A Consistent John Kerry
A picture of John Kerry’s hangs in the North Vietnamese museum that commemorates the communist victory over the United States in the Vietnam War. If Kerry sticks with his current Iraq policy, perhaps bin Laden will soon have Kerry’s picture on his desk as well. Originally Kerry said he would keep American troops in Iraq “until the job was done.” After several steps back and to the left, John Kerry now says he would like to start withdrawing troops within six months.
Richard Holbrooke, Kerry’s foreign policy advisor, said recently “Strategically and politically, the situation in Iraq is worse than it ever was in Vietnam.” Bin Laden sketches the same portrait: “America is mired in the swamps of the Tigris and Euphrates.” Abu Musab al Zarqawi and Aymen Zawahiri have recently predicted an American loss.
The Iraqis don’t share the assessment of the Kerry camp and the terrorists. A recent poll shows that 58% of Iraqis believe that democracy in Iraq is likely to succeed, Prime Minister Allawi has a 66% approval rating, and 87% of Iraqis plan to vote in the January elections.
John Kerry, like Holbrook and Zarqawi, views Iraq as a failing venture: “But a glance at the front pages or a look at the nightly news shows the hard reality: Rising instability. Spreading violence. Growing extremism.” Kerry does not seem to have made the connection between his Iraq policy and the growing violence. Others do see a relationship.
Ali, a doctor in Baghdad and a candidate for Iraqi National Assembly, explains renewed targeting of US soldiers: “Most people supporting the resistance think …that if they can inflict more losses among American soldiers, American public opinion will favor getting out of Iraq soon and will vote for John Kerry…The bottom line is that with Kerry they think they have a chance but with Bush there is none.”
Kerry has a history of emboldening America’s enemies to the detriment of America’s soldiers. General Bui Tin, a former colonel in North Vietnam’s army, discussed how the antiwar protesters, when Kerry was a leading figure, helped the communists achieve victory. He recounted that news of antiwar protests that “gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses.” Bui Tin said: “America lost because…through dissent and protest it lost the ability to mobilize a will to win.”
Bin Laden has long characterized the US as a paper tiger unable to maintain political will in the face of causalities and expenses, pointing to American withdrawals from Somalia and Lebanon. Bin Laden seems to have predicted Kerry’s campaign strategy when he told the Iraqis: “”Never be afraid of (America’s) multitudes, for their hearts are empty while their strength has begun to weaken - militarily and economically.”
The Iraqis, Kerry believes, should be forsaken in favor of more American social welfare benefits. In a recent speech, Kerry said: “They’re charging 17% more for Medicare while making America pay $200 billion for a go-it-alone policy in Iraq.” He highlighted the 200 billion over a dozen more times. Echoing one of his TV campaign ads, Kerry stated: “I believe it’s wrong to be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America.”
Kerry has called 1000 US military casualties an “unbearable price in young American lives” for the liberation of the Iraqi people. “To decide to stop participating in a war because there are casualties means, de facto, surrendering,” said Donald Tusk, the head of Poland’s largest opposition party, commenting on the recent deaths of Polish soldiers. Even without the benefit of a loyal opposition in the US, fifty-eight percent of Americans believe that the US should stay the course in Iraq, a recent poll shows.
In a 1971 debate with John O’Neill of Swift Boat fame, Kerry discussed the ramifications of withdrawal on South Vietnamese civilians: “There’s absolutely no guarantee that there would be a bloodbath (of civilians). There’s no guarantee that there wouldn’t…I realize that there would be certain political assassinations, and that might take place…. then I think to talk about four or five thousand people is lunacy in terms of the overall argument.” Kerry appears to show as little regard today for the Iraqis who have stood for democracy and been targeted as a result. Upon arrival in Baghdad, US troops distributed leaflets saying “We will not abandon you again.” Many Iraqis believed them. Many Americans did too.
Bin Laden quote: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ACB47241-D25F-46CB-B673-56FAB1C2837F.htm
Kerry 1971 quote: http://www2.swiftvets.com/index.php?topic=KerryONeill
Iraqi doctors quotes:
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/archives/2004_09_01_iraqthemodel_archive.html#109500766922657561
national assembly bombing quotehttp://messopotamian.blogspot.com/
poll Iraqis http://www.iri.org/09-07-04-IraqPoll.asp
poll Americans: http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040908-032057-4454r.htm
polish quote http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=27025
AP 9/12/04 Al-Zarqawi Tape Boasts of US Humiliation by Sarah el Deeb
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=f8ad520037aa3409d47c08d3e94c3d13&_docnum=2&wchp=dGLbVlb-zSkVA&_md5=41c77e046a2aa751da57d87008ac894a
Zawahiri Quote
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=39d637dbc4b67cbff91f71c459f2bc83&_docnum=5&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=18ed2f452e96d5f390c6ef72df16662c
Holbrooke quote: NY Daily News 9/13/04 pg 10
