Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" on 26 September 2004, declaring that the United States had become mired in Iraq at the expense of its pursuit of Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. The Democrat argued that a functioning strategy against the terror network had been set aside when Washington chose to invade Iraq.
Kennedy pushed back against the assessment Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had offered during his Washington visit the previous week. Allawi had pledged that national elections would proceed in January and told audiences that the situation was improving. Kennedy said those claims contradicted US intelligence assessments and reports arriving from the field.
The war's political fallout was reshaping the presidential race between incumbent George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry. Bush had used Allawi's visit to defend his decision to invade.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina backed the administration's general position but acknowledged the road ahead was hard. Graham said additional troops would be needed and identified Fallujah as a city requiring pacification before any January vote could go forward. He urged the White House to speak plainly about how difficult organizing the election would be, while still committing to hold it on schedule.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in September 2004, in its own words.