Kerry responds to Cheney criticism

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By Joseph Weber

Sen. John Kerry on Monday added to the bickering between the Obama administration and former Bush White House officials about the war in Afghanistan.

He said former Vice President Dick Cheney has no grounds on which to criticize the president after eight years of failed policy in Afghanistan.

"This from a man who in 2002 told Americans, 'The Taliban regime is out of business,'" said Mr. Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. "This is one time I wish he was right."

Mr. Cheney has been critical of President Obama on such issues as national security and the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Last week, he said Mr. Obama was "dithering" over a decision to add more troops in Afghanistan.

Mr. Kerry returned last week from a seven-day trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is credited with playing a key role in persuading Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a Nov. 7 runoff election, after his victory in August was found to have widespread voter fraud.

"You may have heard it takes three cups of tea to make a deal in Afghanistan," he said Monday in a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations group in Washington. "Let me tell you, it took a lot more than that."

Mr. Kerry -- a decorated Vietnam War veteran who in 2002 vote in favor of authorizing President George W. Bush to use force in Iraq -- also said entering a war in Afghanistan was the correct decision.

"It was not a mistake to go in," he said. "Now we have to make a decision about a smart way to go forward."

Mr. Kerry also attacked the news media for its coverage of Mr. Obama as he deliberates on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, in August reportedly asked for 40,000 additional troops.

Mr. Kerry said the media has over-simplified a "complex nation and complex issue" into a yes-no question about troop numbers.