Democratic lawmakers say President Bush is somewhat responsible for the homicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, saying had the United States not been distracted by war in Iraq, it could have further debilitated Al Qaeda, the terror network blamed for the attack. The attacks led to charges of complacency by Bush and his administration, led by Florida Sen. Bob Graham, a 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. "The war on Iraq was a distraction.
So, does that mean he was against it? Was there no rational purpose for it?
It took us off the war on terror, which we were on path to win, but we've now let it slip away from us," Graham said on the Senate floor Tuesday. Graham claimed that the administration "backed away" from fighting terrorists and failed to act on communication intercepts between terrorists just as it did before Sept. 11, 2001. In short, he suggested the Bush administration has failed to create a safer environment. "If the question is are we more or less secure from terrorists today than we were a year ago, the answer is we are less secure," he said.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, agreed.
I'm a shocked ... shocked to see Lee criticize the President. [sarcasm intended]
"I believe we were distracted by the war in Iraq," she told Fox News.
What was this in the Democratic Talking Points memo for the day?
Graham offered his suggestions on what he would have done to prevent another terror attack, including taking the fight to places where Al Qaeda remains, such as Yemen.
White House officials rejected the charges and privately suggested that Graham's comments are part of his campaign for the presidency. Prior to that, Bush celebrated the defeat of Saddam Hussein aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where he said the world is now a safer place. "The war on terror is not over, yet it is not endless," he said. "We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. It doesn't take much money to put a car bomb together. It takes hatred." He said that he wouldn't be surprised if the attacks were proven to be Al Qaeda.
Still, some Republicans called out of bounds any suggestions that the attacks were a failure of the Bush administration. "I wholeheartedly disagree with the implication that the attack [resulted from] any weakness on the part of the U.S.," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.
"If this latest attack is the work of Al Qaeda, it should serve as notice that the United States needs to clear the decks and focus the war on terrorism against Al Qaeda. It is absolutely imperative that the United States jettison obsolete or unnecessary commitments, such as 100,000 troops stationed in Western Europe to defend NATO against a non-existent threat, and missions, such as nation-building in the Balkans," Peña said. 
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