Democratic frontrunner declares he will be stronger “war president” than..

[IndianaGreen]

A personnel change, not a change in policy, is what will happen if Kerry is elected President.

Democratic frontrunner declares he will be stronger “war president” than Bush
By Patrick Martin
2 March 2004

In a speech Friday in Los Angeles, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the likely presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, attacked the Bush administration’s management of the “war on terror” and declared that he would be a more effective—and more aggressive—“war president.”

The bulk of Kerry’s criticism of the Bush administration’s foreign and military policy was from the right, not the left, a clear indication of the type of campaign the Democratic Party will wage for the November election. He referred disparagingly to “armchair hawks” in the Pentagon and White House, implicitly contrasting the lack of personal experience in warfare on the part of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz with his own experience as a Vietnam combat veteran.

“I don’t fault George Bush for doing too much in the war on terror,” Kerry said. “I believe he has done too little.... 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.”

In language essentially identical to that of Bush, he declared that the capture of Osama bin Laden would not mean an end to the conflict. “We don’t just face one man or one terrorist group,” he said. “We face a global jihadist movement of many groups, from different sources, with different agendas, but all committed to assaulting the United States and open and free societies around the globe.”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/mar2004/kerr-m02.shtml

[blm]

1. Yes. Truly strong presidents understand restraint and diplomacy

so I absolutely expect Kerry to be a stronger president in regard to war.

[stepnw1f]

2. Diplomatic Solutions Are A Great Weapon To Use During A War

It shows Mr. Kerry has a brain.

[Emillereid]

3. Good grief! And I have to cast my vote for the better 'warmonger!'

Maybe if the US foreign policies would help 'drain the swamp' that create the conditions that give rise to 'jihadists' instead of fomenting hostility against us everywhere we might have a real chance to win the so-called war on terror.

I want a better choice than this!

[Lost in GA]

5. The real Kerry Foreign Policy

may be somewhat more complex than this populist message. Here's a very interesting article about Kerry's Dad's influence on JFKerry's thought processes:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/02/opinion/main603542.shtml
Enjoy!

[Emillereid]

7. Wish I could vote for the father --

I wish he had his father's clear vision and understanding. Unfortunately in his latest manifestation John Kerry is doing what is expedient and popular instead of what is ultimately right in both the moral sense and the historical sense. When he morphed into such a typical politician, I don't know (he needs to get in touch with both his younger self and his father's spirit) Pitting the US against much of the world in a perennial war will ultimately bankrupt us morally and financially. And I don't think it's a winning strategy for November -- I think an awful lot of us hunger for a real alternative to Bush's policies of confrontation; I think we hunger for solutions that are built on cooperation and understanding. What it's all about ultimately is leadership; presenting a new kind of vision of America as one nation among other equal nations-- not just following behind the jingoistic, flag waving, American exceptionalism that has turned much of the world against us.

[kalian]

4. "New and improved" warmongering!

and he's "one of ours" to boot! :eyes:

[H2O Man]

6. Gosh.

Maybe you think he should campaign on a weak platform? Like saying he will be weak on defense? Didn't one candidate try that? Isn't he in last place?