Re: Did Kerry Lie about Attending the Signing of the Gulf-War Ceasefire
From mass55th | 09/24/2004 7:21:26 AM EDT replied
Here's a copy of an archived article I found on Kerry's trip:
SENATORS DOUBT US WILL INTERVENE IN IRAQI STRIFE
Author(s): Elizabeth Neuffer, Globe Staff Date: March 17, 1991 Page: 14 Section: NATIONAL/FOREIGN
KUWAIT CITY -- A delegation of senators yesterday told US soldiers massed on the Iraqi border that it is unlikely US forces will intervene in Iraq's civil war and predicted that the soldiers will return home soon to a hero's welcome.
The delegation swooped down in glistening helicopters on the border outpost of Safwan, Iraq, to meet with the US Army's 1st Armored Division, which helped spearhead the allied ground offensive against Iraq and tangled with the Republican Guard. "It's unbelievable," Sen. John Kerry said, congratulating the troops yesterday. "A lot of those of us who served in Vietnam found a new breath of air in your courage and optimism."
The senators later returned to Kuwait City, where they met with Crown Prince Saad Abdallah Salem Sabah, who pledged that his country will move toward democracy, but only after reconstruction from the ravages inflicted by Iraq is complete.
Asked about relations with Israel, the crown prince told the senators Kuwait will press for an international conference to resolve Arab-Israeli conflicts but will not abandon a boycott of Israeli goods without approval from the Arab League.
Yesterday's visit -- the second by a congressional delegation in as many days -- comes during a period of continuing uncertainty as Kuwait struggles to return to normalcy after seven months of Iraqi occupation and as rebel factions are battling President Saddam Hussein's forces in Iraq.
Sen. Wendell Ford, a Kentucky Democrat who headed yesterday's delegation, said the group was trying "to determine what went right and what went wrong in the war. We're getting ready for the defense authorization bill, and these are some of the questions we want answered."
Earlier yesterday, the delegation was briefed by Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of US forces in the gulf, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and senators said he did not give them the impression that US troops would get involved in Iraq's civil war.
Once a formal cease-fire is signed, the senators said, troops would be heading home.
"Gen. Schwarzkopf wants to get everybody out as soon as he can," Kerry told a group of soldiers from Massachusetts, predicting that as many as 5,000 to 8,000 soldiers a day could begin coming home between now and Easter.
The senators said President Bush has left open the door for involvement should Iraq use chemical weapons to quell the rebellions. But most appeared to favor turning again to the United Nations for guidance.
Kerry, who voted against the use of force in the gulf, said yesterday he has no regrets about his vote. But as he chatted with soldiers, he added he was "delighted by the outcome" of the war.
As Kerry jotted down soldiers' names and addresses, Pfc. Thomas Dardas, 19, of Lawrence told him that the military mail was slow. Lt. Carl Taylor 25, of Buzzards Bay described the 1st Division's stand against the Republican Guard. And one soldier interjected with a vital question: "Are the Celtics still No. 1, sir?"
"No, but they're doing all right," Kerry replied.
Nearby, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, chatted with Lt. Robert Law, 23, of Ridgefield, Conn., about the war. "You are going to be greeted like heroes, which you are," Lieberman said.
What is truly unbelievable, Senator, is how you manage to work "Vietnam" into every single thing you say and do.
"Oh. waiter! Please bring some more Chardonnay for those who served in Vietnam."
6 April 1991 Iraq agreed to a formal cease-fire.
11 April 1991 The UN Security Council declared the Persian Gulf War formally over. As part of the cease-fire agreement, Iraq was supposed to destroy all of its biological and chemical weapons and the facilities to produce those weapons.
So, did Kerry stay in Kuwait for three weeks????
This was a UN capitulating travesty, and for him to brag that he was there, just proves he has no intention of seeing this through to victory.
He will do the same thing.
Appease and run.