Counterattack! Vets, Dems call for Boehner apology

A day after House Majority Leader John Boehner of West Chester demanded that Sen. John Kerry apologize for saying that students should study hard or they’ll “get stuck in Iraq,” the Senate’s top Democrat and veterans are calling on Boehner to apologize for blaming the military on the lack of success in Iraq.

Before we go any further, here is what Boehner said on CNN’s “Situation Room” last night about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:

BOEHNER: Wolf, I understand that, but let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.

WOLF BLITZER: But he's in charge of the military.

BOEHNER: But the fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president.

Read the full transcript of the show HERE. Watch the video HERE.

Now, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is calling on Boehner to apologize:

"John Boehner ought to be ashamed. He's blaming our troops for failures in Iraq. If he wants to cast blame, he can start by looking in the mirror because he and his congressional Republican colleagues have rubber stamped the Bush Administration's failed policy for nearly four years. Our troops in Iraq have performed bravely. It's political leaders like Congressman Boehner and Donald Rumsfeld, who have failed. I expect President Bush and Congressional Republicans, who demanded John Kerry apologize, hold their own party's majority leader to a much higher standard. There's no spinning his disparaging comments. He made them. He needs to apologize."

So are veterans, such as Lt. Gen. Don Kerrick, a former deputy National Security Advisor.

"Generals win battles, they d0n’t win or lose wars. They are won by our national political leaders," Kerrick told reporters on a conference all today. "I’m concerned that these kind of comments that we are seeing now are finger pointing and trying to blame the military for what was really a strategic failure."

The comments came after President Bush reaffirmed his support for Rumsfeld yesterday, saying he plans to keep Rumsfeld on as his defense secretary for the remainder of his term. Rumsfeld has come under fire for his handling of the Iraq war, causing many Democrats and a few Republicans to call for his resignation.