Kerry Calls Bush's Iraq Policy 'Ineffective' (Regrets 'war criminals' statement from MTP interview)

Washington Post ^ | 4-19-04 | Dan Balz

[Indy Pendance]

Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday denounced President Bush's Iraq policy as "stunningly ineffective" while vigorously defending his Senate vote against last year's $87 billion authorization for Iraq and Afghanistan as "a vote for principle" designed to force a change in administration policy.

In an hour-long session on NBC's "Meet the Press" from Miami, his first extended interview since wrapping up the Democratic presidential nomination, Kerry forcefully rebutted criticism from Bush and others over his past statements and votes. The senator from Massachusetts contended that he has a clear and consistent policy on Iraq and a fiscally sound domestic agenda. Saying Bush has failed diplomatically, Kerry asserted that he would actively reach out to the United Nations and other countries. He called his advocacy of multilateralism a sign of strength, but added that it was "stupid" of him to have declared in a 1971 interview that U.S. troops should be deployed "only at the directive of the United Nations."

Kerry also said he regretted his choice of words in a 1971 "Meet the Press" appearance, in which he called U.S. leaders "war criminals" for their prosecution of the Vietnam War and also that he had committed "the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers" as a naval officer in Vietnam. Kerry, who was the leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at that time, yesterday called the statement "honest, but it was in anger. It was a little bit excessive."

[HiTech RedNeck]

Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday denounced President Bush's Iraq policy as "stunningly ineffective"

Dunno bout that, Ketchup Boy, Dubya did succeed in flushing out or liquidating 99.9% of Saddam's rats. The rest is now mop-up.

[A Citizen Reporter]

"Kerry also said he regretted his choice of words in a 1971 "Meet the Press" appearance, in which he called U.S. leaders "war criminals" for their prosecution of the Vietnam War and also that he had committed "the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers" as a naval officer in Vietnam. Kerry, who was the leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at that time, yesterday called the statement "honest, but it was in anger. It was a little bit excessive."

HUH? This makes as much sense as when I heard Kerry say it. But what I remember, after being asked about his atrocity statements, Senator Kerry expressed regret over the loss of his dark hair. I guess the Washington Post didn't report that, did it?

[Texasforever]

Senator Kerry expressed regret over the loss of his dark hair.

That was really odd given the question he was asked.

[Sapper26]

called the statement "honest, but it was in anger. It was a little bit excessive."

If it was 'honest', it couldn't be 'excessive'. If it was 'excessive', it couldn't be 'honest'. Another flip-flop.

[The_Macallan]

tagged.

[John Lenin]

He's a day late and a dollar short on his apology for 1971, the clown is a traitor. A puppet for Chirac, no doubt.

[GailA]

He's still thinking our Troops should be deployed at the UN's direction. Nothing new in that........

[GailA]

Kerry said a growing economy would help to put Social Security and Medicare on sound financial footing. He pledged not to cut benefits or raise the retirement age, although he suggested that reducing the amount of Social Security benefits the wealthiest Americans receive might be a way to hold down costs.

What's he going to do eliminate them after they have paid into SS? Talk about taxation with out representation.

[wai-ming]

Kerry also said...he had committed "the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers" as a naval officer in Vietnam.

Kerry is the worst type of hypocrite. He admits to committing atrocities, then turns around and condemns others for doing the same thing.

[bitt]

"Still, Kerry appeared startled yesterday when "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert aired the tape of his 1971 appearance. An aide said the campaign had been searching unsuccessfully for the tape."

Huh? I thought we have seen that tape over and over again...and cringe every time...I'll bet 1,000 Freepers have VHS copies of that tape...

[Captain Kirk]

If it is only "mop up," why has been the stain on the floor been growing larger in the last five months?

[Edit35]

What is that, the 65th time this year Depress the Meat has given Kerry the full run of the show.

Nothing like giving the jackle party a weekly propaganda hour.

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

"Depress the Meat"

LOL

Actually kind of sounds like gay porn (not that I would know). Am I allowed to write that?

[Thor_Hammar]

Kerry also said he regretted his choice of words in a 1971 "Meet the Press" appearance, in which he called U.S. leaders "war criminals" for their prosecution of the Vietnam War and also that he had committed "the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers" as a naval officer in Vietnam. Kerry, who was the leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War at that time, yesterday called the statement "honest, but it was in anger. It was a little bit excessive."

So John Kerry still claims his statement that he committed war crimes is true - and that he still stands behind the claim that thousands of others (I think that's down from tens of thousand or hundreds of thousands or all the several million of us who served) committed war crimes. If he's a felon - as all the war crimes he described are felonies - why is he serving in the U.S. Senate and running for President of the United States rather than running from (a) a federal prosecutor or (b) whatever the Vietnamese equivalent is or (c) the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague?