Retired general backs Clinton on Iraq

The Union Leader ^ | October 6, 2007 | JOHN DISTASO

[KeyLargo]

Retired general backs Clinton on Iraq

By JOHN DISTASO Senior Political Reporter

A retired U.S. Army general visiting the state to campaign for Hillary Clinton said yesterday she does not oppose the Iraq war -- and she said she's never heard Clinton oppose it, either.

Retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the Army's first woman to reach the three-star rank, said she supports Clinton's promise to withdraw the majority of U.S. troops from Iraq if she is elected President. But Kennedy said she does not consider her position to be opposing the war as it is currently being conducted.

Kennedy, 60, retired in 2000 after serving in the Army since 1969.

Asked if she opposes the war as it is currently being conducted, Kennedy said in a telephone interview: "As of the last couple of years, I do think that we should be on a different track. I wouldn't put it that way because, as retired military, it might come across as being -- you know what I mean -- I wouldn't say it in a completely stark way.

"I'm very proud of the army," Kennedy said. "I'm proud of the Army leadership. They've done the very best they can given the circumstances. They get a shifting sense of mission and it comes from their civilian leadership. They haven't gotten the support they needed."

Kennedy said she agreed with Clinton's position to withdraw, as Clinton has said, "the vast majority" of U.S. troops from Iraq while leaving behind a relatively small counter-terrorism force....

[KeyLargo]

Another BJ Clinton Army general promotion payback to the Clintons.

---------------------------------- Clinton Campaign Announces SC Vets For Hillary

Retired Lt. General Claudia Kennedy to Lead Committee

Columbia, SC - The Clinton Campaign announced today that Retired U.S. Army Lt. General Claudia J. Kennedy, the first woman to be appointed a three star general in the United States Army, will Chair the newly formed SC Veterans and Military Retirees for Hillary. The Committee will be composed of South Carolina veterans of all ranks, and will advise the campaign on policy and outreach to the 25 million American veterans and their families.

"Hillary Clinton is a strong leader who can protect our nation while rebuilding our relationships abroad," Gen. Kennedy said. "Her life-long commitment to health care and better lives for children, along with her commitment to America's men and women in uniform and veterans makes her uniquely suited, to be our next President. I am proud to endorse her, and I am honored to serve as the Chair of the South Carolina Veterans for Hillary committee."

http://campaignsandelections.com/sc/releases/?id=788

------------------------------- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Kennedy

[Eagles6]

I must suspend disbelief to believe this crap.

[hsalaw]

she supports Clinton's promise to withdraw the majority of U.S. troops from Iraq if she is elected President. But Kennedy said she does not consider her position to be opposing the war as it is currently being conducted

Clinton would withdraw "the majority" of troops but doesn't oppose the war as currently conducted? If she doesn't oppose it as currently conducted, i.e, the surge, why would she withdraw "the majority" of troops? What's going on here? Oh, wait. . . it's Clinton doublespeak.

[JoeSixPack1]

...along with her commitment to America's men and women in uniform and veterans makes her uniquely suited,...

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!

[Condor51]

I knew her name rang a bell...

Accusation against another general

In 1997, Kennedy was promoted to lieutenant general and named Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence. In 1999, she made a sexual harassment claim against fellow officer, General Larry Smith stemming from an incident in 1996 when she was a major general and he was a brigadier general. Kennedy made the accusation after Smith was slated for promotion to the position of Army deputy Inspector General, the position responsible for investigation of sexual harassment claims. Kennedy claimed that Smith had attempted to grope and kiss her; Smith's appointment to the inspector general's office was later withdrawn.

Notice her promotion time line. Very similar to that other Klintoon kneee-padding affirmative action 'General', Eric Shinseki.

[Lancey Howard]

Claudia Kennedy has been a disgraceful scumbag for a long time. She is a typical rat general. None of this is any surprise:

Kennedy retired from the military in June 2000 after 31 years in the Army. During the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Kennedy was critical of George W. Bush's military policies, especially as they related to the status of women in the armed forces. According to General Kennedy: "If Mr. Bush becomes president, his campaign platform says he will move us back to a much earlier time."

