Projo Politics Blog

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed told the nation tonight that President Bush’s Iraq policies are hurting national security, while endangering the lives of tens of thousands of American soldiers and largely ignoring the terrorist threat of Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network.

In the Democratic Party’s official response to the president’s primetime address, Rhode Island’s senior senator appealed to citizens and politicians from both parties to fight Mr. Bush’s latest plan, which calls for gradual troop reductions through July 2008, but would leave approximately 130,000 U.S. soldiers in the war-torn country thereafter.

“An endless and unlimited military presence in Iraq is not an option,” Reed said during a 4-minute response broadcast on the major television networks. “Democrats and Republicans in Congress and throughout the nation cannot and must not stand idly by while our interests throughout the world are undermined and our armed forces are stretched toward the breaking point."

In his role as the official mouthpiece for the Democratic Party, Reed drew several times from his military experience. He noted in his first sentence that he “was privileged to serve in the United States Army for 12 years.”

Reed’s address was broadcast live from the U.S. Capitol and immediately followed Mr. Bush’s speech, his eighth primetime address since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

It was the first such address for Reed, who has used his background as a former Army officer and professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to make himself a leading Democratic voice on the war.

Reed, who returned this summer from his 10th wartime tour of Iraq, has delivered the Democrat’s response to the president’s weekly radio address in the past. And he has become a regular spokesman at press conferences on Iraq in the U.S. Capitol with top Senate Democrats.

-- Steve Peoples, Journal State House Bureau

Comments

Sparky said:

We should have Steve Laffey in the Senate fighting for us.

Link | September 13, 2007 11:29 PM
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Brad McDermott said:

In times or war it is crucial that America comes together and supports our military. Mr. Reeds rhetoric was absolutely disgusting and self serving last night.

I also still find it amusing that folks like Reed continue to claim they were always against this war. The Democrats were as fired up as the Republicans to get into Iraq to fight terrorism. The spin is comical.

Link | September 14, 2007 12:18 PM
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