Rice Denounces Iraq Statement
Monday, June 20, 2005
(SNN Washington) Last week, Republican Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel criticized the Bush administration for mischaracterizing the progress of the war. Secretary of State contradicted his claims yesterday morning on CNN.
They're just making it up as they go along.
Hagel said that he was upset by statements coming out of the White House. "It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq,” said Hagel "Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality.”
But Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says that things are not as bad as they seem. “These people are moving toward a different future than Saddam Hussein could ever have given them,” Rice said. “The Insurgency is losing the Iraqi people.” She also assured Americans that, “We are not going to have to shoulder this burden until the last moment of violence is over in Iraq. Iraqis will have to do that. But we can leave them a firm foundation for a better future and I think we can do that in a relatively short period of time.”
Rice also says that the Whitehouse is very firmly grounded in reality
Rice also says that the Whitehouse is very firmly grounded in reality, and that the elves that bring her shoes every morning give very good reports about what is happening in Iraq, except for Dennis Kucinich, who was against the war in the first place. When Wolf Blitzer attempted to discredit the elves, Condoleeza calmly asked, “Then were to all my [expletive deleted] shoes come from?”
Although the indefinite timetable of “a relatively short period of time” seems hopeful, it should be taken with a grain of salt. The current administration has shown a propensity to extend deadlines between their initial estimates. Take for example Vice President Dick Cheney who said in March of 2003 that “[M]y belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. . . . I think it will go relatively quickly. . . (in) weeks rather than months” But despite these setbacks Cheney continues to be optimistic. Just last week he said that the insurgency is in its “last throes”.
