Speaking of conspiracy theories, Kerry already has one about Haiti, a country he discovered just last week. On NBC's "Today" show this morning, the Associated Press reports, Kerry "said he thought there ought to be some investigation of the claim that [deposed despot Jean-Bertrand] Aristide was forced out and escorted by U.S. troops."
Here's the Kerry quote: "I have a very close friend in Massachusetts who talked directly to people who have made that allegation. I don't know the truth of it. I really don't. But I think it needs to be explored and we need to know the truth of what happened."
This has become standard operating procedure for Democrats: put out some outlandish statement (President Bush had foreknowledge of Sept. 11, Bush was a "deserter"), then say you "don't know the truth of it" but it's "out there" and "we need to know" what happened. The Republican National Committee has two Web pages--here and here--chronicling Kerry's conspiracy-mongering, and of course former candidates like Howard Dean and Wesley Clark have been playing the same game.
When America was liberating Iraq, of course, Kerry opposed the action because "allies" like the French weren't on board. He now seems to oppose the liberation of Haiti from Aristide even though, as Agence France-Presse reports, "Aristide's departure 'was the result of perfect co-ordination' between Washington and Paris, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said." You'd almost think Kerry likes dictators--or at least any dictator President Bush acts to depose.***
Kerry is rumor-mongering again. The same thing he did with Bush's National Guard duty. And he has the nerve to talk about the Republican Attack Machine?