Hillary Clinton faults Bush on Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday the Bush administration never sent enough troops to Afghanistan to defeat the al-Qaida and the Taliban.

In an interview with CNN, Clinton said President George W. Bush and his top advisers were unrealistic about Afghanistan from the invasion in late 2001. She said after skimping on the size of the U.S. force in 2001, the administration then dropped the ball by shifting its focus to Iraq.

Karl Rove, Bush's former top political adviser, defended the administration earlier this week in an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America." He said if military leaders on the ground in Afghanistan had wanted more troops they would have been supplied.

Rove said U.S. allies in Afghanistan failed to put in enough troops.

Clinton refused to comment on what she would like to see in a healthcare plan, saying her role has changed since former President Bill Clinton put her in charge of formulating a plan in 1993.

"I'm going to cheer from the sidelines," she said.