Rove Under Intense Fire for 9/11 Smear; White House rejected Democrats' demands for an apology [... immeidately after Durbin outcry!! ]

t r u t h o u t - Rove Under Intense Fire for 9/11 Smear: "Democrats Demand Rove Apologize for 9/11 Remarks | By Raymond Hernandez | The New York Times | Friday 24 June 2005

Washington - Leading Democrats reacted furiously on Thursday to remarks by Karl Rove that liberals had responded to the Sept. 11 attacks by wanting to 'offer therapy and understanding for our attackers,' with some Democrats calling for him to apologize or resign as a White House adviser.

The remarks also rippled through New York political circles, putting two top Republicans, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gov. George E. Pataki, on the defensive in the state that bore the brunt of the terror attacks in 2001.

Mr. Rove made the comments at a fund-raiser in Manhattan on Wednesday, saying: 'Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers.'

'Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said, 'We will defeat our enemies,' ' Mr. Rove continued at a gathering in Midtown for the Conservative Party of New York State. 'Liberals saw what happened to us and said, 'We must understand our enemies.' '

The remarks led to a cascade of criticism from Democratic lawmakers, particularly in the Senate, where Republicans have sought to put the party on the defensive for days after a leading Democratic senator, Richard J. Durbin, compared abusive treatment of prisoners at Guant�namo Bay, Cuba, to the war crimes of the Nazis and the Khmer Rouge.

'Karl Rove should immediately and fully apologize for his remarks or he should resign,' Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic minority leader, said in a statement. 'Dividing our country for political gain is an insult to all Americans and to the common memory we all carry with us from that day.'

The White House immediately rejected the Democrats' demands for an apology, offering a strenuous defense of Mr. Rove and suggesting that his statements had been taken out of context."