Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart slammed President Bush's administration for failures in the war on terror and supported Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's plan to improve it Tuesday at the Memorial Union.
\The issue dominating this election is security,"" he said. ""This election, being about security, has to take on a more sober tone.""
Hart, who co-chaired the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on Homeland Security, said his council tried to warn the Bush administration prior to Sept. 11 about the threat of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. However, he said the administration failed to take the information seriously.
""This is a man who was warned, who paid no attention, who took no steps to prepare our country and, as a result of that, 3,000 Americans died,"" he said.
Instead of focusing on threats from al-Qaida, Hart said the administration was focused on ousting Saddam Hussein from power. The United States went to war for a policy not fully disclosed to the public, he said, in order to oust Hussein, obtain a military presence in the Middle East, coerce the behavior of neighboring states and guarantee oil supplies.
""This was an act of empire,"" he said, adding the United States has never been an empire since its creation.
Hart said Kerry, unlike Bush, plans to build international alliances to deal with the situation in Iraq, adding this is what the United States must do to prevent being there for many years to come.
One audience member refuted Hart's claim that the United States has never been an empire, citing the Monroe Doctrine as proof.
Hart, however, said the Monroe Doctrine was different, because it was one doctrine that materialized under the administration of one president, and was primarily concerned with keeping the United States out of European political struggles.
Despite harsh criticism from officials like Hart, a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Bush has a strong lead over Kerry heading into Thursday's first presidential debate. According to the poll, the public thinks Bush is a stronger leader with a clearer vision despite concerns over Iraq and the economy.
