Posted on 09/01/2004 12:40:13 PM PDT by kattracks
(CNSNews.com) - Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry Wednesday criticized President Bush's approach to the war in Iraq and the post-war reconstruction efforts, saying he would have done "almost everything differently."
Speaking at the National American Legion in Nashville, Tenn., Kerry said the president had "no real plan for post-war political transition."
"When it comes to Iraq, it's not that I would have done one thing differently. I would have done almost everything differently," the senator said. "I would have relied on American troops in Tora Bora, the best troops in the world, when we had Osama bin Laden in our sights trapped in the mountains.
"I would not have sent Afghans up into those mountains, who a week earlier were fighting on the other side. I would have sent the best trained forces in the world to get the number one criminal and terrorist in the world," he added.
Kerry said he would never have "diverted resources so quickly" from Afghanistan before capturing bin Laden.
Kerry added that he would have given weapons inspectors in Iraq more time to search for weapons of mass destruction, not because inspectors would have found all the weapons, "but because by doing do, we could have brought other countries to our side."
That way, he said, "you provide the best protection" and "you provide America with the greatest chance of success."
In addition, Kerry said he would have listened to senior advisers, provided state-of-the-art body armor, humvees and equipment to soldiers in Iraq, and built a "strong, broad coalition" of allies worldwide.
Kerry bashed Bush's use of the term "catastrophic success," saying the U.S. must bring "our allies to our side," share the burden of the war that is currently costing the U.S. taxpayer, and reduce the risks to U.S. soldiers.
"I don't think we need what President Bush has defined as a catastrophic success. I think we need a real success," Kerry said. He suggested that the military "more rapidly train Iraqi police and military" to take over the protection of Iraq.
The Democrat also criticized President Bush's original comments on Monday about the war on terror in an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, in which Bush said, "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world. Let's put it that way."
On Tuesday, Bush told the American Legion, "We may never sit down at a peace table, but make no mistake about it, we are winning and we will win." Bush repeated the phrase "we will win" a number of times.
"I know he said something different to you yesterday, but I absolutely disagree with what he said in that interview in a moment of candor," Kerry said.
"With the right policies, this is a war we can win, this is a war we must win, and this is a war we will win, because we're the can-do people and there's nothing we can't do if we put our mind and our muscle to it," he said. "In the end, the terrorists will lose and we will win because the future does not belong to fear, it belongs to freedom."
Kerry's solution to winning the war on terror includes adding 40,000 active duty troops to the military, although not in Iraq.
"Nine out of ten of our Army divisions are now either in Iraq, going to Iraq, coming back from Iraq, getting ready to go to Iraq... even as Iran and North Korea get more dangerous. Our troops are overstretched, overextended, under pressure. I intend to double our special forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations," he said.
Kerry also said he would end the "back-door draft of the National Guard and reservists that is taking place today."
See Also:
Democrats Accuse Bush of 'Flip-Flopping' on Winning the War (Sept. 1, 2004)
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First thing would be to end sanctions and declare Saddam's Iraq "WMD Free" according to the inspectors... then wait until the next 9/11 here.
Amazing that he can't tell us ONE THING that he would do differently now.
Yep. He's not even that good a liar. Hence the silence in the room.
Preposterous! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Where do we start?
My dream debate panel:
Britt Hume: Senator Kerry, you claimed on September 1st that you would have done "everything differently" in Iraq. How do you expect the American public to contain their laughter?
He would have LOST.
gee Mr. Kerry, you mean that moment of candor like you saying "We will not join the American Legion or VFW"?
It would have been nice if kerry did anything in his Senate career (?).
1. Vote to go to war.
2. Don't fund the war.
Well, that is a different approach.
You mean he would have lost?
"Kerry Would Have Done 'Almost Everything Differently' in Iraq"
For one thing, he would have invaded via Cambodia.
"90-90 hindsight", as GHWB would have put it. ;)
"I would do as I say, not as I do."
Who????? France, Germany????? LOL, both said they did not care who the President was, they would not support the war.
That's why he sucks.
Sounds very similar to what he said about Vietnam.
Kerry would have started by sending his lawyers and demanding Bush denounce Saddam.
...before I didn't do as I won't say and do as I wouldn't do.
"If I were in charge of World War II, there would have been no Dunkirk, Battle of the Bulge, or Bataan Death March, but that Japanese Surrender thing would have been pretty cool. Except, of course, I would have done it smarter, better, faster, less expensively and with more sensitivity."
"With the right policies, this is a war we can win"
There is the escape hatch from using the military, 'right policies'.
The Democrats believe that ALL diplomacy must be fully exhausted before any military force is used and then only for the purpose of resuming diplomatic efforts.
Hence, the 'right policies' for Kerry is talk, talk and more talk.
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