Kerry Email

johnkerry.com ^ | 1/18/05 | John Kerry

[Brilliant]

Dear XXXXX,

I have just come back from Iraq. After several months consumed by the campaign trail, I wanted to make contact with our soldiers on the ground there. The first thing I want you to know is that, in very difficult circumstances, our brave soldiers are serving America with enormous skill and great courage.

In the Senate, we have a duty during times like these to hold our Defense Department accountable for the well-being of our troops. It's one of the ways that our democracy makes our military the strongest in the world. And I can't tell you how comforting it is as a soldier to know even if you don't have a say over your own situation, the folks back home do.

I knew our soldiers were still facing hold ups getting the equipment they need, but I wanted to see it for myself. American troops deserve the best gear and equipment we can provide. But adequate vehicle armor remains in short supply.

A soldier who spoke up about these problems was told by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, "you have to go to war with the army you have, not the army you want."¹ Well, it's been over two years since Rumsfeld planned this war. And whether he has the army he wants or not, he should at least have basic armor for army vehicles.

I'll say this in the Senate, but I'm asking you to add your voice to mine:

"President Bush, for the sake of our troops, replace Rumsfeld now."

More than 500,000 called for Rumsfeld to resign during the presidential campaign. I'm renewing my call now -- please renew yours too, and forward this email to friends to bring them on board. Add your name to mine here, and add your voice to mine by speaking out in your community as I will do in the US Senate for as long as it takes to remove Secretary Rumsfeld from his post:

It's a question of competence. Poor planning at the Pentagon is letting American soldiers down. According to the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank, Iraq is now providing the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists with "a training ground, a recruitment ground, [and] the opportunity for enhancing technical skills."² Our troops need a capable Secretary of Defense. At the very least, they absolutely need that.

I believe that together, the three million of us who worked together on the campaign can help the troops. We not only have a right to speak out against failed Bush policies: we have a duty to defend this country from a President who refuses to recognize the total inadequacy of his own Defense Secretary. That's how democracy works. And that's why America has worked all these years.

The campaign season is over, but our citizenship continues. I know from personal experience that citizens and Senators standing up for the truth can be a powerful combination. Now, with email and the Web as citizenship tools, we can make ourselves heard even more clearly. And I can't tell you how inspired I am that you and I are using these tools to fight side-by-side for the things we believe in.

One more time: please join me in my call for President Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld. He's the man responsible for the well-being of our troops. He's neglected his duty. He's made excuses. It's time for him to go.

Add your voice to mine in the Senate in calling for President Bush to replace Rumsfeld today.

Thank you,

John Kerry.

_______________________

WHY RUMSFELD HAS TO GO!

1) Rumsfeld Blamed The Troops for Problems in IRAQ

Rumsfeld: "As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." [CNN, 12/9/04]

2) Rumsfeld Admitted Bush Administration Was Not Prepared for Iraqi Resistance

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that "I am saying that -- if you had said to me a year ago, 'describe the situation you'll be in today, one year later,' I don't know many people who would have described it -- I would not have described it -- the way it happens to be today. ... I certainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number of individuals lost that we have had lost in the last week." [Rumsfeld News Conference, 4/15/04]

3) Rumsfeld Failed to Equip Troops in Iraq

Army Study Suggests One-Fourth of Casualties in Iraq Could Have Been Prevented If Troops Were Properly-Equipped at Beginning of War. Newsweek reported, "A breakdown of the casualty figures suggests that many U.S. deaths and wounds in Iraq simply did not need to occur. According to an unofficial study by a defense consultant that is now circulating through the Army, of a total of 789 Coalition deaths as of April 15 (686 of them Americans), 142 were killed by land mines or improvised explosive devices, while 48 others died in rocket-propelled-grenade attacks. Almost all those soldiers were killed while in unprotected vehicles, which means that perhaps one in four of those killed in combat in Iraq might be alive if they had had stronger armor around them, the study suggested. Thousands more who were unprotected have suffered grievous wounds, such as the loss of limbs." [Newsweek, 5/3/04]

4) Rumsfeld Failed to Plan for Iraq War

In August 2003, the Joint Chiefs of Staff prepared a secret report assessing the post-war planning for Iraq. The report blamed "setbacks in Iraq on a flawed and rushed war-planning process." It also said "planners were not given enough time" to plan for reconstruction. [Washington Times, 9/3/03]

5) Rumsfeld Failed To Sign Condolence Letters to Families of Soldiers Killed in War on Terror

