Kerry Wants Broader Coalition In Iraq

[angrydemocrat]

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Ex-US presidential candidate Kerry wants broader coalition in Iraq
AFP: 1/14/2005
LONDON, Jan 14 (AFP) - John Kerry, the defeated US presidential candidate, said Friday that more countries should be involved in stabilizing Iraq after the elections and in preventing it from becoming a "magnet for terrorism."

Kerry told reporters after talks in London with British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the Iraq elections at the end of January were "one marker" of stability, but were not the goal themselves.

"What is critical is for all of us to focus on what happens immediately after the elections," Kerry said.

"I believe there needs to be a larger political reconciliation, as well as a broader involvement of other countries in decision-making in order to build a greater stability in Iraq," Kerry said.

He said that, following the January 30 elections, more simultaneous moves were needed to broaden the US-led coalition and greatly accelerate security while lowering the profile of the US military presence there.

The revelation that the US-led coalition had given up the search for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was one of many things, he said, that confirms what he had been saying throughout the campaign against US President George W. Bush.

But he did not want to "re-hash" that, he said.

"I still believe there are steps we can take, WMD notwithstanding, we cannot leave Iraq as a magnet for terrorism, in a state of disarray, as a failed state. It would be chaotic for all of us.

"Everybody has a stake now in trying to create a path to stability and reconciliation," he said.

He congratulated Blair on his role in hosting a conference in London in March on the Palestinian reform, as part of efforts to revive the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Kerry was meeting European leaders after visiting the Middle East.


01/14/2005 15:06 GMT - AFP

[TayTay]

1. That's what Presidents do

Not sit around the White House and give stupid ass interviews wherein they claim that they have no accountability for the massive screw-up resulting from their actions. Awwwh, someday America is going to wake up with a massive election hangover and go, "What the hell was I thinking last night? Look what I woke up with. I must have been high. What was I drnking last night, sterno?