faithful to Sunday Mass, saying the secular culture was undermining family life.





posted by Frodgie at 10:28 AM

 

Violence Across Iraq Kills 20

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A U.S. Marine and an ABC freelance cameraman were killed during a bitter, hours-long firefight between American troops and Iraqi insurgents in the city of Fallujah (search), while 18 people died in violence elsewhere across Iraq.

In the center of the capital Saturday, a bomb exploded on a street as a convoy of sport utility vehicles passed, wounding five Iraqis, U.S. Army Lt. Col.Peter Jones (search) said. It was not clear who was in the cars. U.S. troops sealed off the area after the blast.

Rebels fired a rocket at a government building in the northern city of Mosul on Saturday, killing two civilians and wounding 14 others, hospital officials said.

In the city of Fallujah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad (search), seven Marines were wounded in clashes Friday, a U.S. spokesman in Baghdad said. Associated Press Television News videotape showed American troops carrying a comrade in a stretcher shortly after an explosion during combat.


posted by Frodgie at 10:28 AM

 

Iraqi cleric: 9/11 was a 'miracle from God'

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An influential Shiite cleric in Iraq called Israel's assassination of the spiritual leader of Hamas a "dirty crime against Islam" and the September 11, 2001, terror attacks "a miracle from God."

Moqtada al-Sadr delivered a charged sermon at Friday prayers at a mosque near the holy city of Najaf, blasting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, founder of Hamas.

On Monday, Israeli helicopters fired rockets at the wheelchair-bound Yassin as he left a Gaza City mosque. Yassin and seven others were killed in the attack on the leader of what Israel, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist group.

Al-Sadr Friday called Sharon the "biggest terrorist of all.

" ... He has committed this dirty crime and killed one of the greatest of Islamic mujahedeen," al-Sadr told hundreds of worshippers at the Kufa mosque. "This was once again a dirty crime against Islam."

He accused the United States of complicity in Yassin's killing and said Iraqis should be react to the assassination "in the way that satisfies God."

Al-Sadr led the worshippers in chants: "No, no Israel! No, no to the Jews! No, no America! No, no to terrorism!"

Al-Sadr, who also has a powerful base in a poor Baghdad neighborhood, railed against the United States' occupation of Iraq.

"I seek the spread of freedom and democracy in the way that satisfies God," he said. "They have planned and paved the ways for a long time, but it is God who is the real planner -- and the proof of this is the fall of the American Twin Towers."


posted by Frodgie at 4:34 PM

 

Kerry Promises to Create 10 Million Jobs

DETROIT (AP) -- Determined to counter President Bush's effort to portray him as a tax-raiser, Democrat John Kerry said Friday he would lower corporate taxes by 5 percent to promote job creation while eliminating tax incentives that sends work overseas.

"Some may be surprised to hear a Democrat calling for lower corporate tax rates," Kerry told an audience at Wayne State University. "The fact is, I don't care about the old debates. I care about getting the job done and creating jobs here in the United States of America."

Kerry, speaking to Michigan voters who have seen unemployment spike during Bush's tenure, promised to create 10 million jobs in his first term. He said the first step would be eliminating rewards for companies that move overseas, calling it "the most sweeping tax law reform in forty years."

Kerry said he would challenge a reluctant Congress and special interests to carry out the changes in international corporate tax law. The presumptive Democratic nominee, in making his overture to the business community, overrode the objections of some advisers who opposed the corporate tax cut on political grounds.


posted by Frodgie at 4:32 PM

 

Two GIs Die in Iraq Bomb Blast, Gunbattle

BAGHDAD, Iraq — One U.S. soldier was killed Thursday in an bomb attack, a day after another American died when a convoy came under hostile fire.

A homemade bomb exploded in Baqouba (search), 40 miles north of Baghdad, killing one soldier from the 1st Infantry Division (search) and wounding two others, according to the U.S. military.

And in a separate incident Wednesday, a U.S. convoy traveling just 12 miles north of the Iraqi capital city was attacked and a gun battle ensued – leaving one American soldier dead and other injured. Three rebels were also killed.

West of Baghdad, in Fallujah (search), rebels hit a convoy transporting goods for coalition forces Thursday.

U.S. troops arrived on the scene and exchanged fire with the rebels, but there were no immediate reports of any American casualties. One Iraqi driver in a civilian car was killed in the crossfire. TV footage showed an empty Humvee in flames.

The latest violence came amid warnings that attacks would likely increase with fewer than 100 days left before the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority hands over sovereignty.

