Questions for George Bush

You say that we are winning in Iraq. Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican, says, "We're in deep trouble." Gen. John P. Abizaid is asking for more troops. Secretary of State Colin Powell admits the insurgency is getting worse. The C.I.A. is pessimistic. Billions of dollars that were earmarked for reconstruction have been diverted for security. Insurgent attacks have quadrupled. Deaths of coalition troops are up. Significant chunks of Iraq are under enemy control. You have no viable military plan to make sure the January elections proceed peacefully and no political plan to reconcile competing factions. Your argument for re-election is that this is too dangerous a time to change direction. But since the direction is obviously wrong, don't we at least need to change drivers?
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How has the Iraq war made us safer, if it transformed Iraq from a place whose military was surrounded and contained, into what you have repeatedly called the "central front" in the war on terror?
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Your exit strategy for Iraq begins with successful elections in January. And yet there are many obstacles to those elections, especially in areas where the insurgents hold power. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says it doesn't matter if the people in certain regions are unable to vote. Secretary Powell says elections will not be credible unless all Iraqis take part. Do you agree with Secretary Rumsfeld that partial elections are acceptable, or with Secretary Powell that the elections must be nationwide?
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You have proclaimed that "freedom is on the march" around the globe, but freedom in Russia is in rapid retreat. During the 2000 campaign, you blasted President Vladimir Putin of Russia for "killing children" in Chechnya. Mr. Putin has now been fighting terrorism for years and failing dismally. What lessons do you draw from Russia's experience when considering our own options for fighting terror?
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Compared with when you took office, are we more safe or less safe on the Korean Peninsula? What concrete progress have you made during the past in preventing North Korea from building nuclear weapons?

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/30/opinion/30albright.html

There are reports coming out of Iraq that your administration plans to conduct military crackdowns on insurgent areas after the election in the United States, to regain control before the Iraqi elections in January. Is that your plan, and do you think that attacking Iraqi cities, as we have done in Falluja and Najaf, is in the long-term interest of the United States?
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Iran is building up its nuclear capabilities and has had a hand in terrorist attacks on Americans. Iran is harboring leaders of Al Qaeda and has effectively suppressed democratic forces. Under what circumstances would you authorize military action, including an invasion, to achieve regime change in Iran?
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On March 11, bombs went off in commuter trains in Madrid, killing 200 people. How hard do you think it would be for such an attack to be mounted in the United States? What steps have been taken to improve security on trains in this country and what more needs to be done in general to defend America against attacks?

http://nytimes.com/2004/09/30/opinion/30clarke_.html

Do you really believe that there are fewer terrorists plotting against America today than there were before you began the invasion of Iraq?
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Your version of Christianity supports and blesses preventive war. What relation is this to the Christianity preached by the pope and by mainstream Protestants who oppose preventive war?
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Since you obviously did not anticipate the troubles in Iraq, what do you plan to do to the incompetent advisers who misled you and are responsible for the deaths of more than 1,000 American G.I.'s and 20,000 Iraqi civilians? Or do you not see an accountability problem? President John F. Kennedy fired the people who led him into the Bay of Pigs. Why do you not do likewise?

http://nytimes.com/2004/09/30/opinion/30schlesinger_.html