In 2002, Democrats actively sought to recruit General Kennedy to challenge U.S. Senator John Warner, a Republican from Virginia. Kennedy passed on the race.

Kennedy endorsed Senator John Kerry for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination in September 2003, and has served as an advisor to the Kerry campaign. (see 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry). She was sometimes mentioned as a possible nominee for Secretary of Defense in a Kerry administration.

She endorsed anti-war politicians Eric Massa and Patrick Murphy in 2006, which suggests that she opposes the Iraq War. She endorsed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in her 2008 presidential campaign. Kennedy has been named as a potential Defense Secretary in the administration of Mrs. Clinton.

- - from Wikipedia

[Hugin]

From Wikipedia,

Early life
Kennedy was born in Frankfurt, Germany and attended Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College), where she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. She was commissioned in the United States Army in 1969. Kennedy served two tours in Germany and one tour in South Korea and focused much of her military career in the fields of intelligence and cryptology.

[edit] Accusation against another general
In 1997, Kennedy was promoted to lieutenant general and named Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence. In 1999, she made a sexual harassment claim against fellow officer, General Larry Smith stemming from an incident in 1996 when she was a major general and he was a brigadier general. Kennedy made the accusation after Smith was slated for promotion to the position of Army deputy Inspector General, the position responsible for investigation of sexual harassment claims. Kennedy claimed that Smith had attempted to grope and kiss her; Smith’s appointment to the inspector general’s office was later withdrawn.

[edit] Post military
Kennedy retired from the military in June 2000 after 31 years in the Army. During the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Kennedy was critical of George W. Bush’s military policies, especially as they related to the status of women in the armed forces. According to General Kennedy: “If Mr. Bush becomes president, his campaign platform says he will move us back to a much earlier time.”

In 2002, Democrats actively sought to recruit General Kennedy to challenge U.S. Senator John Warner, a Republican from Virginia. Kennedy passed on the race.

Kennedy endorsed Senator John Kerry for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination in September 2003, and has served as an advisor to the Kerry campaign. (see 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry). She was sometimes mentioned as a possible nominee for Secretary of Defense in a Kerry administration.

She endorsed anti-war politicians Eric Massa and Patrick Murphy in 2006, which suggests that she opposes the Iraq War. She endorsed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in her 2008 presidential campaign. Kennedy has been named as a potential Defense Secretary in the administration of Mrs. Clinton.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Why am I not surprised?

[Old Sarge]

Aunt Claudia? OUR Aunt Claudia?

Thought you’d like to see this, fellas...

[bert]

Claudia Kennedy is to the military as Anita hill is to the legal profession

[KeyLargo]

Threads from 2004:

The Generals Speak
Rolling Stone ^ | November 25, 2004 | Paul Alexander
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1284011/posts

Kerry receives three-star support
The Rock Hill Herald ^ | 10/7/04 | Andrew Dys
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1237781/posts

Retired General Thinks Bush Has Got To Go (so angry I could spit!)
Colorado Springs Gazette ^ | September 29, 2004 | Dennis Huspeni
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1230554/posts

[SeaHawkFan]

This might shed some light:

http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=76&id=9027

[KeyLargo]

Here’s another article you make you heave your breakfast:

Bush Must Negotiate to Make America Safer, Say Former Generals

August 22, 2006
Aaron Glantz / OneWorld

Twenty-one former generals and high ranking national security officials have called on United States President George W. Bush to reverse course and embrace a new area of negotiation with Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.

http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/137958/1/4536

SAN FRANCISCO (August 7, 2006) — Twenty-one former generals and high ranking national security officials have called on United States President George W. Bush to reverse course and embrace a new area of negotiation with Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. In a letter released Thursday, the group told reporters Bush’s ‘hard line’ policies have undermined national security and made America less safe.....

http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/know/read.php?itemid=4537

[oldbill]

And now for the rest of the story.

Claudia Kennedy was the girl friend of Terry McAuliffe’s father-in-law. That is how she got all those promotions to general and three-star rank, as a Clinton family insider.

