Posted on 09/23/2014 4:52:36 PM PDT by Starman417
John Kerry once referred to the nations who George Bush built into Coalition partners for Operation Iraqi Freedom as the "Coalition of the coerced and the bribed" and "window dressing".
Marc Thiessen in yesterday's WaPo on "I was against it before I was for it" John "Global Test" Kerry:
When John Kerry ran for president in 2004, he dismissed the allies fighting alongside the United States in Iraq as a “trumped-up, so-called coalition of the bribed, the coerced, the bought and the extorted.”Now, as secretary of state, Kerry is going hat-in-hand to many of the same nations he insulted, asking them to join a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
No wonder he’s having so much trouble.
As Kerry lobbies potential coalition partners at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York this week, it is worth recalling how he offended the 30-plus nations that sent ground troops to fight alongside us in Iraq — including the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Australia, Romania, South Korea, Japan, Denmark, Bulgaria, Thailand, El Salvador, Hungary, Singapore, Norway, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Mongolia, Latvia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Albania, New Zealand, Tonga, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras, the Philippines, Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina — plus the many others who supported the mission with basing, overflight and other crucialassistance.
Kerry dismissed as “window dressing” the sacrifice of those nations, including the 14 coalition countries who by then had seen their soldiers die on the battlefield in Iraq. His cavalier comments prompted the president of Poland (a country that led Multinational Division in Central-South Iraq and lost 23 soldiers in battle) to declare, “It’s sad that a Senator with twenty years of experience does not appreciate Polish sacrifice . . . I don’t think it’s a question of ignorance. . . . It’s immoral not to see this involvement we undertook.”
Kerry mocked the contributions of smaller nations, declaring “When they talk about a coalition, that’s the phoniest thing I ever heard. You’ve got 500 troops here, 500 troops there.” Never mind he’s now working for a president who just used a prime-time address to announce that he is deploying — wait for it — 475 troops to Iraq (but insists they will not have a “combat role”).
Newsbusters' Clay Waters in 2011 pointed out how NYT's reporter Mark Landler wrote:
"Mr. Obama made much of his commitment to a multilateral foreign policy, in contrast to President George W. Bush’s unilateral invasion of Iraq," wrote Landler.I suppose if France, Russia, China, and Germany had supported OIF, that would have qualified as "multinational". The governments of these same countries didn't oppose OIF due to any moral high ground or belief that Saddam was not a wmd threat to the world. These countries opposed due to their own vested, selfish, self-interests (France with oil contracts, food-for-oil scandal...and guess which countries were the ones who really armed Saddam and undermined sanctions).That, his advisers say, grew out of a conviction the United States needed to work with others and forge consensus to restore its moral standing.
Or perhaps the "go it alone" fallacy is the idea that George W. Bush needed to go to the UN one more time to authorize a vote for war, with the UN's blessings. The UN should have thanked the U.S. for finally enforcing a 16 + 1 UNSCRs issued over a decade of deceit and defiance on the part of Saddam. (Note the U.S. did not cite the legality of invasion on 1441, but from the combined effect of Resolutions 678, 687 and 1441).
It is an insult to the 31 other nations who did contribute to a multinational force that ousted Saddam Hussein from power, to make the false claim that America "went it alone" under the leadership of George W. Bush. These countries supported the war effort, contributing what they could afford. You can't realistically expect countries without the economic and military power of the U.S. to sacrifice blood and treasure equally. The U.S. is a hyperpower. These other nations are not. This is why the U.S., more or less, is forced into the role of "policeman of the world". Many Americans may not like it, but that is the responsibility of the world's sole hyperpower. To non-intervene and exercise a muscular foreign policy is to allow chaos and instability to fester.
How would Senator Kerry describe Great Britain, coerced or bribed? Or Italy, which recently lost 19 citizens killed by terrorists in Najaf, was Italy's contribution just window dressing?If such dismissive terms are the vernacular of the golden age of diplomacy Senator Kerry promises we are left to wonder which nations would care to join any future coalition. He speaks as if only those who openly oppose America's objectives have a chance of earning his respect.
Senator Kerry's characterization of our good allies is ungrateful to nations that have withstood danger, hardship and insult for standing with America in the cause of freedom.
NYTimes' Mark Landler made the same error in perpetuating the falsehood that George W. Bush was a unilateralist. Hot Air points out that it took the NYTimes only TWO WEEKS to note and correct the error:
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
It was repeated day after day for weeks until the people were convinced it must be true.
Bush had a cowboy hat....
Obama has a Pen and a Phone....
0bala’s Coca-cola Cowboy Diplomacy.
Now, as secretary of state, Kerry is going hat-in-hand to many of the same nations he insulted, asking them to join a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.
No wonder he’s having so much trouble.
No real comment other than grim satisfaction at amateur hour on the Potomac. I just wanted to read that again.
Off topic: obama named five coalition countries, all islamics, however Kerry said there were fifty.
I wonder do these two ever talk?
“The Myth of George Bush’s “Go it Alone” Policy & Cowboy Diplomacy” VS the Reality of Hussein’s Illegal overthrows Libya and Egypt!
I still haven’t heard what our coalition contributed.
Obama is executive and efficient in his orders, Bush is go it alone.
The media eats Obama scheiss.
Don’t know about our coalition but pray our Men are not rained with bullets and fire and our Ladies are forced to shed tears. May there be no fire, blood and death to be witnessed by our Military forces. May we travel around the green bush in dance.
Oh but haven’t you heard that Obama has Middle Eastern nations contributing now?
Is there anyone who takes the Progressives seriously? The damage done by a schizophrenic electorate to our nation may be irreparable.
I believe the official party line is that Obama has TONS of coalition partners -- probably too many to count! -- but ... you know ... they, ahhhhhh ... they just don't want a lot of publicity ... so ... so we don't name them. The only countries that are comfortable going on record are the 5 Muslim countries who have supported Obama in so many ways all through his long, sordid career.
Obama has bombed 7 Muslim countries, which is, by my count 2 more than George Bush.
Didn’t Zero say there were 40 today in his speech?
“0bala’s Coca-cola Cowboy Diplomacy.”
More like Midnight Basketball Cowboy diplomacy - emphasis on “dip”.
Rand Slams Congress for Funding Egypt's Generals: 'How Does Your Conscience Feel Now?'Sen. Rand Paul is hammering his fellow senators for keeping billions in financial aid flowing to Egypt's military -- even as Cairo's security forces massacre anti-government activists. [by "anti-government activists" is meant church-burning Christian-murdering jihadists][Posted on 08/15/2013 5:44:10 PM PDT by Hoodat]
The drones who support the Demagogic Party will A) continue to be blissfully unconcerned about the convergence, and use “but Bush...” to try to change the subject, and B) continue to rely on the Partisan Media Shills to reinforce their idealogy and party solidarity. Thanks Starman417.
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