Kerry will subrogate all of the war decisions to the UN. He has already said so. He thinks we can't prosecute a war unless we have Security Council approval...in other words, we will let France run our foreign policy.
Kerry also is not about to attack the Saudis, because he couldn't afford to lose the oil supply, and Europe wouldn't like it (remember...France will control our foreign policy.)
Kerry is not about to anger the democrat base on anything like the war on terror, and the leftist base of the Rat party won't countenance anything military.
Even when tempers were hot after 9/11, there were plenty of Rats who didn't support going into Afghanistan. And Kerry NOW says he wouldn't have gone into Iraq.
You can construct all sorts of wishful thinking about Kerry if you wish, but I know that he would be a disaster. For crying out loud, Teresa is angry because her Euro-friends are appalled at Bush! Do you think Mr. Ketchup is going to turn into Bush lite? Not a chance!
This is the core of your thesis.
First of all, Bush Sr. did pretty much that, and he was successful.
Secondly -- like Bush -- Kerry might be saying what he needs to, to firm up his base. I suspect as a former military man, the reality will differ from his rhetoric.