The Senator seems to think that he knows what's going on in Iraq better than the Iraqi Prime Minister.

Of course, he probably just thinks that Allawi is an illegitimate puppet installed by the imperialist criminal Bush regime.

[Update at 2:20 PM EDT]

It was in response to this amazing question by a reporter:

Prime Minister Allawi told Congress today that democracy was taking hold in Iraq and that the terrorists there were on the defensive. Is he living in the same fantasy land as the president?

Did anyone hear this? Was the question serious, or was it veiled sarcasm at Kerry's description of the president's views? I can't tell from just the words--one would have to hear the tone as well.

If the former, if the press thinks that this is helping their candidate, they're living in a fantasy land.

Greg Djerejian has similar thoughts.

It would seem that Mr. Kerry is only interested in cultivating "allies" whose foreign policy is opposed to that of the US, while treating with contempt our actual allies in this war (Britain, Australia, Italy, and now Iraq).

I don't think that's going to play well on November 2nd.

So do you think that there was any chance at all that Allawi would have said the following:
"We are on the verge of civil war, we no authority in not only half of Iraq but half of our capital and our infrastructure is under constant attack and cannot be repaired as contrators pull out to avoid decapatation. The likelihood of free, fair and comprehensive elections in 14 weeks time is nil. To fight the 20, 000 insurgents, we have assembled a mightly force of 5000 minimally trained soldiers. In the meantime, please continue to sacrifice 10-20 of your troops weekly, indefinitly, so I can stay alive."

No Duncan, I doubt he would have bit on your strawman argument.

Of course not. I would have expected him to say what he said, which was at least as true as your fantasy speech. And I would have expected Senator Kerry, who will supposedly rebuild our alliances, to at least refrain from calling the head of government of one of our most critical allies in the Middle East, a man who has risked his life to try to put his country back together as a free nation, a liar until he was back in Iraq.

I take that back. I expect Senator Kerry to do exactly what he did, which is one of many reasons that he will lose this election, probably by a large margin.

Of course Kerry would say that now. If he could accuse our troops on the ground in Vietnam of being war criminals and while some were POWs, what's someone from another country going to mean to him? Maybe he will have a secret meeting with Arafat and announce a solution to the Palestinian problem. All John Kerry is worried about is getting elected President, NOTHING else. Of course the Clintonistas in his campaign will make sure that doesn't happen. Mustn't upset Hillary.

The reporter's fantasy land question tells me that the left-leaning members of the media aren't even bothering to hide their bias anymore. They are turning up the heat & going at the Bush administration with full-frontal attacks. And it will get nastier as we get closer to election day.

-CA

Plain and simple, the Dumbocratic candidate called Mr Allawi a liar. Thats the guy I want for President. The guy who calls the new leader of a prior dictatorship a liar. This man came here to thank the American people for liberating his country. And Kerry called him a liar. Thats the guy for me. What a JACKASS!!

...maybe, they are old war buddies, I bet Hussein was in Cambodia with Kerry during Christmas 1968. Thats why Kerry's against the war in Iraq.

...or maybe Kerry and Hussein were both on the swift boat, during that 4 months? Never get off the boat, never get off the boat!!

...or maybe SoDumb Insane was with the North Vietnamese delegation when Kerry met with them, while the nominee was still a Naval Reservist.
(isn't that forbidden under the U.C.M.J.?)

All the above occurred while Mr Kerry was married to Morgan Fairchild, yeah thats the ticket!!

Duncan:

Let us imagine that everything you say is true and correct. I'd venture that's no worse than the comments of the likes of Andropov, Chernenko, Brezhnev or Gorbachev about how wonderful the USSR was, the bastion of religious and political freedom that they long claimed it to be.

Question: Did any President say, "You are a liar," in so many words, to any of these leaders? Especially during a state visit to the US? How about any Senators?

Question: When Ronald Reagan called them an "Evil Empire," did you flinch? Or did you applaud him for telling the truth?

Question: When Dubya called Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "Axis of Evil," did you find that beyond the pale?

Somehow, when John Kerry (or any other Democrat) speaks "truth to power," it is laudable---never mind that it goes beyond the bounds of diplomatic nicety. Yet, reverse the political polarity, and somehow, it's unconscionable, precisely because it goes beyond the bounds of diplomatic nicety....