Seven days before key mid-term elections, US President George W. Bush was in Georgia Tuesday to bolster his Republican Party's chances even as the soaring US death toll in Iraq undercuts his claim to be winning the war on terror.
One day after Bush charged that "terrorists win and America loses" if opposition Democrats capture the November 7 legislative elections, the US October toll in Iraq jumped to 103, the fourth highest monthly toll since the March 2003 invasion.
"If you listen carefully for a Democrat plan for success, they don't have one. Iraq is the central front in the war on terror, yet they don't have a plan for victory," he told cheering Republican faithful Monday at a rally in Statesboro, Georgia.
But pollsters predicted Democrats would overcome the heightened rhetoric and recapture control of the House of Representatives after 12 years, and possibly the Senate, which could hobble the Bush administration's last two years.
Kicking off an aggressive final week of campaigning with appearances in Texas and Georgia Monday, Bush defiantly defended the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and painted the opposition party as eager to leave "before the job is done" there.
"The Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses. That's what's at stake in this election. The Democrat goal is to get out of Iraq. The Republican goal is to win in Iraq," he said.
Meanwhile Vice President Dick Cheney told Fox News that insurgents in Iraq had stepped up their attacks in October to influence the US election. It's my belief that they're very sensitive of the fact that we've got an election scheduled," said Cheney, who suggested that those behind the violence were using the Internet to track US public opinion.
But Democrats continued to counter that the White House is pursuing a losing policy in Iraq. "The Bush Administration had no plan when it got us into Iraq, didn't tell the American people the truth, and it's not a surprise that the administration's track record is one of failure," Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney said Monday in a statement on a party website.
Key White House figures were on the campaign trail across the country to help protect Republican jobs in the Congress - First Lady Laura Bush and official spokesman Tony Snow made appearances in the past few days for party candidates in various states.
But meanwhile Bush's National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley flew to Baghdad Monday amid the difficulties US and Iraqi security forces are having getting the violence under control. With the US force in Iraq now at 150,000 troops - the most since January - the New York Times said Hadley could be discussing a "substantial increase" in US and Iraqi troops patrolling Baghdad.
Hadley and Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, discussed "accelerating the training of the Iraqi armed forces" and giving them a broader role in Iraq, according to a statement from Iraq's government.
Despite the continued bad news from Iraq, Bush confidently predicted victory in the upcoming polls as he spoke at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. "This election is far from over, although there are some people in Washington who already think they know the outcome of the election," he said, referring to the Democrats.
"We will win this election because Republicans understand the values and priorities of the American people," he told cheering backers. "We will win this election because our priorities and our values do not shift with the latest political opinion poll or focus group."
Even so, the polls continued to favour the Democrats. They need 15 seats to take control of the 435-seat House of Representatives and six seats out of 33 up for grabs to capture the 100-seat Senate.
Comments
Comments are closed.