Document text
45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 24, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 12, 2004 Retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks poses for a photo Monday with St. Mary�s sixth-grader Clara Viale, of cqAshland. Franks made a stump speech for President Bush in Medford. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Iraq war commander defends Bush policy Retired Gen. Franks praises the president’s leadership; pro-Kerry vets cite ‘distortions’ By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune The former commander of ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan lobbed some heavy verbal mortar rounds for the Bush campaign in Medford Monday morning. "I’m not a politician — I’ve never been a politician," retired Gen. Tommy Franks told a rally by Veterans for Bush. "But I know a commander in chief when I see one, and there’s only one on the ballot this year — that’s George W. Bush." His comments were interrupted numerous times by whistles and cheers from the roughly 400 people gathered in a Red Lion Hotel conference room. A registered independent in Florida who has voted for both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, Franks said he is campaigning for Bush because of his handling of the war against terrorism. "I don’t believe we can secure the next 200 years-plus history of American history by hoping terrorists will go away," he said, later adding, "Terrorism is a damned sight more than a nuisance." Advertisement He was apparently making a reference to a comment by Sen. John Kerry in an interview with The New York Times Magazine on Sunday that the nation has "to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives but they’re a nuisance." The Kerry campaign has accused Franks and other members of the Bush campaign of continually distorting Kerry’s comments as well as his Senate voting record. About 80 members of the Southern Oregon Veterans for Kerry group held a rally at Medford’s Vogel Plaza shortly after noon Monday. They called for Franks to stop being an "apologist" for Bush. "We agree with the Tommy Franks who said John Kerry was absolutely qualified to be commander-in-chief, before he said he was against him," said veteran Dan Davis, an Applegate Valley resident and Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Davis was referring to comments Franks made on both ABC and CNN in August. But Franks said Monday that it was clear to him who would make the better president, given the current circumstances. "You got a stark choice, a stark contrast in this election fixing to come up in about three weeks," he told the crowd. Things changed with the 9/11 attack on American soil, he said. "Then we had a commander in chief who said, ‘Enough’s enough,’ " he said. While Franks said he respects Kerry’s record of Navy service in Vietnam, he had serious problems with Kerry returning stateside to speak out against that war. A native of Midland, Texas, Franks said he shares Bush’s values of "flag, family and faith." Franks, who joined the Army in 1965, noted he served in uniform when those in the military weren’t respected. Bush supports the military and is committed to winning the war on terrorism, he said. The nation has a choice of fighting terrorism either at home or abroad, Franks said. "I’m an over-there-kind-of-guy," he said, drawing another round of cheers. Franks held another rally Monday afternoon in Denver, and is campaigning in Florida todaytues. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Franks says troop levels are adequate By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Not only did the United States send enough troops to Iraq when it invaded in the spring of 2003 but there are ample troops there now to get the job done, says retired Gen. Tommy Franks. Franks, who was reacting to stories in the national media questioning troop levels in Iraq, also agreed with President Bush’s comments made during Friday’s debate that Franks and other generals had said they had what they needed when the war started. "Absolutely," he said during an interview with the Mail Tribune. "Not only was it enough, still is. "Despite the fact that many in the national media don’t want to recognize it and the Kerry campaign doesn’t want to recognize it, the number of troops in Iraq is just right," he added. "You know why? Because you have the most powerful military in the world and you have a president who is willing to give you, as a military commander, any part of that military you need. You always know you are free to ask." Moreover, Gen. John Abizaid, the general who replaced him in Iraq, is not a hesitant officer, Franks said. "If he believes he needed more American troops on the ground over there, you’d better believe he would have asked the president for it," he said. But Merrill "Tony" McPeak, a four-star general who headed the U.S. Air Force during Desert Storm, strongly disagrees there are enough troops on the ground in Iraq. A 1953 graduate of Grants Pass High School, McPeak retired back to Oregon in 1995, and is now campaigning for John Kerry. "We do not have enough troops there now, maybe only a third enough," said McPeak during a telephone interview from Pennsylvania, where he is stumping for Kerry. "You know you have enough when you stabilize the situation over there. "No one can argue we have enough troops there, not when they are blowing up pipelines, killing huge numbers of Iraqis and we have lost around 1,100 people," he said. "President Bush has absolutely the dumbest strategy over there." The number of troops in Iraq is too small to do the work or sustain the effort, said McPeak, who will be campaigning for Kerry in Medford on Friday. When former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki stated publicly that more troops would be needed, his replacement was announced a year early, undercutting his authority, McPeak said. "That was a message to all senior officers, including Tommy Franks," McPeak said. Franks, who retired 14 months ago after 37 years in the Army, rejects that claim. "Gen. Shinseki served his four-year statutory tour just like all service chiefs have done in this country for a long, long time," he said. "Rick Shinseki is a friend of mine," he added. "But Rick Shinseki was not on the ground in Iraq. His subordinates were not on the ground in Iraq." Franks declined to suggest a date when the United States should leave Iraq, noting that time would come when an adequate number of Iraqi security forces are trained. "I think we want to stay away from a calendar," he said, noting that such a date would trigger those opposed to the war to try to disrupt the plan. Americans need to toss aside their instant gratification approach when it comes today’s world, he said. "This war on terror is not quick and not easy," he said. "This is a life-and-death struggle. This is about our grandkids. It is a serious threat to our country. We have to stay with it until we win it." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers