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Bush, US Democrats tangle on terror

US President George W. Bush and congressional Democrats locked horns on Tuesday on whether Americans are safe from terrorism, part of a calculated effort by both parties to capitalize on the coming anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and gain the upper hand in this year's election debate over national security.

The White House released an updated version of its national security strategy, concluding that "America is safer, but we are not yet safe." Bush, speaking to military officers, delivered the second in a series of speeches on global terror. And yesterday he planned to deliver a third in the East Room of the White House, where he will propose new legislation on bringing terror detainees to trial.

The bill is in response to a Supreme Court ruling that deemed unconstitutional the military commissions that Bush originally proposed. Late on Tuesday, presidential aides were briefing lawmakers about the proposal. The plan is part of a broader effort to seize the initiative on politically delicate issues regarding the handling of terror suspects, including new rules for interrogation techniques.

On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats released their own report, which asserts that Americans are less safe now than they were five years ago, and brought out Wesley Clark, the retired general and 2004 presidential candidate, to trumpet it. In an interview, Clark said he was trying to help Democrats "articulate a strong and successful national security position, so that people can understand that Democrats can and will succeed in protecting the nation."

The dueling appearances laid bare a central fact about the changing politics of Sept. 11: Five years ago there was a period of bipartisanship, which has evolved into a bitter partisan brawl over the course Bush has pursued since then, especially in invading Iraq. This week's politicking would have been unthinkable four years ago, but both sides openly embraced it on Tuesday.

Within hours of Bush's speech, the Democratic Senate leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Charles Schumer of New York, were holed up in the Capitol, plotting strategy for the remainder of the week.

"We are not going to let the Republicans occupy the high ground on this issue," Schumer said, "particularly when we believe the American people are not happy with the policies in Iraq or in general on terrorism."
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