Daschle satisfied with war progress
By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer
PIERRE - Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., on Thursday praised the Bush administration's war and nation-building work in Iraq and said he has no serious concerns about the lack of weapons of mass destruction.
Daschle told state chamber of commerce representatives meeting in the South Dakota capital that he is satisfied with the way things are going in Iraq.
"I give the effort overall real credit," Daschle said. "It is a good thing Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. It is a good thing we are democratizing the country."
He said he is not upset about the debate over pre-war intelligence on weapons of mass destruction, an issue that has dogged President Bush as Democratic presidential contenders have slogged through the primary season.
"We can argue about the WMD and what we should have known," Daschle, the Senate minority leader, said.
Daschle took a different tone when he and other congressional leaders met with Bush in late January to discuss the intelligence snafu.
"I think it is critical that we follow up and find out what went wrong," the New York Times quoted him as saying just before the meeting.
"Daschle noted that congressional leaders had depended on sound intelligence in voting on the war," reads the New York Times story from Jan. 27.
On Thursday, Daschle said he does not believe the Bush administration will meet its aggressive pre-election timeline for installing a functioning democratic government in Iraq.
Daschle also praised South Dakota's National Guard troops and their employers Thursday.
The state has the nation's highest per-capita enrollment in the National Guard, something that has been significant as troops have been called up and rotated into active duty during fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"We ought to be proud of that, and I think we all are," Daschle said.
But Daschle blamed the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in part for the nation's record $527 billion deficit.
Daschle has consistently raised concerns about bearing the cost of war alone rather than spreading it among many nations. He said Thursday that the United States is now borrowing from China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to function.
The $167 billion in planned defense spending combined with Bush's tax cut packages and homeland security spending are leading the federal government to borrow $1 million per minute.
"We're hemorrhaging at a rate unlike anything in the nation's history," Daschle said. "We are going to have a mess for our children and grandchildren that ought to embarrass us."
Daschle faces a re-election race this year against former Republican congressman John Thune.
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Rapid City, SD
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