ABC World News Tonight, "Now on the home front here, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is under fire from some military families and members of the Congress. They're upset that he has used a machine to attach his signature to some letters of condolence. More than a thousand of those letters have been sent to families who have lost sons and daughters in the global war on terror." ABC (Yang) added, "After Ivan Medina's twin brother Irving an Army Specialist was killed in Baghdad last year he got a letter of condolence from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Today, Medina himself a veteran of Iraq said he was angered to learn that Rumsfeld never actually signed the letter or even saw it." Medina: "Our commanders here in the United States who include the President and the Secretary of Defense don't care about the troops. We're just a number to them and that's the wrong message to send back to our troops." Yang: "In a statement Rumsfeld said he used a machine." [ABC World News Tonight, 12/19/04]

Notes:

1. MSNBC, January 13, 2005

2. CNN, December 9, 2004

	Paid for by Friends of John Kerry, Inc.

We apologize if you received this message in error. from our mailing list.

Friends of John Kerry, Inc., P.O. Box 34640, Washington DC, 20043, U.S.A.

[Brilliant]

Kerry doesn't seem to understand that the election is over and he lost.

[bitt]

"I have a plan".

[wmichgrad]

Where's the Barf Alert? Never mind, it's all over my floor.

[PilloryHillary]

I got the email yesterday as well. No pic signature like all the others in the past.

[Brilliant]

"One more time: please join me in my call for President Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld."

"One more time...." Do you promise?

[DainBramage]

Johnny, these "kids" have already seen ten times more combat that your sorry ass.

Your so 4 months ago.

[stopem]

Wow thats impressive, (I mean your bulletin board not whats on it;) How did you do that?

[The Loan Arranger]

John, how was the caviar on that Air Force VIP plane? Sure beats eating MREs with the grunts in Iraq, huh? Did 'Mamma T' give 'little Johnny' a consolation prize for not winning the White House? Time to go back to the Senate and pretend to be somebody, again.

[nuconvert]

"I wanted to make contact with our soldiers on the ground there."

And how many wanted their fists to make contact with his face?

[campfollower]

I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE AN AUTHENTIC MILITARY EXPERT -- NOT A TREASONOUS, SELF-SERVING LIAR WHO IS TRYING TO POSITION HIMSELF FOR ANOTHER FAILED RUN AT HIGHER OFFICE! This is from Powerlineblog.com, and I'll take this man's word, and the word of all the fine soldiers and Marines I know fighting today (who, by the way, wouldn't vote for Kerry EVER).

Authoritative Word From Iraq

John Kline is a retired Marine Colonel, our friend, and my Congressman. I know of no finer man in public service. John fought in Vietnam and commanded a helicopter unit in Somalia. (One of the most striking photographs I've ever seen hung on the wall in John's Minneapolis office; shot out the window of his helipcopter and blown up three feet high, it shows the Indian Ocean and the waterfront of Mogadishu.) He was one of a small group who planned long-term procurement strategy for the Marine Corps, and was selected to accompany Presidents Carter and Reagan, carrying the briefcase that contained the codes to launch a nuclear attack. Which gives you a pretty good idea of how trusted Col. Kline was by his fellow officers.

So when John talks, I listen. He's just back from Iraq, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Rep. John Kline, returning from a trip to Iraq, said U.S. troops told him they are getting the necessary armored vehicles and equipment to do their jobs.
"I made a point of asking every soldier and Marine I could,'' said Kline, a Minnesota Republican and Marine Corps veteran. The soldiers he spoke with said they had personal body armor, and that they always had an armored vehicle when they left the perimeter, Kline said.

Still, Kline said, insurgents are adapting by using anti-vehicle explosives and suicide bombings.

"We're fighting an enemy that is thinking and changing their tactics,'' he said. "They're now using bigger bombs.''

Kline, who last visited Iraq in October 2003, said the security situation was more dangerous this time, as insurgents try to thwart the Jan. 30 elections.

"The security situation is pretty tough,'' he said. "Every leader told us that there is an absolutely brutal campaign of intimidation. The insurgents are really bent on stopping, delegitimizing the elections.''

But Kline said that U.S. military officials and Iraqi government officials agreed that the elections must go forward as planned. "I didn't speak to one single person who even remotely thought it was a good idea to postpone the elections,'' he said.

Kline, who served in the Vietnam War, said he didn't agree with the suggestion made by some that Iraq was becoming like Vietnam. "I've never liked that comparison,'' he said.

