Dean to Bush: "Stubbornness is not a foreign policy"

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=74135

"WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- During his press conference today, President Bush again defended his failed foreign policies. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on the need for a new direction and a foreign policy that is both tough and smart:

"The stakes are too high to have a permanent commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq. That's why we need a new direction in our foreign policy that will keep America safe here at home and around the world. President Bush continues to stubbornly ignore the fact that his foreign polices have been a failure and the Iraq War has actually hindered our efforts in fighting the war on terror.

"North Korea has increased its nuclear capabilities by 400 percent and tested a nuclear weapon because the Bush Administration took its eye off the ball. Iran has also become an even greater threat. And still, the president refuses to listen to the advice of his own Party's leaders like Sen. John Warner and Secretary Baker, who have spoken out on the need for a new direction in Iraq and acknowledged that we sometimes must talk with our adversaries. Stubbornness is not a foreign policy. Democrats believe we need a new direction that acknowledges the facts on the ground and makes fighting and winning the war on terror the top priority."

Very effectively makes the point.

I don't know why, but it does.

thats good. about sums it up. thanks Dean:thumbsup:

exactly

Just a bit of it.

"North Korea's Weapons Capabilities Have Grown Under Bush

Timeline: Under Bush, Situation With North Korea Worsened

2001: Bush Contradicted Powell on North Korea, Said No Plans for Negotiation With North Korea. During a meeting with the president of South Korea, Bush expressed a hard line approach to North Korea that contradicted Secretary of State Colin Powell's earlier statements. One day before Bush met with the President of South Korean, Powell said that the Bush administration planned "to pick up where President Clinton left off." (USA Today, 3/8/01)

2001: North Korea Pursuing Nuclear Arms Program Aggressively Since 9/11. Since 9/11, North Korea has accelerated their nuclear efforts. A report by the National Security Advisory Group issued in July of 2005 states that "North Korea's runaway nuclear program could be a direct path to nuclear terror. . . . North Korea sells missiles and other dangerous technology worldwide, with no apparent limits or compunction . . . (the country's) leaders and elite engage in smuggling, counterfeiting, and other illicit activities. These same people might traffic in nuclear materials the way A.Q. Khan trafficked in Pakistan's nuclear technology." (Worst Weapons in Worst Hands, the National Security Advisory Group, July 2005)

2002 to 2003: Under Bush's Watch, North Korea Withdrew from the Non Proliferation Treaty. Between December 2002 and January 2003, North Korea ejected IAEA inspectors and announced its withdrawal from the Non Proliferation Treaty. (Arms Control Today, July/August 2006)

2003: CIA Informed Foreign Officials North Korea Had Small- Nuke Technology. The CIA informed South Korean and Japanese officials that North Korea began testing conventional primary explosives associated with advanced nuclear warheads. Smaller nuclear warheads, which the CIA suspected North Korea possessed, could increase the deliverable range of North Korean missiles and places U.S. forces in Japan (roughly 60,000) and South Korea (roughly 35,000) well within range. The CIA also found that the North Koreans had a conventional weapons test site that was capable of testing nuclear weapons. (New York Times, 7/1/03)

2003: Bipartisan Senators Criticized Bush Administration Policy on North Korea as Inadequate. During testimony by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, the two ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Ranking Member Joseph Biden (D-Del.), criticized the Bush administration's policy on North Korea as inadequate. Calling the Bush administration's North Korea policy "largely reactive and predictable," Biden ordered the administration to regain the initiative on discussions. Lugar said that Bush should show "immediate U.S. leadership" by increasing dialogue and selecting a senior coordinator for the policy. (Washington Post, 2/5/03)

2003: North Korea Claimed They Could Produce Half-Dozen Nuclear Bombs. North Korean officials said that they had finished producing enough plutonium to make a half-dozen nuclear bombs and that they would move ahead quickly to turn the material into weapons. (New York Times, 7/15/03)

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=74135

Starts in 2001 and continues research to the present.

It's ok though, as long as Barney the dog still supports him we can bet Bush will keep plugging away. :eyes:

He always knows what to say. How can we get more leadership who can critically sum up the misdirection that is going on here?

It is stubbornness and muleheadedness.