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WASHINGTON, May 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a transcript of Wesley Clark (news - web sites)'s Democratic radio address to the nation:
This week the world has been shocked and angered, and America's moral leadership undercut, by the terrible pictures of a small number of our US military people abusing Iraqi prisoners.
The President acknowledged that these acts were 'stains on our honor'. He's apologized. Rightly so.
But apologies are not enough. These criminal acts of abuse must be investigated fully and those responsible held accountable under law. We must fix our training and procedures so this cannot happen again. Amends must be made to Iraqis who suffered these humiliations through real and symbolic gestures, such as the dismantling of Abu Ghraib prison itself.
The issues go to the very heart of the American mission in Iraq (news - web sites). For, by our own claims, we are different: we don't torture, or maim, or coerce. We came to liberate, not to occupy. We came to 'free' and not to imprison. If the mission was endangered by the prospect of using heavy force against insurgents in Fallujah and Najaf, it is no less endangered by the loss of credibility caused by our own misconduct. This is a mission in trouble.
My thoughts go to our soldiers, Marines and their families. They are serving courageously., and well. And at great cost. Over 700 have died, more than 4.000 have been wounded. And just this week, the Administration announced that it must keep 135,000 troops in Iraq through 2005. This means repetitive tours, family separations, more fears that one's husband, or wife, or child, won't make it safely home.
We owe the men and women in the Armed Forces a tremendous debt of gratitude. And we owe them the proper equipment - armored vest, armored vehicles, and radios - so they can do the job safely. Yet, more than a year after the President sent them to battle, they still don't have this equipment. Some 200 lives might have been spared had they had the protective gear and armored equipment that the mission requires. 200 Lives. This is inexcusable. The Bush Administration should have addressed this issue long ago and must do so immediately.
President Bush (news - web sites) took us to war exaggerating hyped intelligence, without an imminent threat to our country. He took us to war before all diplomatic options were exhausted, before our allies were on board, and before we had a realistic plan or adequate ground forces to deal with what happened after we reached Baghdad. And all of this was a distraction from our pursuit of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).
The truth is President Bush made mistake after mistake as Commander-in-Chief, taking us into a war we didn't have to wage, alone and under false pretenses and is now managing it poorly.
Now the mission is in danger as the self-imposed June 30th deadline approaches. To prevent Iraq from becoming a failed state that breeds new terrorists, America must change course. Enough of the unilateralism and over reliance on the military. We must bring in our allies, give them a seat at the table and together create an international organization to provide economic and political assistance to the Iraqi. The US must not bear so much of the burden. We are unlikely to succeed if we continue to do so.
With new American leadership we can gain real help from our NATO (news - web sites) allies - and from countries in the region. With their help, we can create the conditions for free and fair elections, transition to a secure and free Iraq, and bring home much of our military.
My fellow Americans. This is an election year. It is our duty to use the power of the vote and hold accountable our President. We need new leadership in America to keep us safe at home, and to regain respect for America abroad.
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Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.
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