July 16, 2003

John Kerry Raps George Bush’s ‘Preparedness Gap’
Kerry Challenges Bush To ‘Tell the Truth’ About America’s Security Needs


Bronx, New York John Kerry, Democratic candidate for President, today criticized the Bush Administration’s failures to meet the real needs of homeland security and America’s national security. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who has served eighteen years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, six years on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and wrote the 1997 book ‘The New War’ which addressed the challenges of global terrorism, took aim at the Administration’s broken promises on security and urged the President to ‘tell the truth’ about America’s homeland security challenges.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión said, "I'm very pleased to welcome Senator Kerry to the Bronx for this critical policy discussion. As we in New York City know only too well, the state of preparedness of our emergency response teams is a matter of paramount importance."

“We cannot afford to leave our first responders without the resources they need anymore than we can afford to leave our soldiers vulnerable to enemy attack in Iraq,” challenged John Kerry. “Just as President Bush did not have a viable plan for Iraq after the capture of Baghdad, today he still does not have a real plan and enough resources for preparedness against a terrorist attack. Americans have a right to ask: Are we safer today than we were on September 11th? Are our nation’s firefighters and police officers better prepared to wage the war on terror?”....

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