KERRY’S TROUBLE WITH THE TROOPSKerry’s Timetable For Troops In Iraq Depends On What Time It Is
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APRIL 13, 2004: Kerry Writes, “If Our Military Commanders Request More Troops, We Should Deploy Them.” “But to maximize our chances for success, and to minimize the risk of failure, we must make full use of the assets we have. If our military commanders request more troops, we should deploy them. Progress is not possible in Iraq if people lack the security to go about the business of daily life.” (Sen. John Kerry, Op-Ed, “A Strategy For Iraq,” The Washington Post, 4/13/04)
FIVE DAYS LATER: Kerry Calls For More Troops If Needed. SEN. JOHN KERRY: “I believe the following very deeply. Number one, we cannot fail. I’ve said that many times. And if it requires more troops in order to create the stability that eliminates the chaos, that can provide the groundwork for other countries, that’s what you have to do.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 4/18/04)
12 DAYS LATER: Kerry Says He Believes More American Troops Should Be Sent To Iraq If Commanders “Need More.” “In the short term … in the short term, if our commanders believe they need more American troops, then they should say so, and they should get them and get what they need.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Westminster College, Fulton, MO, 4/30/04)
ONE MONTH LATER: When Asked When He’d Bring Home Troops, Kerry Says He’ll “Have To See Where We Are On The Ground.” “Asked by an opponent of the war Friday what he planned to do to bring the troops home from Iraq, John Kerry was careful about what he said and what he didn’t say. ‘I don’t know where Iraq will be on Jan. 20 next year when I’m inaugurated,’ said Kerry, the partisan audience cheering his self-confidence about the election. ‘I’ll have to see where we are on the ground,’ he said of the occupation.” (Craig Gilbert, “Kerry Chooses Words Carefully,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/29/04)
SAME DAY: Kerry Says He’ll Bring Home Troops “As Fast As Possible.” “Senator John Kerry promised an occasionally tearful gathering of soldiers, veterans and their families here on Friday that as president he would bring the troops home from Iraq ‘as fast as possible.’” (Robin Toner, “Kerry Redoubles His Attack Over the War,” The New York Times, 5/29/04)
THREE DAYS LATER: On Memorial Day Kerry Says He Could Bring Home Troops Sooner Than Bush Could. “[S]en. John Kerry, said that if elected he could get American troops home from Iraq sooner than Bush would.” (Pete Yost, “In Face Of Differing Views Over U.N. Resolution, Bush Calls German Chancellor,” The Associated Press, 6/1/04)
TWO MONTHS LATER: In His Convention Acceptance Speech, Kerry Failed To Say When He Would Bring Troops Home. “Notably, Kerry didn’t say when he’d bring U.S. troops home.” (David Yepsen, Op-Ed, “Tough Rhetoric Peppers Kerry’s Acceptance Speech,” The Des Moines Register, 7/30/04)
ONE WEEK LATER: Kerry Will Bring Troops Home “Within A Year.” “In an NPR interview Friday [August 6th], Kerry said: ‘I believe that within a year from now, we could significantly reduce American forces in Iraq, and that’s my plan.’ His comments took several aides by surprise. Until the interview, Kerry’s stated policy was to significantly reduce troops by the end of his first term.” (Jim VandeHei and Mary Fitzgerald, “Kerry Defends Position On Iraq,” The Washington Post, 8/8/04)
TWO DAYS LATER: Kerry Pledged To “Significantly” Reduce Troops In Iraq Within Six Months Of Taking Office. “Kerry and Rubin also are detailing a new Iraq policy to ‘significantly’ reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq during the first six months of a Kerry administration.” (Jim VandeHei and Mary Fitzgerald, “Kerry Defends Position On Iraq,” The Washington Post, 8/8/04)
ONE DAY LATER: Kerry Said Troop Level Depends On Commanders’ Needs. “Yesterday, he again said he hoped troops would be home within a year. ‘If the commanders asked for it, then you’d have to respond to what the commanders asked for,’ Kerry said. ‘But my goal, my diplomacy, my statesmanship, is to get our troops reduced in number . . . over that period of time. Obviously, we have to see how events unfold.’ He said his conditions for reducing troops in Iraq would be the country’s stability, the ‘training and transformation’ of the Iraqi national security force, and Baghdad’s ability to hold elections.” (Patrick Healy, “Kerry Says He’d Still Vote To Authorize Iraq War,” The Boston Globe, 8/10/04)
THREE WEEKS LATER: Kerry Says Goal As President Would Be To Bring Home Troops In His First Four-Year Term. “‘We want those troops home, and my goal would be to try to get them home in my first term,’ Kerry said, speaking to a fellow Vietnam War veteran at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania who had asked about a timetable for withdrawal.” (Calvin Woodward, “Kerry Slams ‘Wrong War In The Wrong Place’,” Associated Press Online, 9/7/04)