Today, Senator John Kerry made the following statement responding to comments by Vice President Dick Cheney on CNN.  Earlier this month, Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman said that Senator Clinton was aiding the enemy by asking for plans on troop redeployment from Iraq.  Dick Cheney defended these attacks today by saying Edelman’s letter was “a good letter.”  He also refused the oversight role of Congress on the war in Iraq.

Kerry and Clinton are introducing legislation that would direct the Pentagon to prepare a report and briefing for Congress on contingency planning for redeploying troops from Iraq.

 “It’s no surprise that today Dick Cheney stands by these politically motivated attacks and belittles accountability from Congress on the war in Iraq,” Senator Kerry said.  “After all, this is the Vice President who said Saddam Hussein had reconstituted nuclear weapons, who said over two years ago that the insurgency was in its “last throes,” and who just weeks ago contended he wasn’t part of the Executive Branch.  This Administration needs to honor our troops by listening to its own generals and changing course in Iraq now.  The Vice President should focus on how to bring our heroes home from a stable Iraq.”

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