It was McAuliffe’s only known connection to the military, but did not keep him from sounding off on George Bush’s military service or accusing Bush of “never having been in the military”.

[KeyLargo]

Your Mother’s Army
By George Neumayr
Published 6/4/2004 12:07:38 AM

Even as John Kerry lapses into pacifist rhetoric — describing the military under President Bush as a “back-door draft” is a scare tactic from his anti-war days — Kerry casts himself as strong on national defense. To appear sufficiently militaristic in the eyes of the moderates he needs to win, Kerry cobbled together a board of military advisers this week. Kerry is turning for advice to, among others, Claudia Kennedy, the first female three-star general — a feminist famous during the Clinton years for charging a fellow general (whose advancement she hoped to stop) with “inappropriate touching.”

Kerry’s selection of Claudia Kennedy to his board of military advisers is illuminating: he is now taking advice on how to strengthen the military from feminists intent on weakening it. Claudia Kennedy once bragged to West Point cadets that “this is not your father’s Army anymore!” As the press reported in the 1990s, Kennedy didn’t like the word “enemy”; she relied instead on the term “peer competitor.”

Hillary Clinton was so impressed with Kennedy’s political correctness she named Kennedy her “favorite general.” While Kennedy never received a Purple Heart from Bill Clinton for getting chased around a desk, she received many honors and served in important posts. One of her more noteworthy contributions was her launching of the “Consideration of Others” (COO) training program.

People magazine reported that Kennedy entered the military after filling out an Army enlistment coupon in Cosmopolitan magazine. She had hoped to feminize the military and did. But not all of her subordinates appreciated her vision for a softer military. The press reported their criticism of her for “giggling” at an intelligence conference.

After she lectured them on the need to conduct Consideration of Others sessions, one complained to the press: ‘’The general, wearing spit-shined paratrooper boots that came up to her knees, spent 15 minutes discussing our mission. And then, for the next 40, she stressed the need for equality and sensitivity and understanding of others…I couldn’t help wondering if this was some event sponsored by the YWCA instead of the U.S. army.’’

Kerry’s comment about Bush’s “back-door draft” is curious given that he is taking advice from feminists who have long thought that women should be exposed to a draft. After all, equal rights means equal exposure to the draft. Claudia Kennedy thought it only fair that she enter the military if men were entering it. As she writes in her memoirs, “In 1969, America was at war in Vietnam, and although some of my sorority sisters ... were bemused when I told them I was joining the Army, young men were being drafted and I didn’t think it was fair for them to shoulder the entire burden when women were exempted. I also didn’t believe women could claim equal privileges of citizenship without understanding and accepting the equal responsibilities of a citizen.”

Imagine what America’s draft policy would be like under a Kerry administration if Kennedy were the head of the Joint Chiefs, with Hillary chipping in from the Armed Services committee (where she now sits). We might have a Kerry kitchen-door draft. The military already dragoons single mothers from the reserves into service (on the principle that deployment policies must be gender-neutral and leaving orphans behind is a price an enlightened society must pay for the progress of women in combat). In the Iraqi conflict, at least 20 women have died, several of them mothers. The first woman killed in combat in Iraq was Lori Piestewa, a single mother with two preschoolers.

A few more years of gender engineering ramped up under a Kerry administration, and Claudia Kennedy would be able to say: This is your mother’s army.

George Neumayr is managing editor of The American Spectator.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=6648

[elpadre]

a quick review of her background and experience makes it clear she has been part of the government’s experiments in social changes by using the military as a guinea pig.

The most qualified person for the job is no longer a requirement. The promotion of this person shows clear evidence of the problems in affirmative action run amuck

[EagleUSA]

Retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the Army’s first woman to reach the three-star rank, said she supports Clinton’s promise to withdraw the majority of U.S. troops from Iraq if she is elected President. But Kennedy said she does not consider her position to be opposing the war as it is currently being conducted.
::::::
I bet I can guess her sexual preference.... :-) What a stooge and a hack. The MSM will print ANYTHING to support the Daughter of Stalin.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

Claudia Kennedy: A retired person who is habitually unable to make ethical decisions in a timely fashion (according to her own autobiography) and who was told to get out of the Army because she was a sexual harrasser, wasn’t she?

