Chief of Strategic Planning Echos John Kerry on Terrorism

[Dr Ron]

At Liberal Values:

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=235

Yet another Kerry was right article--we can never have too many of them!

[TayTay]

1. This was a nice article Dr Ron

The more you see this, the sadder the lost opportunity of Nov '04 is.

Kerry said this last year:

So this is the long-range mission in the war on terror. One, make sure the right side wins the war of ideas within the Islamic world; two, build up diversified economies and civil society and bring the region into the global economy; and, three, end the empire of oil. These three challenges make it abundantly clear that this is not a war the United States should or can fight alone. And that’s the basic insight the president and his administration have yet to fully grasp and translate into policies that Americans can fully understand and embrace. Nothing makes that clearer, my friends, than their policy in Iraq, where our mismanaged occupation has inadvertently created a new front in the war on terror.

We must do everything possible to promote economic, social and political transformation in the Middle East, especially among Sunni Arabs. Nations like Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain are not only moving towards political freedom and pluralism, but they’re also trying to build real economies built on the talents of their own people rather than trying to simply pump prosperity out of the ground. Every move in that direction in this critical region should not only be praised, but it ought to be rewarded tangibly as a role model. And there’s no way to overemphasize the importance of ensuring that the Greater Middle East does not continue its long trajectory towards a region where an exploding young population collides with dysfunctional isolated economies, producing instability and, ultimately, more and more terrorism. Majority populations under the age of 18 without jobs or futures are a certain recipe for disaster.

So we must work with urgency with our allies in Europe and Asia to strengthen our commitment, to enhance our efforts to integrate the Middle East into the global economy. This is the only way to stop economic regression, spur investment beyond the oil industry, and spark trade, investment and growth in the region. And it’s the only way to turn young minds and energy away from terror.

In the end, these many steps will open a region that for too long has been closed to opportunity, progress, modernized governments and societies that can better meet the needs of their citizens and respond to grievances and provide a more hopeful alternative to the dark ideology of terror. Now, that — all of what I’ve just listed — that would be real public diplomacy, a real battle of ideas, and a vast improvement on the ineffective initiatives of the last four years.
-- Sen. Kerry 12.8/05)

This is real sense. Kerry seeks allies within the Islamic world to help the West undermine the support for the extremist views. This is exactly what the Bush Admin has taken to calling appeasement in the last week or so.

compare this with what Bush said yesterday:

Our strategy for combating terrorism has five basic elements:

First, we're determined to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur. So we're taking the fight to the enemy. The best way to protect America is to stay on the offense. Since 9/11, our coalition has captured or killed al Qaeda managers and operatives, and scores of other terrorists across the world. The enemy is living under constant pressure, and we intend to keep it that way -- and this adds to our security. When terrorists spend their days working to avoid death or capture, it's harder for them to plan and execute new attacks.

We're also fighting the enemy here at home. We've given our law enforcement and intelligence professionals the tools they need to stop the terrorists in our midst. We passed the Patriot Act to break down the wall that prevented law enforcement and intelligence from sharing vital information. We created the Terrorist Surveillance Program to monitor the communications between al Qaeda commanders abroad and terrorist operatives within our borders. If al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, we need to know why, in order to stop attacks. (Applause.)

I want to thank these three Senators for working with us to give our law enforcement and intelligence officers the tools necessary to do their jobs. (Applause.) And over the last five years, federal, state, and local law enforcement have used those tools to break up terrorist cells, and to prosecute terrorist operatives and supporters in New York, and Oregon, and Virginia, and Texas, and New Jersey, and Illinois, Ohio, and other states. By taking the battle to the terrorists and their supporters on our own soil and across the world, we've stopped a number of al Qaeda plots.

Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes and terrorists who would use them without hesitation. Working with Great Britain and Pakistan and other nations, the United States shut down the world's most dangerous nuclear trading cartel, the AQ Khan network. This network had supplied Iran and Libya and North Korea with equipment and know- how that advanced their efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. And we launched the Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition of more than 70 nations that is working together to stop shipments related to weapons of mass destruction on land, at sea, and in the air. The greatest threat this world faces is the danger of extremists and terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction -- and this is a threat America cannot defeat on her own. We applaud the determined efforts of many nations around the world to stop the spread of these dangerous weapons. Together, we pledge we'll continue to work together to stop the world's most dangerous men from getting their hands on the world's most dangerous weapons. (Applause.)

Third, we're determined to deny terrorists the support of outlaw regimes. After September the 11th, I laid out a clear doctrine: America makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror, and those that harbor and support them, because they're equally guilty of murder. Thanks to our efforts, there are now three fewer state sponsors of terror in the world than there were on September the 11th, 2001. Afghanistan and Iraq have been transformed from terrorist states into allies in the war on terror. And the nation of Libya has renounced terrorism, and given up its weapons of mass destruction programs, and its nuclear materials and equipment. Over the past five years, we've acted to disrupt the flow of weapons and support from terrorist states to terrorist networks. And we have made clear that any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of civilization. (Applause.)

Fourth, we're determined to deny terrorist networks control of any nation, or territory within a nation. So, along with our coalition and the Iraqi government, we'll stop the terrorists from taking control of Iraq, and establishing a new safe haven from which to attack America and the free world. And we're working with friends and allies to deny the terrorists the enclaves they seek to establish in ungoverned areas across the world. By helping governments reclaim full sovereign control over their territory, we make ourselves more secure.

Fifth, we're working to deny terrorists new recruits, by defeating their hateful ideology and spreading the hope of freedom -- by spreading the hope of freedom across the Middle East. For decades, American policy sought to achieve peace in the Middle East by pursuing stability at the expense of liberty. The lack of freedom in that region helped create conditions where anger and resentment grew, and radicalism thrived, and terrorists found willing recruits. And we saw the consequences on September the 11th, when the terrorists brought death and destruction to our country. The policy wasn't working.

We, as Dems, can rebut the way in which the Bush Admin is going about achieving their goals. (They are fighting a solely offensive war, they have not put resources into the fight at home, etc.)

There is a big contrast here. You could place a whole world of difference between these two views.

[kerrygoddess]

2. JK started with this

when he wrote The New War. I posted about this article to - there a thread in GDP and on Dem Daily.

Others get it -- Bush keeps head in sand.

[TayTay]

3. The contrast is just so painful

Bush is pushing the oldest strategy in the world, might makes right. He is trying to bludgeon the Middle East into submission. That has never worked and creates more people with hard-feelings against the aggressors.

Kerry is pushign a long-term strategy to actually make friends in that region and advance democratic reforms that will stabilize the area and give people who hate the US a reason to actually want to ally with us instead. Sigh!