August 18, 2004
THE UNREAL REALIST:
Kerry: Troops Plan Could Hinder Security: Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry Contends Bush Plan to Redeploy Troops Could Hinder National Security (The Associated Press, Aug. 18, 2004)
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Wednesday criticized President Bush's proposal to recall up to 70,000 foreign troops as a hastily announced plan that raises more doubts about U.S. intentions and commitments than it answers."Nobody wants to bring troops home more than those of us who have fought in foreign wars," Kerry said in speech prepared for delivery to the Veterans of Foreign War. "But it needs to be done at the right time and in a sensible way. This is not that time or that way,"
The Sebator, in one of the few sensibles moves of his entire campaign, surveyed the field of foreign policy and recognized that the President had cornered the market on democratic idealism and so cast himself as the stony Realist--with a healthy dash of isolationist. But now he seems stuck in purely reactionary mode, opposing anything the President says. You certainly can't arguer that there's anything Realistic about conducting a war against Islamic terrorists by withdrawing the troops in the Middle East who are fighting them and leaving the troops in Europe who are poised to fend off the Red Army. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 18, 2004 1:38 PM
The "Sebator" does seem to be reflexively anti anything Bush does. This plan makes sense on many levels and to argue against it seems weird.
That said, reading the local rag (Boston Globe) they portrayed the move as abandoning US allies and a sign that Iraq is a quagmire (because of course Bush is really going to send the troops to Iraq). Since this editorial was right next to a cartoon implying Bush is using hurricane Charley to gain votes in Florida I didn't pay much attention to it.
Abandoning US allies to what? What fate befalls Germany when we leave? Will we be airlifting US citizens off of the roof of the embassy in Berlin in 6 months?
Posted by: Robert Duquette at August 18, 2004 4:02 PMRobert--
Of course we won't. And as John Kerry predicted in 1970, we didn't have to do it in Southeast Asia either.
Posted by: Brian (MN) at August 18, 2004 4:04 PMBrian: ...Um, isn't that because the nice Southeast Asians had their own boats?
Posted by: Just John at August 18, 2004 4:22 PMThe only thing more incredulous than John Kerry believing that this criticism is going to get him votes is that the MSM apparently believes so too. What are these guys smoking?
Hasty? It's been bandied about for years and is not going to happen until 2006 at the earliest.
As I said earlier, the only reaction that would have made political sense would have been not enough troops and not fast enough.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at August 18, 2004 6:46 PMThe left, 1965-2004: "America is an imperialist power! We have a military presence in umpteen countries! Brng the troops home! Bring the troops home!"
The left, after a neck-snapping about-face in 2004: "Bringing the troops home is a cynical ploy! Leave the troops abroad! Leave the troops abroad!"
Obviously they're just furious that "their" issue has been "stolen." Priceless.
Posted by: Tom at August 18, 2004 9:09 PMKerry needs the troops to stay abroad, confined to useless bases in places where they have nothing to do but wait for the end of their tour. That's because Kerry mistrusts American power and loathes the American people.
He wants America to be chained by a myriad of treaties and obligations, so that it can do no harm to the world. And he wants Americans to be chained by a myriad of rules and regulations and taxes, so that he can tell them how not to harm themselves.
Kerry has a fundamentally pessimistic view of his own country, to say the least (actually, I think he hates it).
Posted by: Peter at August 19, 2004 5:12 AM