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Kennedy's 'Texas' remark stirs GOP reaction
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Ted Kennedy's comment Thursday to The Associated Press that the Iraq war was "made up in Texas" provoked no White House response but did stir a Republican official. In the AP interview, Kennedy questioned how much of a threat Saddam Hussein had posed in the U.S. fight against terrorism. "There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud," the Massachusetts Democrat told the AP. He said Bush officials employed "distortion, misrepresentation, a selection of intelligence" to justify the war. As for the administration's current policy in Iraq, Kennedy called it "adrift." He said Bush officials had failed to account for $1.5 billion of the $4 billion the war costs each month, citing a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office. "My belief is this money is being shuffled all around to these political leaders in all parts of the world, bribing them to send in troops," he told the AP. Kennedy was one of 23 senators who opposed the resolution last year authorizing Bush to go to war in Iraq. "The senator's comments reflect the tired old soft-on-defense attitude of the Democratic Party," the Republican official told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And the American people are thankful for a strong and decisive leader in President Bush who isn't afraid to make tough decisions." According to a Kennedy aide, the senator in the AP interview was trying to point out there are "real questions" about the administration's intent in the war. "The point is the administration has to be more accountable with the American public about the cost of the war," the aide told CNN. "The fact is there are real questions about the administration's intent with this war, what their plan is for our troops and how the money is being spent." The White House on Wednesday sent its $87 billion budget request to Congress for military operations and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan next year. While no Democrats or Republicans have said they would oppose it, many said they want specifics on the president's plans for reconstruction. Some Democrats, citing the $525 billion budget deficit, say they may push for a repeal of some tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to help pay for the Iraq mission. Kennedy said in the AP interview the administration should be required to account to Congress on how the money is spent. "We want to support our troops because they didn't make the decision to go there ... but I don't think it should be open-ended. We ought to have a benchmark where the administration has to come back and give us a report," he said. Earlier this year, Democrats tried and failed to pass an amendment that would have postponed most of the tax cuts and budget increases until Bush officials produced cost estimates of the Iraq war. Kennedy told the AP he also was worried the war in Iraq had drawn America's attention away from possible threats from al Qaeda, problems in Afghanistan and North Korea's nuclear program. "I think all of those pose a threat to the security of the people of Massachusetts much more than the threat from Iraq. Terror has been put on the sidelines for the last 12 months," Kennedy said. CNN's Dana Bash contributed to this story. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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