[Mb-civic] NYTimes.com Article: Bush Cites Doubt America Can Win War on Terror

Tue Aug 31 11:21:50 PDT 2004

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Bush Cites Doubt America Can Win War on Terror

August 31, 2004
 By ELISABETH BUMILLER 

NASHUA, N.H., Aug. 30 - President Bush, in an interview
broadcast on Monday, said he did not think America could
win the war on terror but that it could make terrorism less
acceptable around the world, a departure from his previous
optimistic statements that the United States would
eventually prevail. 

In the interview with Matt Lauer of the NBC News program
"Today," conducted on Saturday but shown on the opening day
of the Republican National Convention, Mr. Bush was asked
if the United States could win the war against terrorism,
which he has made the focus of his administration and the
central thrust of his re-election campaign. 

"I don't think you can win it," Mr. Bush replied. "But I
think you can create conditions so that those who use
terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the
world." 

As recently as July 14, Mr. Bush had drawn a far sunnier
picture. "I have a clear vision and a strategy to win the
war on terror," he said. 

At a prime-time news conference in the East Room of the
White House on April 13, Mr. Bush said: "One of the
interesting things people ask me, now that we are asking
questions, is, 'Can you ever win the war on terror?' Of
course you can." 

It was unclear if Mr. Bush had meant to make the remark to
Mr. Lauer, or if he misspoke. But White House officials
said the president was not signaling a change in policy,
and they sought to explain his statement by saying he was
emphasizing the long-term nature of the struggle. 

Taken at face value, however, Mr. Bush's words would put
him closer to the positions of the United States' European
allies, who have considered Mr. Bush's talk of victory
simplistic and unhelpful. 

Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, told
reporters on Air Force One that Mr. Bush was speaking about
winning the war "in the conventional sense" and that his
comments underscored the reality that ridding the world of
terrorists would take decades. 

"I don't think you can expect that there will ever be a
formal surrender or a treaty signed like we have in wars
past," Mr. McClellan said. "That's what he was talking
about. It requires a generational commitment to win this
war on terrorism." 

Mr. Bush's comment came only a few days after an interview
with The New York Times in which he acknowledged a
"miscalculation'' about the evolution of the insurgency in
Iraq, saying no one could have anticipated that a swift
military victory would allow forces loyal to Saddam Hussein
and others to melt into the cities and attack American
forces. 

But Democrats clearly saw those comments, and the one
broadcast Monday, as missteps they could exploit, much as
Mr. Bush has attacked Mr. Kerry's remark that he would have
authorized the president to invade Iraq if he had known
then what he knows now about Iraq's weapons. 

"After months of listening to the Republicans base their
campaign on their singular ability to win the war on
terror, the president now says we can't win the war on
terrorism," Senator John Edwards, Mr. Kerry's running mate,
said in a statement. "This is no time to declare defeat. It
won't be easy and it won't be quick, but we have a
comprehensive longterm plan to make America safer. And
that's a difference." 

Mr. Edwards elaborated on his criticism in an interview
Monday with the ABC program "Nightline.'' Mr. Edwards said
the battle against terrorism was "absolutely winnable" with
the right leadership. 

"Now, in order to win it," Mr. Edwards said, "we have to do
the right thing, which includes some of the things that I
spoke about today: reform our intelligence operations, more
human intelligence inside these terrorist cells, being more
aggressive about the developing nuclear threats in North
Korea and Iran, and different plans - a more effective plan
in Iraq, a more effective plan in Afghanistan.'' 

Mr. Kerry, who has limited his campaigning this week, was
asked at his vacation home in Nantucket whether the war on
terror could be won. He replied, "Absolutely." 

Analysts said Mr. Bush's comment reflected both foreign
policy and political realities, and appeared intended in
part to emphasize that even a striking breakthrough, like
the capture of Osama bin Laden, would not by itself assure
the nation's security. 

"From the start it's been clear that we're dealing with an
ideological struggle that affects a region, and not just a
single movement or group," said Anthony Cordesman, a fellow
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

With Mr. Kerry having trouble getting across how his
approach would have been different from Mr. Bush's approach
to Iraq, Mr. Bush can show some flexibility in his
thinking, Mr. Cordesman said. "Bush can afford to move to a
more nuanced ground precisely because Kerry has been unable
to occupy it," he said. 

Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York sounded more
optimistic about overcoming terrorism when he addressed the
convention Monday evening. "We'll see an end to global
terrorism,'' he said. "It may seem very difficult and a
long way off. It may even seem idealistic to say that. But
it may not be as far away and as idealistic as it seems.'' 

Mr. Bush's comment was broadcast as he campaigned in
Michigan and New Hampshire on his record on fighting
terrorism, part of a leadup to his acceptance speech at the
Republican convention in New York on Thursday night. In a
part of the NBC interview that was broadcast during the
weekend, he also commented on his National Guard service in
the Vietnam War and the Navy service of Mr. Kerry, a
decorated combat veteran. "I think him going to Vietnam was
more heroic than my flying fighter jets,'' Mr. Bush said.
"On the other hand, I served my country. Had my unit been
called up, I would have gone.'' 

In New Hampshire, Mr. Bush got an unusually tough question
at an "Ask President Bush" event at Nashua High School
North, forcing him to detour from his message of the day
and defend Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel. 

"How can Ariel Sharon be a man of peace, as you've said, if
he causes death and torture among innocent Palestinians?"
demanded a young woman who said she had recently spent two
weeks in Libya. 

"That's a great question," Mr. Bush responded. "First of
all, Ariel Sharon is defending his country against
terrorist attacks, just like we will." Mr. Bush then blamed
the Palestinians for holding up progress in the Middle
East. "Ariel Sharon is a duly elected official in a
democracy," the president said. "We would hope that the
Palestinians would have that same kind of democracy." 

Richard W. Stevenson contributed reporting from New York
for this article. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/politics/campaign/31bush.html?ex=1094976510&ei=1&en=d1b1bce477ed5b27

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