Further proof of Kerry's intentions to escalate the violence in Iraq
Kerry Calls for
More Troops in Iraq, Bolstering U.S. Military
By Jay Newton-Small
May 28 (2004)
"Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry called for 40,000 more U.S. troops in Iraq, saying he would ``modernize our military to match its new missions'' in the war on terror and homeland security.
The extra troops are needed in Iraq to ease pressure on soldiers and National Guard troops battling insurgents in the Middle Eastern country. Half of the 40,000 troops would be used as military police and for civil affairs, tasks now mainly carried out by reservists, while the other 20,000 would be combat troops, Kerry said.
Kerry has to be careful in the campaign not to be perceived as too eager to change the course of U.S. policy toward Iraq,'' said Mark Rozell, head of Catholic University's politics department in Washington.
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The article below from the World Socialist web site refers to a Wall Street Journal Article that is HERE. As you can see, the complete original article now costs $79.00 to access. Therefore, I'll just use the World Socialist Web Site's references to the Wall Street Journal / Kerry interview, in on their web page HERE.
"In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry declared that, if he were elected, US troops would remain in Iraq throughout his first term in office—to the end of 2008. The Democratic candidate also suggested that the Bush administration was more likely to withdraw troops quickly than a Kerry administration.
Both the content of the interview and the choice of publicatio...are politically calculated to send a message. Kerry is reassuring the US ruling elite, including the far-right elements who now back Bush, that he can be trusted to carry forward the US conquest and occupation of Iraq.
As the Journal summed up the interview, “Mr. Kerry is determined to present himself as a leader of strength, one who would more effectively pursue the same goals Mr. Bush has established for progress in Iraq and the broader anti-terror war.”
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Note: The following Wall Street Journal article was co-written by John Harwood. He was the reporter who interviewed Kerry in the Wall Street Journal article referenced above.
Kerry Sets Tests for Iraqi Withdrawal
Candidate Seems Unlikely to Commit to Terminating Presence of U. S. Troops
By John Harwood and Jacob M. Schlesinger
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- John Kerry set a three-part test for removing U.S. troops from Iraq if he is elected president, while warning that President Bush might commence a more rapid draw-down this fall to improve his re-election prospects.
Mr. Kerry's remarks, two weeks before he accepts the nomination of a Democratic Party with deep misgivings about the war, indicate the Massachusetts senator isn't preparing to spell out a timetable for rapid withdrawal of the roughly 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq. To the contrary, he suggested that Mr. Bush was more likely to do so
Mr. Kerry said he doesn't contemplate "an open-ended commitment" of U.S. troops. But nor would he pledge to end the U.S. presence in Iraq, even by the end of his first term.
The issue of Iraq has posed a challenge for Mr. Kerry throughout his campaign. In the fall of 2002 he voted with a Senate majority to give President Bush authority to go to war to remove Saddam Hussein.
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Kerry's own words
John Kerry in UCLA Address Promises More Effective War on Terrorism
SOURCE HERE
"I am convinced that we can prove to the American people that we know how to make them safer and more secure – with a stronger, more comprehensive, and more effective strategy for winning the War on Terror than the Bush Administration has ever envisioned"
"George Bush has no comprehensive strategy for victory in the War on Terror – only an ad hoc strategy to keep our enemies at bay. If I am Commander-in-Chief, I would wage that war by putting in place a strategy to win it."
"I believe we can bring a real victory in the War on Terror. I believe we must, not only for ourselves but for all who look to America as “the last best hope of earth.” I believe we can meet that ideal – and that’s why I’m running for President."
...
Kerry says he would send more troops to Iraq if necessary
"If it requires more troops in order to create the stability that eliminates the chaos, then that's what we have to do"
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Below are some voting records from John Kerry, (I go by what a candidate does, far more than by what he says...the two are often very different). I'm running short of time and may improve this page later, but for now note the highlighted portions of the record. "Emergency Supplemental" is Yes votes for borrowing money for the wars, (representing a doubling of spending on it since 2006), and the yes votes on "Defense Department" is spending on the Pentagon which not only is increasing, but is already more than the rest of the world combined.
These records are taken from [url=http://www.votesmart.org/]PROJECT VOTE SMART[/url].
Below is the text of the original authorization bill for "Use of Force Against Iraq." Kerry voted YES on this, take a look at the text and see how smart that vote was, (especially since Bush had been sniffin' around Iraq publicly since the August before):
And while we're at it, here's the text on the original PATRIOT Act, "to extend and modify authority, (strike two articles from the Bill of Rights, and severly modify the text of other rights which had been in tact since the founding fathers...I guess Kerry knows better what's good for us...
All of the above votes can be confirmed over at Project Vote Smart, (at the link above).
I have more information I may add to this page, but I've spent a considerable amount of time on this project and am falling behind in other things...maybe more here later....