Menendez: Intel report shows Kean wrong on war
2006-09-27
Source: New Jersey Star-Ledger
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rss feedU.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said today a government intelligence report saying the war in Iraq is contributing to the spread of Islamic extremism shows his Republican rival Tom Kean Jr. is "dead wrong" to continue supporting the war.
The Democratic Senator, who has called for a withdrawal of troops within a year, said the war "is making us less safe. There is no more denying it." He accused Kean and President Bush of "living in an alternative reality where intelligence findings don't matter, mounting casualties don't count and rhetoric about the war on terror is more important than results."
Kean, a state senator from Union County, has said he would have voted for the war in Iraq if he were serving in Congress. He said late today his position has not changed. "Bob Menendez is trying to turn the war in Iraq into a political football," Kean said.
Menendez spoke at a news conference about portions of the classified national intelligence assessment that had been reported in media accounts over the weekend. The administration later released a declassified version of the report, which said the war in Iraq has become a "cause celebre" for Islamic extremists.
Following that release, Kean declined to comment on the report, saying "we've seen only certain excerpts."
"My position on Iraq has been clear. There have been horrendous mistakes that have been made. I want to get our troops out of harm's way as quickly as humanly possible, but that needs to be done understanding the political realities and the military realities on the ground," Kean said.
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