[river rat]

"...... was named by Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton as her "favorite general."

Just another "gay friendly" perfumed prince from the Clinton Administration "affirmative promotion" programs..

We can all be thankful we didn't have to fight any serious conflicts with "Clinton's Generals" in charge....

[KeyLargo]

Jewish World Review April 10, 2000 /5 Nissan, 5760 , 5760

Mona Charen

The general wields an accusation

http://www.jewishworldreview.com --

SHE WAS A FEMINIST PIN-UP GIRL, a woman who rose through the Army's ranks to attain the title of three-star general. Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy was awarded the 1998 "Living Patriot Award" by the Women's International Center and listed among America's top 10 female role models by Ms. Magazine. She was well-respected among her Army colleagues and just preparing for retirement.

No one can figure out why she would now come forward with a 4-year-old sexual harassment accusation against another three-star general, but many of those who have worked with her and even boosted her career are dismayed and disappointed. According to The Washington Times, Kennedy alleged that Gen. Larry G. Smith, who held the same rank as she at the time of the incident, once made an inappropriate approach to her in her Pentagon office. Kennedy did not file an official complaint at the time, preferring to handle the matter herself.

Why then come forward now? Here is one version fed to The Washington Times by a friendly source: Kennedy was merely mentioning her concern that Smith's promotion to deputy Army Inspector General might not be wise, since in his new post, he would be responsible for investigating allegations of sexual harassment. "Gen. Kennedy ... never wanted the full-blown investigation now under way by the Army inspector general. ... She told the wrong person ... the system ran away with it, and it was not what she intended." Well, perhaps. But she did file a formal complaint. Now consider this: In an interview three years ago, Kennedy described sexual harassment in these terms: "His hand lingers on your back. He touches you on your upper arm and you can't tell if he's a touchy-feely person. All you know is that he gives you the creeps."

Is that what qualifies as sexual harassment in today's Army?

It may be. Kennedy introduced an innovation in military training with the acronym COO, "Consideration for Others" training. Soldiers are taught that their actions must "indicate a sensitivity to and regard for the feelings and needs of others." Heck, why not just close down the Army and replace it with a sewing circle? Our women warriors, who insist that they should be permitted to lead men in battle, cannot handle so much as a touch on the upper arm?

Lt. Col. Ralph Zimmerman, a Desert Storm combat veteran, has left the Army. As a parting shot, he released a letter to the press detailing some of the reasons for his disenchantment. The letter read in part: "The Army has become a 'social experiment' geared toward promoting diversity and celebrating individual successes vs. instilling the sense of unity behind the values of our Constitution, the flag and our distinguished unit colors. The end result we see today is clearly diminished combat readiness and a lower willingness by our young people to serve a higher cause."

Among the reforms Zimmerman suggested were dropping the COO program, reducing the emphasis on force protection ("unfortunately, even life in the civilian world bears some risks") and eliminating the emphasis on ethnic diversity ("Asian week, African-American week, Hispanic week, etc. We fail to stress unity. ... We are all AMERICANS who should be committed to a common purpose -- the defense of our nation.").

It is no surprise that Kennedy's accusation has halted Smith's promotion. That's all it takes in today's army -- just an allegation. Since the Tailhook imbroglio, the armed services of the United States have leaned so far backward to accommodate women that they are scarcely recognizable as fighting forces.

In her new book "A Kinder, Gentler Military," Stephanie Guttman relates tale after tale of women being indulged and their failures overlooked. At the Great Lakes Naval Training Base, drill sergeants look the other way as male trainees double back to help women through pull-ups and pole climbing. The Navy calls this "teamwork." Women aviators have been given second, third and fourth chances to prove themselves, endangering the lives of their comrades and in some cases leading to their own deaths.

Bill Clinton is said to be seeking a legacy. His legacy is one of corruption, cynicism and mendacity. And he can also point with pride to a feminized, hollow, demoralized, politically correct military.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen041000.asp

[DTogo]

The amount of history FReepers can produce on the Clintonistas never ceases to amaze me! :)