The 1st Infantry Division soldiers went to the Baqouba location after Iraqi security notified them that a homemade bomb had been found. The two injured soldiers were in stable condition.


posted by Frodgie at 6:25 AM

 

Al-Jazeera Airs Purported Al-Zawahiri Tape

CAIRO, Egypt — A tape purportedly recorded by Ayman al-Zawahiri (search), the No. 2 figure in the Al Qaeda (search) terror group, called Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (search) a "traitor" Thursday and urged people to overthrow his government.

The pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera broadcast a seven-minute excerpt from a tape it received Thursday. Its authenticity could not immediately be verified, but the speaker sounded like al-Zawahiri and made references to the Islamic holy book, the Quran (search), which is known to be al-Zawahiri's style.

The speaker also called for a military uprising in Pakistan.

"Musharraf seeks to stab the Islamic resistance in Afghanistan in the back," the speaker said.


posted by Frodgie at 6:23 AM

 

Democrats rally to their man

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry returned from a nearly weeklong vacation yesterday to collect the endorsement of one-time rival Howard Dean and have the torch passed from former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, the last two Democrats to win the White House.
On what party Chairman Terry McAuliffe dubbed "Unity Day," the Massachusetts senator attended an $11 million party fund-raising dinner with the former presidents and most of his erstwhile opponents for the Democratic nomination, was endorsed by the United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The same day, he returned to the Senate to vote against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which attaches criminal charges to harming or killing a fetus, independent of crimes to its mother.

posted by Frodgie at 6:20 AM

 

5,000 mph jet ready for test flight

(CNN) -- Fifty-seven years after combat pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, NASA will make a second attempt Saturday at flying an aircraft at 5,000 mph -- about seven times Mach 1, the speed of sound.

The space agency's dogged pursuit of extreme speed, officials hope, will ultimately make space flight easier to accomplish.

NASA will roll out the X-43A, capable of reaching speeds more than Mach 7, in a test flight over the Pacific Ocean. The Hyper-X, as it is called, could also give rise to commercial planes that zip passengers between London and New York in less than two hours.

"It's relatively simple in its concept," said Griff Corpening, chief engineer for the X-43A program. "It's incredibly challenging in its execution.... [That is] where 40 plus years of research comes in."


posted by Frodgie at 6:20 AM

 

FBI plans against terrorists' next plot

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Emboldened by their deadly success in Spain, terrorists could attempt to influence the U.S. election and shock the world by launching attacks during this year's presidential nominating conventions or at the Olympics in Greece, FBI Director Robert Mueller said Thursday.

"We understand that between now and the election, there is a window of time in which terrorists may well wish to influence events, whether it's in the United States or overseas," Mueller said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He also said that Islamic extremists are changing tactics to focus on recruitment of local sympathizers less likely to arouse suspicion than outsiders. And terrorist groups may well move away from fortified targets, such as airports and government buildings, he said.

"I do believe that when we enhance our security, harden targets, terrorists look for other targets that are soft targets," Mueller said. When new security measures are taken, he said, "the terrorists are thinking about ways to circumvent them."


posted by Frodgie at 6:19 AM

 

U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution

NEW YORK — The United States yesterday vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning Israel's assassination of Palestinian cleric Sheik Ahmed Yassin, saying the Arab League's language was "unbalanced."
The United States was alone in opposing the resolution in the 15-member Security Council.
"The United States will vote against this resolution because it is silent about the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas, and because it does not reflect the realities of the conflict in the Middle East, and because it will not forward the goal of peace and security in the region," U.S. Ambassador John D. Negroponte said yesterday afternoon.
The failed resolution was introduced by Algeria, the sole Arab nation on the council and was supported by 11 countries. Britain, Romania and Germany abstained from the vote, which was delayed for more than an hour while diplomats attempted final negotiations over language.
Representatives of Washington, London and Berlin warned that a lopsided resolution would make it more difficult to find peace in the region.
The draft "condemns the most recent extrajudicial execution committed by Israel, the occupying power, that killed Sheik Ahmed Yassin along with six other Palestinians." The Algerian resolution was amended at least twice yesterday afternoon to criticize attacks against civilians.

posted by Frodgie at 6:16 AM

 

Economy Grows at Solid 4.1 Percent Pace

WASHINGTON (AP) - America's economic recovery ended 2003 on a good note, growing at a solid 4.1 percent annual rate, and is expected to do even better in the opening quarter of this year.

The latest reading on gross domestic product for the October-to-December quarter was the same as a previous estimate made a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That was consistent with economists' forecasts.

GDP measures that value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the most important barometer of the economy's health.

