"A Katrina Foreign Policy"

Wow, I have to say I like that one from John Kerry. He said it just now on CNN. He went on to say that the Republicans "want to debate slogans, and not the real policy," and that they "want to cut and tun from the truth." He said in no uncertain terms that the current foreign policy is a failed policy. We have more terrorists in the world, and we have more terrorist acts than ever before. These are facts.

Now, every time Dick Cheney was confronted with a fact on Meet the Press this morning, he said "I disagree." He was ducking and diving and having to respond to his own words. He responded to his "last throes" comment by saying that when you look back in ten years, 2005 will be the turning point. So one Cheney is 20 Friedmans. And 40 Caseys (I believe Casey said we have 3 months to get things right). In other words, you can't talk about failures now, because we're too close to the situation. We can't discuss any kind of policy for ten years. It's a get-out-of-accountability-free card.

Cheney also said that he believes the international inspectors have good intelligence on Iran's nuclear program. But Russert mentioned out that he didn't accept El Baradi's reports and he was right. Cheney tried to duck it and said "I haven't looked into it." I guess he doesn't check these things for ten years.

Kerry's doing a really good job with Blitzer. Saying that the Iraqis won't stand up as long as we're there indefinitely, and that you can't resolve the differences in Iraq militarily. By setting a date certain, you accelerate the pressure for the Iraqis to stand up, and you accelerate the diplomatic efforts with the stakeholders.

Quite a contrast on the Sunday shows.

UPDATE: Think Progress is right, Cheney constantly cited Zarqawi as evidence of a Saddam-Al Qaeda relationship, which is directly contradicted by the recent Senate Intelligence Committee report, which Cheney says he "hasn't read."

CHENEY: You’ve got Iraq and Al Qaeda, testimony from the Director of C.I.A. that there was indeed a relationship — Zarqawi in baghdad. et cetera. Then the

RUSSERT: The committee said there was no relationship. in fact saddam —

CHENEY: I haven’t seen the report. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.

RUSSERT: But Mr. Vice President the bottom line is…

CHENEY: We know that Zarqawi running the terrost camp in Afghanistan prior to 9/11. After we went in after 9/11, then fled and went to Baghdad and set up operations in Baghdad in the spring of 2002 and was there and then basically until the time we launched into Iraq.

That's a complete falsehood. In fact Saddam tried to capture Zarqawi when he entered Iraq.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Meanwhile, Kerry yesterday called for more troops in Afghanistan to deal with the rising Taliban threat. So much for cut and run. Money quote:

"We have a Katrina foreign policy, a succession of blunders and failures that have betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it," Kerry said in a speech at Boston's historic Faneuil Hall.