Kerry receives three-star support

Highest-ranking woman in U.S. Army history says Bush has no idea how to get out of Iraq

By Andrew Dys The Herald

The highest-ranking woman in U.S. Army history campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in Rock Hill on Wed-nesday, telling Democratic Party faithful that President Bush had no clue what he was getting into in Iraq.

Retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy said Bush has no clue how to get out of Iraq either.

Kennedy, a 32-year Army veteran, was the first woman to become a three-star Army general. She served as deputy chief of staff for intelligence under President Clinton. Kerry is the right person to finish the job in Iraq, she said.

Bush and Cheney have continued to say recently that the war was the right thing to do. Both Bush and Cheney say Kerry’s criticism of war strategy and his votes against funding have hurt the troops.

But Kennedy and several other retired military leaders who support Kerry disagree. The military under Kerry would win the peace by building a world coalition to both fight terror and help pay for the war, Kennedy said. She called the Bush-Cheney team’s wartime performance "incompetent," and said Bush looked "completely clueless" during last week’s debate with Kerry.

"It is embarrassing to see George Bush pretending to be president," she told an audience of about 30 Democrats at York County Democratic headquarters.

The war was started for false reasons, Kennedy said, and some in the Bush administration have said there haven’t been enough soldiers in Iraq to do the job right.

Kennedy spoke of her own three decades of service to blast both Bush and Cheney for not serving in the active-duty military. She said Kerry served as a "fine combat leader" in Vietnam.

"The price of war is way too high to go in as the first option," Kennedy said.

Kennedy has traveled the country campaigning for Kerry in an appeal to both women and veterans groups. Her local visit was another partisan event for Democrats sponsored by Women for Kerry.

Women are more likely to support Kerry than Bush, Kennedy said, but in 2000 15 million women between 18 and 24 didn’t register to vote. Another 4 million who were registered didn’t vote.

Clinton had a motto about building a bridge to the 21st century, Kennedy said, but "Bush has become the Hurricane Ivan to that bridge."

Yet Kerry supporter Wayne Clark pointed out that he hadn’t heard much from Kerry about the tough choices he’ll face in Iraq if he wins.

Kennedy said an international coalition would help Kerry win the peace.

The Muslim world, fractured politically before the Iraqi invasion, has now become more united against Bush and the U.S. as a result of the war, she said.

http://www.heraldonline.com/local/story/3965513p-3639164c.html