9/11 references draw Democrats' ire

WASHINGTON -- For members of Congress who have clamored for President Bush to lay out a concrete plan for success in Iraq, his address to the nation was a disappointment that came under quick and harsh criticism -- particularly for its repeated, overt references to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Democrats accused Bush of using slogans to obscure a series of failures in the war. The speech, delivered on the first anniversary of sovereignty for the Iraqi government, was a missed opportunity for the president to offer a specific plan, said Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada.

''He fell short on all counts," Reid said. '' 'Staying the course' -- as the president advocates -- is neither sustainable nor likely to lead to the success we all seek."

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, said the president's references to the Sept. 11 attacks appeared designed to deflect attention from his critics. ''You know the president is on weak ground when he exploits the sacred ground of 9/11 so many times in this speech, knowing that there was no connection between 9/11 and the war in Iraq when he initiated his preemptive strike," she said.

Republican leaders, however, applauded Bush.

''We cannot allow the terrorists to shake our resolve," said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican who nevertheless has called for Bush to set war goals and draw down troops by next fall. ''It is unfortunate that many Democratic leaders have chosen to politicize the war on terror and ignore the good work that our armed services are doing."

House majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas said: ''As we mark the first anniversary of Iraqi sovereignty, we must remember that 25 million people . . . now enjoy the promise of both freedom and self-determination. Democrat leaders may call that a 'grotesque mistake,' but I call it a humanitarian miracle, and I thank the president for his leadership in fighting this war."

Democrats in Congress -- and a handful of Republicans -- are now openly skeptical of how the administration has run the war, reflecting sagging opinion poll numbers. More and more Democrats, including some who voted for war, want Bush to withdraw the troops, and some in the president's own party agree the administration should be compelled to lay out their objectives in Iraq.

In remarks on the Senate floor yesterday afternoon, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, Bush's defeated rival in last year's presidential election, called on the president to admit he has made mistakes. Bush's ''wall of arrogance" is harming the American military's mission, Kerry said.

''We have no realistic strategy to reduce the risks to our soldiers and achieve our goals," Kerry said. ''While our military has done a superb job, our civilian leadership has not, and our soldiers are paying the price every day."

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts' senior senator, said, ''Our soldiers in Iraq need more than the assurances of progress from the president. They need an effective plan to end the violence, bring peace and stability to Iraq, and return home with dignity and honor. Unfortunately, the president did not level with our troops and the American people and offer an effective strategy for success."

Representative Marty Martin T. Meehan, a Lowell Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, blasted Bush for suggesting that critics of the administration are carelessly damaging troop morale. ''How dare a president who misled this country into war criticize those who have called on him to change his failed policies," said Meehan, who voted to give Bush the authority to strike Iraq.

Harvard professor David Gergen, White House adviser to four presidents, was more circumspect.

''My sense is that [Bush] accomplished something very important," Gergen said. ''He bought himself more time. But I doubt he changed many minds."