WP: "Vietnam War, Peace Pivotal in John Kerry's Life" by Edward Walsh

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50479-2004Jan2?language=printer

<>The Vietnam War was the defining event in Kerry's life, as it was for so many others of his generation. Today, as the Massachusetts senator seeks the Democratic presidential nomination, the war provides a critical underpinning for his candidacy. Kerry, a decorated combat veteran, would not easily be portrayed by President Bush and the Republicans as soft on national security issues.

But Kerry's time as a combatant, and his equally well-known role as a leader of the veterans who returned from Vietnam and opposed the war, account for only part of his personal odyssey involving the war and its aftermath that symbolically culminated in Clinton's visit to Hanoi. More than any other member of Congress, it was Kerry, with his ally Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who cleared the way for normal diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam, beginning the process of healing the deep wounds of war. Kerry was always there saying, 'Hey, everybody calm down,' " said Mark Salter, McCain's chief of staff. "He kept it going. It should have imploded."

<>Kerry was only one of many who eased the country down the long road to reconciliation with a once-bitter enemy, but other participants in the process describe his role as "pivotal" and that of "the catalyst." "John, on behalf of this nation, brought us back to Vietnam with our heads held high," said former senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), who lost part of a leg and was awarded the Medal of Honor as a Navy Seal in Vietnam. "I think only John could have done it."

<>Asked recently how he would explain to Americans who were born after the war why the path to normalization was important, Kerry said, "It was the true making of peace. It really was the making of peace. There wasn't peace until that. There was a great scar that was still open in America, a wound that was open."
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Great article which makes plain John Kerry's steadfast commitment to follow through difficult and potentially politically unpopular, but worthwhile tasks. Well worth reading in its entirety.

[iowapeacechief]

1. This is the John Kerry...

...I supposed I would back in 2004--until the run-up to the Iraq invasion.

[newyawker99]

2. Hi iowapeacechief!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[blm]

3. He's still the same and doesn't deserve to be tarred

for Bush's failure to use the resolution as it was prepared - as a corecive tool to achieve compliance with war as a LAST resort.