Economic growth in the current January-to-March quarter is expected to clock in at a rate of 4.5 percent, according to some analysts' forecasts. Growth in the April-to-June quarter also should be around that pace, they said.


posted by Frodgie at 10:10 AM

 

Clarke: 'Your Government Failed You'

WASHINGTON — Terrorism was "an important issue but not an urgent issue" when President Bush took office in January 2001 up until the Sept. 11 terror attacks, former Bush and Clinton counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke (search) testified Wednesday.

But "my impression was that fighting terrorism in general and fighting Al Qaeda, in particular, was an extraordinarily high priority in the Clinton administration. Certainly, there was no higher priority," said Clarke.

Later, Clarke also blasted the U.S.-led war in Iraq. "By invading Iraq, this president has greatly undermined the war on terrorism."

Clarke was the latest official from the current and previous White House administrations to testify before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which is investigating fumbled military and diplomatic efforts surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks.


posted by Frodgie at 6:50 AM

 

God and the Supremes

A rookie lawyer told the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday that public school children should not recite the Pledge of Allegiance because the words "under God" violate church-state separation.
Michael Newdow, an atheist who swapped a career in medicine for a law license last year, injected a dose of personal passion into the proceedings, drawing applause from the gallery on one occasion and smiles from otherwise skeptical justices at others.

"I don't believe in God. And every school morning my child is asked to stand up, face that flag, put her hand over her heart and say that her father is wrong," the California dad said.

The justices also heard from Bush administration lawyer Theodore Olson, who told the court that the Pledge's wording reflects the nation's religious heritage, and reciting it is more of a patriotic exercise than a religious one.

Newdow successfully sued his 9-year-old daughter's California school to stop teachers from leading the Pledge. He has represented himself as the case made its way through the justice system to the high court.


posted by Frodgie at 6:48 AM

 

Charges, countercharges on 9/11

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House is fiercely rebutting former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke's testimony that the administration did not consider terrorism an urgent priority before the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Clarke made that charge Wednesday in an appearance before the commission investigating the September 11 attacks.

"I believe the Bush administration in the first eight months considered terrorism an important issue, but not an urgent issue," Clarke told the commission. (Full story)

After Clarke's testimony Wednesday, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice called reporters to her West Wing office and said that on July 5, 2001 -- two months before the terrorist attacks -- she personally ordered Clarke to alert domestic agencies that they needed to be on alert for the possibility of a terror strike.

Rice also said that administration records -- including Clarke's own words and actions -- prove false his "scurrilous allegation that somehow the president of the United States was not attentive to the terrorist threat." (Full story)

Clarke has ignited a firestorm with his assertions that the Bush administration failed to recognize pending terror attacks against the United States and that the president focused too much on Iraq after September 11 -- charges the White House has vigorously disputed.


posted by Frodgie at 6:45 AM

 

Hamas threatens Sharon

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestinian militant group Hamas said yesterday it will try to kill Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to avenge the assassination of its leader, but backed off its initial threat to target Americans as well.
"Our message to Sharon is that blood begets blood, and the arrows of treachery will be sent back to his throat," the Syrian-based leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, said in a telephone address to mourners in a Gaza City soccer stadium yesterday.
Despite the threats, Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks in recent years, appears to have trouble carrying out immediate revenge attacks. Israel has been on the highest possible alert since the killing of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin on Monday.

posted by Frodgie at 6:44 AM

 

U.S. Soldier Killed During Gunbattle

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents attacked a U.S. patrol north of Baghdad (search) and a gunbattle left a soldier and three rebels dead, the military said Thursday.

The fighting occurred Wednesday near the town of Taji (search), about 12 miles north of Baghdad, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. military's deputy director of operations.


posted by Frodgie at 6:43 AM

 

Israelis Stop Teen Wearing Bomb Vest

HAWARA CHECKPOINT, West Bank (AP) - A 16-year-old Palestinian with a suicide bomb vest strapped to his body was caught at a crowded West Bank checkpoint Wednesday, setting off a tense encounter with Israeli soldiers whom the army said he was sent to kill.

The soldiers, taking cover behind concrete barriers, sent a yellow army robot to bring scissors to the teenager so he could cut off the vest. They then made him strip to his underwear to ensure he was unarmed before detaining him.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest in a series of foiled attacks on Israel by Palestinian youths.

The family of the teenager, identified as Hussam Abdo, said he was gullible and easily manipulated.

"He doesn't know anything, and he has the intelligence of a 12 year old," said his brother, Hosni.

