By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrat Barack Obama says he’ll take no lectures from Republicans on who will keep America safer. GOP rival John McCain’s campaign criticized Obama Tuesday for speaking approvingly of the successful prosecution of terrorists.
A McCain aide said, “Obama is a perfect manifestation of a September 10th mind-set” and does not understand the dangers posed by U.S. adversaries.
Obama told reporters that the Republicans have no “standing to suggest that they’ve learned a lot of lessons from 9-11.”
He said they “helped to engineer the distraction of the war in Iraq at a time when we could have pinned down the people who actually committed 9-11.” He said Osama bin Laden is still at large in part because of their failed strategies.
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At issue were Obama’s comments Monday in an interview with ABC News. Obama was asked how he could be sure the Bush administration’s anti- terrorism policies are not crucial to protecting U.S. citizens.
Obama said the government can crack down on terrorists “within the constraints of our Constitution.” He mentioned the indefinite detention of Guantanamo Bay detainees, contrasting their treatment with the prosecution of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.
“And, you know, let’s take the example of Guantanamo,” Obama said. “What we know is that, in previous terrorist attacks—for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center—we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated.
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Oh yeah, everything worked out perfectly. They’re currently in U.S. prisons; they won’t be plotting to blow up the World Trade Center again, that’s for sure.
No wonder the AP likes Nedra Pickler so much; she’s an excellent propagandist:
GOP criticism of the presumed Democratic nominee echoed the words of Rove, who in January 2006 said Republicans have a post-Sept. 11 view of the world and Democrats a pre-9/11 view. Eleven months later, the GOP lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections.
