Powell Calls U.S. Casualties 'Disquieting' / *'s Vacation

[kskiska]

By Dana Milbank and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, April 9, 2004; Page A16

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell yesterday gave the administration's most sober assessment yet of the uprising in Iraq, calling the recent rise in U.S. casualties "disquieting" and acknowledging that coalition allies are "under the most difficult set of circumstances."

Powell served as the Bush administration's point man while President Bush spent the second straight day out of public view on his ranch in Crawford, Tex. In congressional testimony, Powell said that despite the troubles in Iraq, the U.S. military will be able to quell both the new Shiite unrest and the Sunni insurgency within "the next few days and weeks."

(snip)

Bush spent the morning watching national security adviser Condoleezza Rice's televised testimony to the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, then toured his ranch with Wayne LaPierre Jr., chief executive of the National Rifle Association, and other leaders of hunting groups and gave an interview to Ladies' Home Journal. He is not scheduled to appear in public until Sunday, when he will visit nearby Fort Hood, the home base for seven soldiers recently killed in Baghdad.

Democrats criticized Bush for taking the Easter-week vacation while U.S. forces are struggling to put down an uprising in Iraq. Campaigning in Milwaukee, Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, said: "I notice President Bush is taking some days off down at Crawford, Texas, and I'm told that when he takes days off, you know, he totally relaxes: He doesn't watch television, he doesn't read the newspapers, he doesn't make long-term plans, doesn't worry about the economy. I thought about that for a moment. I said, sounds to me like it's just like life in Washington, doesn't it?"

White House communications director Dan Bartlett retorted that Bush is "not skiing" in Texas, as Kerry did on a recent vacation in Idaho. He said Bush remains in contact with his military advisers and is spending Easter weekend with his family. "Most Americans will understand that," Bartlett said.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62524-2004Apr8.html

[Eye and Monkey]

1. quell unrest w/in "the next few days and weeks." How does he define "few"?

[saigon68]

2. Colon's Bowel disquieting needs Kaopektate

Or some such "anti-disquieting " agent

WTF is "disquieting???

[latebloomer]

3. no shit Sherlock

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[VolcanoJen]

5. Kick!! Bush called Putin, expressing "Serious Distress!?!!?"

There is some truly grave and serious breaking news in this story, and we have to be sure not to miss it. This is the first glimpse we've had into the mood of the (western) White House, in the midst of the troubling events in Iraq. Big deal here, in my opinion:

Pararaph 9, from the WP article:

The president and his White House aides have not changed their public claims that the uprising in Iraq is the work of a relatively small number of extremists who will inevitably be crushed. But, in private, Bush is apparently expressing a more grim view. According to the Kremlin, he placed a 20-minute call to Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, and "serious distress was expressed" about the "escalation of violence." Bush aides refused to discuss the details of the conversation.

[Manix]

6. ..this guy has become just another despicable son of a bitch like

the rest of the neo-con artists.

[The Magistrate]

7. Here Is Something 'Most Americans Will Understand', Bartlett

One hundred and thirty-five thousand U.S. soldiers are not spending Easter with their families: they are spending the holiday killing and being killed, so cronies of your boss can stuff dollar bills into their pockets....

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[daleo]

8. Shhh - the president's sleeping

Careful or you will wake the baby.

[truthisfreedom]

9. bump... KERRY NEEDS TO MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF THIS. bush spent 40% of his

term on vacation so far! 500 days, for cripes sake! i haven't had 500 days of vacation in my entire LIFE!

is he the president of the greatest nation on earth, or HUGH HEFNER?