|
|
"A collaborative political resource." |
California Senate candidate Jones attacks Boxer over terror war
|
| Parent(s) |
Race
-
|
| Contributor | Gerald Farinas |
| Last Edited | Gerald Farinas Apr 17, 2004 12:01am |
| Category | News |
| News Date | Apr 16, 2004 12:00am |
| Description | California Senate candidate Jones attacks Boxer over terror war
The Modesto Bee
GOP Senate hopeful Bill Jones said Friday that incumbent Barbara Boxer shouldn't be criticizing President Bush over the war on terror, contending that Boxer herself failed to focus on terrorism prior to Sept. 11, 2001. Boxer, D-Calif., chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's subcommittee on international operations and terrorism for several months before the terror attacks on New York and Washington. Shortly after taking over as chairwoman she was quoted as saying she planned to have hearings focused on women, children and other issues. "If we're going to dissect one memo in August that the president reviewed in 20-20 hindsight, then go back and look at the statements that Boxer made with respect to what issues she was going to focus on when she took over that committee and you don't find terrorism anyplace on the list," Jones said in an interview. "If we're going to use this yardstick we've got to use it on both sides."
His accusation that Boxer was "playing politics" on the war on terror came in response to comments she made in a Los Angeles earlier in the week. Boxer, who voted against use of force in Iraq, said then that Bush fixated on Iraq after Sept. 11, contending he "took his eye off the ball and he's made us less safe." Boxer's campaign dismissed Jones' criticisms and provided a transcript of a June 2001 subcommittee hearing where Boxer questioned an official nominated to be the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator about what the administration would do to limit the threat of terrorism. "Clearly once again Bill Jones is either ignorant of the facts or deliberately ignoring them. More than two months before 9-11 Sen. Boxer was questioning the administration and asking them to make sure that combating Osama bin Ladin was their highest anti-terrorist priority," said Boxer spokesman Roy Behr. |
| Article | Read Article |
|
|
