KANSAS CITY, Missouri, 8 August 2004 — Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said on Friday he believes he could “significantly” cut American troop levels in Iraq within a year, drawing quick fire from the White House.

“I believe that within a year from now, we could significantly reduce American forces in Iraq, and that’s my plan,” Kerry said. “I believe we can.”

Kerry made the comments in an interview with National Public Radio that aired on Friday, a day after it was conducted while he campaigned in Missouri.

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card responded: “Those kinds of decisions should be based on what the military commanders in the field recommend, and I doubt Senator Kerry has the benefit of the commanders who are in the field.”

Traveling with President George W. Bush in New Hampshire, Card told reporters, “The president’s not going to make political decisions based on what troop levels should be, but based on what commanders on the ground suggest.”

Continuing demands on the 138,000 US troops in Iraq due to the current bloody insurgency have increased the length of time many American soldiers must now serve there.

Kerry said in the NPR interview, “If I get other countries involved in the training of troops and training them more rapidly, the Iraqis themselves can take over a great deal more of their own security.”

“But you need stability to be able to do that. How do you achieve the stability? You need to have more people involved in the process,” Kerry said.

“We have not seen this administration do the statesmanship, do the diplomacy necessary, and America’s paying a very high price, both in terms of the lives of our young and the money that’s coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets,” he said.

“I will do a better job of building those alliances and getting our troops home,” Kerry said.

On Sunday, Kerry said he did not anticipate sending more American troops to Iraq and hoped to bring “significant numbers” home during his first four-year term.

Kerry Vows to Lift Restrictions

on Stem Cells

Kerry yesterday marked the third anniversary of President Bush’s restrictions on stem-cell research by vowing to lift them for the sake of millions of Americans with debilitating diseases.

“To those who pray each day for cures that are now beyond our reach, I want you to know that help is on the way,” Kerry said in remarks taped for his party’s weekly radio address in the second week of a cross-country campaign tour with running mate John Edwards. “Come next January,” said Kerry, who hopes to be inaugurated as president at that time, “we’re going to create a new anniversary — one that will be cause for celebration. We’re going to lift the ban.”

Stem-cell research heated up as an election-year issue after the death of former President Ronald Reagan, who was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. His son, Ron Reagan, made an emotional plea to expand such research at last month’s Democratic National Convention.

In August 2001, Bush restricted the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research to batches, called cell lines, that existed at that time. Critics complain more lines need to be opened to federally financed study.

Embryonic stem cells, taken from days-old human embryos, have the potential to form any kind of tissue in the body. Researchers hope to learn to use them to create tailor-made transplants to treat Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other ills.

Kerry said, “People of good will and good sense can resolve the ethical issues without stopping life-saving research.”