Cheney, on Wednesday, harshly criticized Democrats' attempts to thwart President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, saying their approach would "validate the al-Qaida strategy." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fired back that Cheney was questioning critics' patriotism.
"I hope the president will repudiate and distance himself from the vice president's remarks," Pelosi said. She said she tried to complain about Cheney to President Bush but could not reach him.
"You cannot say as the president of the United States, 'I welcome disagreement in a time of war,' and then have the vice president of the United States go out of the country and mischaracterize a position of the speaker of the House and in a manner that says that person in that position of authority is acting against the national security of our country," the speaker said.
The quarrel began in Tokyo, where Cheney used an interview to criticize Pelosi and Rep. John Murtha D-Pa., over their plan to place restrictions on Bush's request for an additional $93 billion for the Iraq war to make it difficult or impossible to send 21,500 extra troops to Iraq.
Pelosi, at a news conference in San Francisco, said Cheney's criticism of Democrats was "beneath the dignity of the debate we're engaged in and a disservice to our men and women in uniform, whom we all support."
"And you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to call the president and tell him I disapprove of what the vice president said," Pelosi said. "It has no place in our debate." Bush had previously urged her to call him when a member of his administration stepped over the line by questioning Democrats' patriotism, she said.
Later, Pelosi said she had tried to reach the president but was only able to get through to White House chief of staff Josh Bolten.
As for Cheney's assertion that the partial British pullout is a sign that things are going well in Iraq, Pelosi said: "If it's going so well, we'd like to withdraw our troops as well."
5 comments:
Oh my gosh. I love her comment "If it's going so well, we'd like to withdraw our troops as well." It was making me furious yesterday listening to Cheney and Rice on the news saying how this is exactly how it was suppose to be-giving the power over to Iraq. If that were the case, why are they wanting sending more troops???
We are sending more troops because the rest of the country is engaged in a civil war that we helped to set the stage for.
It won't be easy to disengage our troops. The insurgents will do everything they can to kill as many US troops as they can. And then they will gloat about it.
Having said that, I want the troops out as soon as possible.
There has got to be a way to get the factions to come to the realization that their battling for power and control isn't helping any of them.
Hell, it didn't help our own elected leaders. Look at how they snipe at each other. I bet if each of them had to spend just one week in Iraq in the contested areas where they would be subject to attack, they would make different decisions.
It is difficult to come to a political solution when religion keeps getting in the way. Watch out America, it is a play that is coming our way.
jolynn~ "If that were the case, why are they wanting sending more troops???"
scary, eh?
jack~ "play that is coming our way."
think it already has, *sigh*
Phoenix, it's been ugly and it's just not getting better. I'm not feeling much better about the Democrats although they have shown up which is nice in a legislative body.
Aww Gee you didn't even mention his visit to the Land Down Under...still it just proves what we all are saying down here...we just don't figure and yet we have followed Georgie porgie all the way into the hell trap... and there we were being ambushed by a lot of guys in big black limos and with guns on their hips in our country where we don't do that.
Geesh...can't even get mentioned on Karen's blog... what hope for Oz is there???
Glad you have Cheney back. Don't send him out again will you? Make sure he is good and tied to the bed post next time..we don't need the little pissant war mongerer down here...EVER again!!!
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