The head of the Democratic Party blamed the Bush administration's "failed political leadership and lack of foresight and planning" for turning U.S. soldiers into targets for the Iraqi insurgency.In his party's weekly radio address Saturday, Howard Dean said the Republican plan of "stay the course" is not an option in the 3-year-old war and emphasized the Democratic call for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops to begin by year's end. He also rejected the Republican criticism that Democrats want to "cut and run."
"Among the victims are brave American soldiers who are the targets of an insurgency because of failed political leadership and a lack of foresight and planning," Dean said. "We don't want another wall with 55,000 names of courageous Americans who were let down by their government."
Dean described the Democratic proposals offered in the Senate last week, including the start of a phased redeployment of troops and an accounting of the war's costs. The Republican-controlled Senate soundly rejected two Democratic plans calling for the United States to begin withdrawing most of the 127,000 American forces in the war zone.
Republicans contend that leaving would amount to a policy of retreat that would threaten national security. Vice President Dick Cheney said withdrawal of U.S. forces would be giving the terrorists what they want. During the Senate debate, John McCain, R-Ariz., said leaving Iraq would "risk disaster" there. "Withdrawal and fail, or commit and succeed," he said.
Dean argued that Republicans don't have a plan.
| We have a plan: we win. They lose. Simple. |