"When we were attacked on September 11th, we were at war. Arguably in Vietnam, we chose as part of a strategy of containment to go to Vietnam. But even when we did that, we never envisioned we would be attacked in our own country. Now we do. We have been attacked.''


Posted by Hindrocket at 09:45 PM

[bitt]

stole it from another FReeper, Tom Guy!!!!

[mewzilla]

Kerry just didn't go to Iraq, though, did he? What about his Axis Of Weasels Tour? Come to think of it, I saw bugger all about that part of the trip in the MSM. Gee, wonder why? LOL.

And who paid for your little junket to Europe, Jean Francois? Inquiring minds want to know...

[stopem]

Its to cute. I would love a electronic bulletin board to post electronic stickies for my business.

[kahoutek]

Toxic Waste in Baghdad

Greyhawk writes:

When I saw John Kerry in Iraq recently I thought that here was a great opportunity to do something for America and Iraq - express solidarity, a commitment to success for democracy in the upcomming elections, support the troops, etc. etc.

Then I found this story:

WASHINGTON - When Congress meets in a special joint session Thursday to count electoral ballots from the presidential race, Sen. John F. Kerry will be noticeably absent - thousands of miles away on a fact-finding trip in the Middle East. Which led me to believe the purpose of his visit might be less positive, but still I had hope.

Until I found this story:

The senator said he was more interested in asking questions of soldiers, U.S. officials, Iraqis and even the journalists themselves instead of rehashing the political battles of the past campaign season. But in several instances, Kerry attacked what he called the "horrendous judgments" and "unbelievable blunders" of the Bush administration. The mistakes, he said, included former U.S. occupation leader Paul Bremer's decisions to disband the Iraqi army and purge the government of former members of Hussein's Baath Party. Both moves are widely believed to have fueled the largely Sunni insurgency.

"What is sad about what's happening here now is that so much of it is a process of catching up from the enormous miscalculations and wrong judgments made in the beginning," he said. "And the job has been made enormously harder."

The hero of Ho Chi Min strikes again. Some cheering was heard from several of the few thousand troops who voted Kerry over here, but they were drowned out by cheering of the "insurgents".

So while clowns in Congress attempt to turn the day into a circus, the failed candidate runs to Iraq to bemoan the war in person to the troops.

Here's a great quote from '03, see if you remember which Vietnam veteran said it:

"I remember being one of those guys and reading news reports from home," the Vietnam veteran said. "If America is at war, I won't speak a word without measuring how it'll sound to the guys doing the fighting when they're listening to their radios in the desert." Three comments:

1. We've all got mp3 players.

2. There are no "boys and girls" - there are men and women.

3. Measure this: Shut the %$^& up.

Here's hoping for no reason to discuss this man again here.

I'd say more but I've got to round up troops to clean a slime trail someone left in the desert.

[mowowie]

Hey Mr. Delusions of Grandeur. Please go back to being a nobody of nuanced obscurity.

[mowowie]

It's amusing how Kerry is so concerned about armor now, unlike when he voted for before voting against it.

[sr4402]

'I support the troops. It is the wrong war, wrong place, wrong time and they don't need armour and bullets anyway'

/Sarcasm PFF

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

WHY RUMSFELD HAS TO GO!

1) Rumsfeld Blamed The Troops for Problems in IRAQ

Rumsfeld: "As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." [CNN, 12/9/04]

That is a perfectly adult, nonjudgmental statement of fact. It blames nobody.

2) Rumsfeld Admitted Bush Administration Was Not Prepared for Iraqi Resistance

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that "I am saying that -- if you had said to me a year ago, 'describe the situation you'll be in today, one year later,' I don't know many people who would have described it -- I would not have described it -- the way it happens to be today. ... I certainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number of individuals lost that we have had lost in the last week." [Rumsfeld News Conference, 4/15/04]

That is a statement of fact, and an admission of human fallibility. To imply that Rumsfeld should resign because he didn't know the future is similar to saying that you should resign from the Senate because you didn't know you were going to lose the presidential election.

Journalists and other Democrats value the art of second-guessing. With Republicans it cuts no ice. Get over it.

[Wristpin]

"Rumsfeld: "As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." [CNN, 12/9/04]"

Unfortunately for our servicemen, the Army we have is what's left after 8 Clinton Defense Budgets.

[TomGuy]

Orange you glad he didn't win!!!!

lol.

[I think that line was posted by someone else in another thread where a pic of the 'orange Kerry' showed up.]