President Bush spoke in Council Bluffs at mid-day, amid news that tons of explosives were left unguarded in Iraq as looting occured after the U.S. invasion — explosives that cannot be accounted for now. Bush is on the counter-attack. He says his opponent, John Kerry, would “cut and run” in Iraq because Kerry misunderstands the nature of the terrorists. “We’re dealing with killers who have made the death of Americans the calling of their lives,” Bush says. “If America were not fighting these killers west of Baghdad and in the mountains of Afghanistan and elsewhere, what does Senator Kerry think they would do? Does Senator Kerry think they would begin leading productive lives of service and charity?” Kerry has accused Bush of “incredible incompetance” for failing to secure the hundreds of tons of powerful explosives at a munitions storage facility in Iraq. “My opponent had the wrong strategy for the wrong country at the wrong time,” Kerry said today in Colorado. Also today in Council Bluffs, Bush commented on the beheadings of Americans and others who’ve been taken hostage in Iraq. “Would the terrorists who behead innocent people on camera just be quiet and peaceful citizens if we had not liberated Iraq?” Bush asked the crowd. “We are fighting the terrorists with out military in Iraq and Afghanistan and beyond so we do not have to face them in the streets of our cities.” Bush will campaign later today in Davenport, then make a stop in Dubuque tomorrow. Kerry will be in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids on Wednesday.
