Headlines for October 14, 2004
President Bush and Sen. John Kerry battled over health care, jobs, taxes and other domestic issues in this their final debate.
They outlined differences on immigration, abortion, gay marriage, the minimum wage and their different faiths. Both candidates weaved the Iraq war into the debate, which was held in the key swing state of Arizona.
Sen. Kerry quoted Bush as saying he does not think much about Osama bin Laden and is not all that concerned about him. The president replied "I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations."
Oh But You Did Say that Mr. President! At a press conference on March 13th 2002, just as the invasion in Iraq was getting underway, Bush said this about bin Laden "I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run." He described bin Laden as "marginalized," and said, "I just don't spend that much time on him."
Within the Green Zone in baghdad , a total of six U.S. soldiers have died during a 24 period on Tuesday and Wednesday. Three soldiers were killed in Sadr City by a roadside bomb. In Mosul, a suicide bomber attacked a U.S. convoy killing two more soldiers. And sixth soldier died in a roadside bombing in west Baghdad.
U.S. Offers Cash to Sadr Militia in Exchange for Weapons
Meanwhile the Associated Press is reporting the U.S. may be helping to better arm the Iraqi resistance by offering cash to supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr if they turn in their weapons.
An analyst at Jane's Defense weekly told AP many fighters are turning in broken or old guns for cash and then spending the money on new weapons. He said, "The Mahdi Army's disarmament is something of a mirage."
In Virginia, a 37-year-old soldier who recently returned from Iraq hanged himself in jail on Saturday - less than a month after he returned home from Iraq.
Brian McKeehan had been arrested on assault charges. He assaulted his wife. In the month since he returned from Iraq, police said they had responded to about six complaints against McKeehan filed by his wife and neighbors.
In election news, a former Republican operative in Nevada has failed in an attempt to purge 17,000 Democrats from the state's voting rolls. Nevada's former Republican Party chair Don Burdish claimed the Democrats were inactive voters. But county officials rejected the request.