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Transfer of Sovereignty: Kerry was for an Iraq "timetable" before he was against an "arbitrary date"
Linked thread and linked speeches | 6 April 2003 | Self

Posted on 04/07/2004 12:14:33 AM PDT by Stultis

According the following Reuters report...

Kerry Says June 30 Iraq Handover Date a 'Mistake'

...John Kerry told reporters on Monday:

"I have always said consistently that it is a mistake to set an arbitrary date and I hope that the date has nothing to do with the election here in the United States."

Well, not quite. Before the date was agreed on Kerry was not only pestering Bush to speed up the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq (to please and appease the Axis of Weasels and the U.N.) he even called for a "specific timetable" (albeit to be established by a U.N. resolution).

Only after the date was set did Kerry begin to complain about an "arbitrary" date, having gone through an intermediate stage when he tried to have it both ways: complaining about how the transfer had to happen A.S.A.P., but only after some unspecified standard of security and stability had been established.

Here's the evolution:

Remarks by Senator John Kerry: Winning the Peace in Iraq
September 30, 2003 (before transfer date agreed on)

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2003_0930a.html

If the Bush Administration fails to internationalize the effort in Iraq, the American people could see a succession of endless costs down the road. And as we consider the President’s request [the $87 billion supplemental], we must make every effort to ensure the necessary steps both to bring other nations and the United Nations into this operation in a meaningful way and to accelerate the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people. The responsibility lies with the President. The Senate can only do so much. But we have a responsibility to do all that we can. [...snip...]

First, we need a new Security Council resolution to give the United Nations authority in the rebuilding of Iraq and the development of its new Constitution and government – including the absorbing of the Coalition Provisional Authority. [...snip...]

Second, we need a new UN Security Council resolution authorizing a multi-national force under US command [...snip...]

Third, the resolution must include a reasonable plan and a specific timetable for self-government – for transferring political power and the responsibility for reconstruction to the people of Iraq. [...snip...]

Fourth, the Administration must accelerate efforts to train and equip Iraqi security forces –border, police, military, and civil defense–

Q & A with John Kerry at the Council on Foreign Relations
December 03, 2003 (a couple weeks after the June 30 date was set)

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2003_1203a.html

In fact, I fear that in the run-up to the 2004 election, the administration is considering what is tantamount to a cut-and-run strategy. Their sudden embrace of accelerated Iraqification and American troop withdrawal dates, without adequate stability, is an invitation to failure. The hard work of rebuilding Iraq must not be dictated by the schedule of the next American election.

I have called for the administration to transfer sovereignty, and they must transfer it to the Iraqi people as quickly as circumstances permit. But it would be a disaster and a disgraceful betrayal of principle to speed up the process simply to lay the groundwork for a politically expedient withdrawal of American troops. That could risk the hijacking of Iraq by terrorist groups and former Ba'athists. Security and political stability cannot be divorced. Security must come first, and that is why it is so imperative to succeed in building a genuine coalition on the ground in Iraq.

Finally, according to the current Reuters story, Kerry is now specifically referring to the June 30 date as a "mistake," while still implying that the date is designed to help Bush win reelection (he fatuously "hopes" that isn't the reason) and still seditiously trying to create fear and despair among pro-democracy forces in Iraq by falsely associating the transfer of sovereignty with a pull out of American troops.

Once again...

"we must make every effort to ... accelerate the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people"
~~~John Kerry 9/30/03

"[We must have a U.N. resolution with] a specific timetable for self-government – for transferring political power ... to the people of Iraq."
~~~John Kerry 9/30/03

"I have called for the administration to transfer sovereignty, and they must transfer it to the Iraqi people as quickly as circumstances permit."
~~~John Kerry 12/03/03

"I have always said consistently that it is a mistake to set an arbitrary date..."
~~~John Kerry 4/05/04


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; johnkerry; kerry; kerryflipflops; postwariraq
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I found these resources in the linked thread, and by googling "iraq+sovereignty site:www.johnkerry.com" to find Kerry's earlier comments. Any additional documentation by more skillful searchers, or those with Lexus/Nexus access, is welcome.
1 posted on 04/07/2004 12:14:34 AM PDT by Stultis
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To: PhiKapMom; backhoe
Ping!
2 posted on 04/07/2004 12:15:34 AM PDT by Stultis
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To: All
Rank Location Receipts Donors/Avg Freepers/Avg Monthlies
13 Georgia 435.00
12
36.25


275.00
16

Thanks for donating to Free Republic!

Move your locale up the leaderboard!