Since the Israeli assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin on Monday, Israel has been on high alert. Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks in recent years.


posted by Frodgie at 6:24 AM

 

Hamas Leader: No Plans to Strike U.S. Targets

GAZA, Gaza Strip — Hamas (search) has no plans to attack American targets, the group's new leader in Gaza said Wednesday.

Hamas had issued veiled threats against the United States following Israel's assassination of its spiritual leader, Sheik Ahmed Yassin (search), on Monday.

Abdel Aziz Rantissi (search) said Hamas' agenda is to fight the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. Rantisi was chosen as Hamas' new leader in its Gaza stronghold on Tuesday.

posted by Frodgie at 6:15 AM

 

Report cites bin Laden's escapes

Faulty and incomplete intelligence prevented three military attacks against al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 1998 and 1999, according to a commission investigating the September 11 terrorist attacks.
A staff report made public yesterday during a hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States also disclosed that a 1998 order by President Clinton minimized the use of military forces to go after al Qaeda in favor of law enforcement and diplomacy that ultimately failed.
"The paramount limitation on every proposed use of military force was the lack of 'actionable intelligence,' " the preliminary report said.
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a commission member, criticized the Clinton administration for failing to take military action against al Qaeda despite the group's declaration of war against the United States. One cruise-missile attack after the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa was ineffective and missed killing al Qaeda members in Afghanistan.

posted by Frodgie at 6:11 AM

 

America in 2050: Another country

In 1960, when JFK defeated Nixon, America was a nation of 160 million, 90 percent white and 10 percent black, with a few million Hispanics and Asians sprinkled among us.

We were one nation, one people. We worshipped the same God, spoke the same English language, studied American history and English literature, honored the same heroes, read the same books, watched the same TV shows, went to the same movies, and saw ourselves as defenders of Western Civilization against the godless communism of the Soviet Empire.

We were confident and proud of who we were. When Nikita Khrushchev demanded an apology for our having sent a U-2 spy plane over Russia, Ike blew up the Paris summit rather than accede to his demand. We cheered the old general's defiance.


posted by Frodgie at 6:09 AM

 

Clarke Praises Bush in Resignation Letter

WASHINGTON - The White House, seeking to cool criticism from a former top anti-terror adviser, said Tuesday that Richard Clarke's resignation letter praised President Bush (news - web sites)'s "courage, determination, calm and leadership" on Sept. 11, 2001.

"It has been an enormous privilege to serve you these last 24 months," said the Jan. 20, 2003, letter from Clarke to Bush. "I will always remember the courage, determination, calm, and leadership you demonstrated on September 11th."


The letter was stamped "the president has seen" the next day.

Clarke, who left the Bush administration in March 2003 after 30 years in government service and 11 years at the White House, has written a book in which he criticizes the president and his administration for ignoring repeated warnings about al-Qaida before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and acting ineffectively afterward, primarily because of a preoccupation with Iraq (news - web sites).

On Monday, the day Clarke's "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" hit stores and the day after he promoted it in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," the White House went to great lengths to dismiss Clarke's accusations. Administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), appeared on television and radio to argue that Clarke was inaccurate, politically motivated, disgruntled over bureaucratic changes that reduced his influence, merely trying to sell books — or all four at once.


posted by Frodgie at 6:08 AM

 

White House denies Bush obsession with Iraq

The White House yesterday denied accusations by a former antiterrorism adviser that President Bush could have stopped the September 11 attacks and has set back the war on terrorism with his obsession to pin the blame on Saddam Hussein.
Richard A. Clarke, in a book released yesterday, says he tried in vain to convince the president of the threat posed by terror network al Qaeda, then realized "with almost a sharp physical pain" that the administration would use the September 11 attacks as an excuse to invade Iraq.
The Iraq-obsession accusation also has been leveled by other former administration officials such as Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Joseph C. Wilson, who was with the National Security Council, and by United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix.

posted by Frodgie at 6:32 AM

 

9/11 panel holds public hearing Tuesday

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and William Cohen, his predecessor under the Clinton administration, are among those scheduled to testify Tuesday before an independent commission investigating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The public hearing comes at a time when the Bush administration is under new fire for its anti-terrorism efforts, blasted in a just-published book by a former aide who says the president ignored warning signs before September 11, 2001, and later wrongly focused on Iraq at the expense of more vigorously targeting al Qaeda.

