Kerry Attacks Bush Over Iraq Policies (confrontation instead of diplomacy)

[sabra]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-me-kerry2jun02,1,5005276.story?coll=la-headlines-world

Kerry Attacks Bush Over Iraq Policies

The administration's choice of confrontation instead of diplomacy has harmed the U.S., the senator says in a speech in Los Angeles.


Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) harshly criticized the Bush administration for "disdaining diplomacy" in favor of a confrontational and unilateral foreign policy that has hurt the United States' standing around the world and made it less safe.

In a speech Thursday in Los Angeles, the former (and perhaps future) Democratic Party presidential candidate warned that the mistakes of Iraq must not be repeated in the current standoff with Iran.

"War is the ultimate failure of diplomacy," Kerry told a gathering of the Pacific Council on International Policy. "Yet our current leadership has arrogantly discarded this basic principle…. All too often they disdained diplomacy as little more than an inconvenient detour on the chosen path to armed conflict."

The result, he said, was an ill-advised rush to war in Iraq that alienated other governments and diminished sympathy for the U.S. generated by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. America's current isolation, and the presence of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq, is "playing right into Iranian hands…. The Iranians are delighted," Kerry said.

[ixion]

1. if only he had been this vocal in 2k4

he might have had a shot.

[babylonsister]

2. Had a shot? Read this:

:eyes:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen

[stepnw1f]

4. Election Was Stolen (nt)

[halobeam]

5. We're screwed when we have to keep reminding our own party of this.

I need a drink.

[MH1]

6. If only

people would stop making this their first comment NO MATTER WHAT THE FUCK THE MAN DOES OR SAYS.

Sheesh.

[karynnj]

9. He actually made some of these points

in what he had labelled a major speech on the war on terror and foreign policy given at the university of Philadelphia in September 2004 a few weeks after his major speech on Iraq at NYU. Kerry then spoke of diplomacy and cooperation between other countries.

The shocking thing is that the broadcast media chose to cover neither of these in any detail. In fact, consider that in 2000, the conventions each got 9 hours of network coverage. In 2004, the coverage was cut to 3 hours - 1 hour for the Clinton speech, 1 for Edwards and Kerry got an hour for his acceptance speech. Kerry's rallies that broke attendance records got little coverage.

What got coverage? - a group of liars who produced NO evidence and challanged the official Navy record and the accounts of the all but one of the men who reported to Kerry. Tom Ridge announcing terror code changes. and don't forget Scot Peterson.

[zann725]

3. ...just "speaking Truth to Authority" :shrug:

n/t

[ckramer]

7. The attacking is good

and let's hope people didn't remember he voted for the war.

[karynnj]

10. It wasn't a vote for war - as even Bush said at the time

but Bush lied.

[wisteria]

8. Very pithy & wise comments from the man who should be President.

I hope people take notice of what he is saying. he is correct!