3 posted on 04/07/2004 12:16:11 AM PDT by Support Free Republic (Freepers post from sun to sun, but a fundraiser bot's work is never done.)
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To: Stultis
Keep Talking Kerry .. you're doing a bang up job sinking your campaign
4 posted on 04/07/2004 12:17:05 AM PDT by Mo1 (Make Michael Moore cry.... DONATE MONTHLY!!!)
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To: Mo1
Fear the Idiots...he could win.
5 posted on 04/07/2004 12:18:19 AM PDT by Fledermaus (Ðíé F£éðérmáú§ ^;;^ says, "Fallujah would make a lovely glass table top!")
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To: Fledermaus
I don't fear them .. but that doesn't mean I've let down my guard

I want to humiliate Kerry more then Mondale was .. I want all 50 States

I realize it's a dream .. but it is possible :0)
6 posted on 04/07/2004 12:21:35 AM PDT by Mo1 (Make Michael Moore cry.... DONATE MONTHLY!!!)
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To: Mo1
50? Wimp! Let's go for DC and Puerto Rico too! lol
7 posted on 04/07/2004 12:24:07 AM PDT by Fledermaus (Ðíé F£éðérmáú§ ^;;^ says, "Fallujah would make a lovely glass table top!")
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To: Fledermaus
LOL .. Works for me
8 posted on 04/07/2004 12:28:55 AM PDT by Mo1 (Make Michael Moore cry.... DONATE MONTHLY!!!)
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To: Stultis
Good work.
9 posted on 04/07/2004 12:31:50 AM PDT by M. Thatcher (.)
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To: Stultis
Forwarded to everyone on my Email Address book list. EXCELLENT work. Keep them comming!
10 posted on 04/07/2004 12:38:51 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (Vote Bush 2004-We have the solutions, Kerry Democrats? Nothing but slogans.)
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To: Stultis
Perfect! or should I say Priceless!!

I knew I remembered these idiots saying they wanted to speed up the timetable .. and now of course .. it's too soon. This is so tiresome.
11 posted on 04/07/2004 12:43:32 AM PDT by CyberAnt (The 2004 Election is for the SOUL of AMERICA)
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To: CyberAnt
That damn "Flipper" melody is running through my head again!
12 posted on 04/07/2004 2:34:25 AM PDT by Sacajaweau (God Bless Our Troops!!)
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To: Stultis
Kerry is the ultimate finger-in-the-wind, calculating pol. He doesn't have a shred of integrity in him. I don't know how he can look himself in the mirror, but I guess is ultimate power is your goal with no thought given ethics, then I guess that's no problem for Kerry.

I love it when libs, like Molly Ivins and others, paint Bush as a flip-flopper for changing is mind on certain issues or policies. There is a large difference between changing your mind and doing what Kerry does. Everyone changes their positions as facts and situations dictate. But Kerry wants it both ways. He is unwilling to take responsibility for any decision he makes and furthermore criticizes Bush for decisions that both he and Kerry agreed on and Kerry voted for. Kerry and libs are all stinking hypocrites.

13 posted on 04/07/2004 2:43:32 AM PDT by driftless ( For life-long happiness, learn how to play the accordion.)
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To: Stultis
Great work. Send it to Brit Hume at FNC.
14 posted on 04/07/2004 3:06:48 AM PDT by savedbygrace
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To: Stultis
Good catch.
15 posted on 04/07/2004 3:09:11 AM PDT by There's millions of'em (Kerry sold the POWs to NVN for $2 million each, plus a finder's fee.)
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To: Stultis; StriperSniper; Mo1; Peach; Howlin; kimmie7; 4integrity; BigSkyFreeper; RandallFlagg; ...
Hehehehe........... };]
16 posted on 04/07/2004 4:17:52 AM PDT by OXENinFLA
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To: Stultis
OK, now let's hope that President Bush highlights this inconsistency. Over and over again so people learn what a fraud Kerry is. I haven't heard the Bush campaign call on Kerry's hypocrisy regarding Iraq and WMD because Kerry is also on record saying what a threat Saddam Hussein was and he had WMD-when are they going to continually hammer him on this. People need to become aware of it because the general populace is so ignorant.
17 posted on 04/07/2004 5:51:00 AM PDT by bushfamfan
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To: Stultis; RonDog; davidtalker
Nice catch!
18 posted on 04/07/2004 7:54:04 AM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Stultis
"I was for a timetable and now I'm against an arbitrary date" - From The Collected Wisdom Of John F. Seinfeld.
19 posted on 04/07/2004 8:11:03 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: Stultis
I don't see a timetable as the same as a set date, so this may not necessarily be a contradiction. Still a bit slimey no doubt, but perhaps not a real contradiction.
20 posted on 04/07/2004 9:35:59 AM PDT by rwfromkansas ("Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" -- Abraham Lincoln)
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