The book "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" by former antiterrorism chief Richard Clarke has been denounced by the White House as a wildly inaccurate account of the administration's efforts. But Clarke has stood by his assertions, saying Bush "botched the response to 9/11."


posted by Frodgie at 6:29 AM

 

The consequences of 'Mr. Bush's War'

A year has elapsed since President Bush ordered U.S. forces to invade Iraq. Since that March day, 2003, it has become clear as crystal: Operation Iraqi Freedom was an unnecessary war.

Saddam had had no role in 9-11 or the anthrax attack, no plans to attack us or to invade his neighbors. He was contained by U.S. power and his own weakness. American planes had flown 40,000 sorties in 10 years over Iraq without losing a single aircraft to hostile fire. And Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction.


posted by Frodgie at 6:22 AM

 

Angry Palestinians Bury Hamas Leader

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians chanting "Revenge! Revenge!" flooded Gaza's streets Monday to bury Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by an Israeli missile. As ordinary Palestinians seethed with anger, militants pledged unprecedented retaliation - including threats against the United States.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and many world leaders condemned Monday's killing of Yassin, the most prominent Palestinian targeted by Israel in 3 1/2 years of fighting. The Bush administration said it was "deeply troubled" by the attack and that it had no advance warning.

"We will get revenge for every drop of blood that spilled," said Salman Bdeiri, a Hamas supporter crying near the mosque where Yassin prayed shortly before being killed by an Israeli airstrike.

posted by Frodgie at 6:21 AM

 

Israeli Airstrike Kills Hamas Founder

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder and leader of the Hamas militant group that targeted Israelis in suicide bombings, was killed by missiles fired from Israeli helicopters as he left a mosque at daybreak Monday, witnesses said.

Hamas confirmed the death in an announcement broadcast over mosque loudspeakers and vowed revenge against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Witnesses said Israeli helicopters fired three missiles at the wheelchair-bound Yassin and two bodyguards as they left the mosque, killing them instantly.

A total of four people were killed and 12 were wounded in the attack, witnesses said.

Yussef Haddad, 35, a taxi driver, said he saw the missiles hit Yassin and the bodyguards.

"Their bodies were shattered," he said.


posted by Frodgie at 6:37 AM

 

Ex-Adviser Blasts Bush Terror Response

WASHINGTON — President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice (search), "looked skeptical" when she was warned early in 2001 about the threat from Al Qaeda (search) and appeared to never have heard of the terrorist organization, according to Bush's former counterterrorism coordinator.

"Her facial expression gave me the impression that she had never heard the term before," wrote Richard A. Clarke in a new book — "Against All Enemies" — that is scathingly critical of Bush's response to the 2001 terror attacks against New York and Washington. The Associated Press obtained a copy of Clarke's book before its Monday publication.

Clarke said Rice, who previously worked for Bush's father, appeared not to recognize post-Cold War (search) security issues and effectively demoted him within the national security council. He said Rice has an unusually close relationship with Bush, which "should have given her some maneuver room, some margin for shaping the agenda."

Clarke, expected to testify Tuesday before a federal panel investigating the attacks, recounted his meeting with Rice as support for his contention that the Bush administration failed to recognize the risk of an attack by Al Qaeda in the months leading to Sept. 11, 2001. Clarke retired in March 2003 after three decades in the U.S. government.

Clarke said within one week of the Bush inauguration he "urgently" sought a meeting of senior Cabinet leaders to discuss "the imminent Al Qaeda threat." Months later, in April, Clarke met with deputy secretaries. During that meeting, he wrote, the Defense Department's Paul Wolfowitz told Clarke, "You give bin Laden too much credit," and he said Wolfowitz sought to steer the discussion to Iraq.


posted by Frodgie at 6:37 AM

 

Carter savages Blair and Bush: 'Their war was based on lies'

Jimmy Carter, the former US president, has strongly criticised George Bush and Tony Blair for waging an unnecessary war to oust Saddam Hussein based on "lies or misinterpretations". The 2002 Nobel peace prize winner said Mr Blair had allowed his better judgement to be swayed by Mr Bush's desire to finish a war that his father had started.

In an interview with The Independent on the first anniversary of the American and British invasion of Iraq, Mr Carter, who was president from 1977 to 1981, said the two leaders probably knew that many of the claims being made about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction were based on imperfect intelligence.

He said: "There was no reason for us to become involved in Iraq recently. That was a war based on lies and misinterpretations from London and from Washington, claiming falsely that Saddam Hussein was responsible for [the] 9/11 attacks, claiming falsely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. And I think that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair probably knew that many of the allegations were based on uncertain intelligence ... a decision was made to go to war [then people said] 'Let's find a reason to do so'."


posted by Frodgie at 6:32 AM