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John Kerry’s Pre-911 Mindset
By Matt Margolis | October 17, 2004
This morning I watched the beginning of Meet The Press, featuring Bush’s campaign manager Ken Mehlman, and Kerry’s senior strategist Bob Shrum.
One of the things that repeatedly bothers me about the Kerry campaign is their pre-9/11 mindset, and Bob Shrum made no effort to hide that mindset today.
Recycling lines we’ve heard John Kerry saying recently on the campaign trail, Bob Shrum suggested that the war in Iraq was a diversion from the “real war on terror,” that Osama bin Laden was let go in Tora Bora, and that we’re basically not going after the ones who attacked us.
Great rhetoric Mr. Shrum, I’m sure it gets your partisan crowds going wild, but all far from the truth.
For starters, Retired General Tommy Franks, who planned both the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, has explain that John Kerry’s assertions are false. I do not know how many times Tommy Franks has to explain this, but clearly it has not penetrated the Kerry campaign yet. Franks has explained what happened in Tora Bora, from the fact that U.S. troops were there, and the job was not “left to Afghan warlords” and that there was no intelligence that said Osama bin Laden was definitely there, in fact various sources of intel suggested bin Laden was in a number of places.
Not that the Kerry campaign cares that it continues to lie to the American people.
Regardless, Shrum made the point that Saddam didn’t attack us, and that the 9/11 Commission said there was no connection between Saddam and 9/11. Shrum made a juvenile remark to Ken Mehlman that perhaps only he, President Bush and Vice-President Cheney haven’t read the 9/11 Commission’s final report.
For one thing, the 9/11 Commission Report goes into much detail about various connections between Saddam’s regime and Al Qaeda. I have a variety of pages of my copy of the 9/11 Commission Report flagged that go into these known connections, should the Kerry campaign be interested in actually reading them.
What is most disturbing about this attitude by the Kerry campaign is that it reflects a pre-9/11 mindset. Kerry and his campaign surrogates have made it clear that they think any terrorist who did not attack us on 9/11 is not worth going after. That’s why you see them carefully choosing the language they speak of the issue of Iraq, Al Qaeda and 9/11.
When you hear a Kerry campaign person or Kerry himself talk about the connections, they will always say there was no connection “between Saddam and 9/11“. They do not say “between Saddam and al Qaeda.”
Why not? Because the connections between Saddam and al Qaeda are numerous and documented. But John Kerry doesn’t care about that.
I’d like to ask John Kerry why he thinks connections to Al Qaeda do not merit action on our part?
I’d like to ask John Kerry why he thinks the only terrorists in the world who want to kill us are Al Qaeda.
George W. Bush on September 11, 2001 said, “We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” On September 20, 2001, Bush told our country “Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.”
John Kerry clearly thinks the war on terror begins and ends solely with Al Qaeda, if not just Osama bin Laden himself. He does not see the big picture. The capture or killing of Osama bin Laden will not end terrorism throughout the world. The war on terror is a global effort, fought on many fronts in many nations. John Kerry sees the war on terror as being about just one man, or just one group, in just one country.
If John Kerry wants to fight a limited war on terror focusing on just one person, then good for him, but he can’t think we’re going to let him be our Commander-in-Chief with that attitude.
John Kerry pre-9/11 mindset will be the worst possible setback to the war on terror, yet his campaign regularly chooses to remind the country of their dangerous attitude. On November 2nd, they’ll Americans reject that attitude, and vote for George W. Bush, who wants to eliminate all terrorism, not just a small part of it.
Of course, George W. Bush actually sees terrorism as a real threat, not just a “nuisance” like John Kerry does.
Topics: John Kerry Watch |
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October 17th, 2004 at 4:04 pm
Alright!!
keep it up W!!!!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-10-17-poll_x.htm
October 17th, 2004 at 7:41 pm
I have listened to the Kerry campaign argue about the military decisions made when OBL was allegedly ‘trapped’ in Tora Bora. However, I have not heard the Bush campaign ask Mr. Kerry if he learned any lessons from Vietnam. One of the most important lessons policy makers learned was not to run the war from Washington. I expect the President to leave the military decisions to thoese in the field. Another example of trying to have it both ways. In Tora Bora and Iraq Kerry’s rhetoric displays a distrust for our Generals. Yet he continues to cite Shinseki’s comments above troop levels. The Kerry Doctrine is….Trust the retired Generals over those in the field of combat.
October 18th, 2004 at 6:01 pm
Matt you are confusing the Bush mindset with the post 9/11 reality. Just because Bush asserts that various terrorist groups and nations of different ethnicties and religions are the same enemy does not make it so. There is such a great deal of over simplification and inferring going on in the Bush administration. They are following the line of the American Enterprise Institute, whose views have not changed before or after 9/11. Its also no secret that Bush himself is not keen on reflecting and taking the necessary time to grapple with his decisions. And that by itself is scary. I don’t want a leader with no former foreign policy experience who is rash and listens to a small group of narrow, ideologically motivated advisers.
October 19th, 2004 at 5:15 pm
Your so brainwashed. Kerry will win and he will bring this country back to what it used to be, a great place to live. Bush ran his company into the ground and has now run this country into the ground. Face it, your wrong.
October 20th, 2004 at 10:11 am
“Kerry will win and will bring this country back to what it used to be, a great place to live.”
I suppose Michelle means bringing the country back to the 70’s when America was filled with malaise and self-loathing under the administration of another liberal democrat.
No thanks.
October 20th, 2004 at 10:58 am
No, I mean back to the 90’s when there were actually jobs. Democrats manage money better and republicans just want to start war and force god on everyone. If they like god so much then maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to kill so many people. And why is it that republicans find an embryo more important than an adult human? Seems pretty stupid to me.
October 20th, 2004 at 4:21 pm
Yeah Elephant Man, don’t you remember? Right after Bu$h was [i]s[/i]elected, he signed those one million (or two, or three) pink slips. I mean, he [u]personally [/u]took away my health care coverage! I still have the boot mark where he and Darth Rove kicked me out into the street.
/lll
October 20th, 2004 at 5:12 pm
Dick Cheney, President Bush and his father are flying on Air Force One. Dick looks at Dubya, chuckles and says, “You know, I could throw a $100.00 bill out the window right now and make one person very happy.”
Dubya shrugs his shoulders and says, “Well, I could throw ten $10.00 bills out the window and make 10 people very happy.” George Bush Senior says, “Of course then, I could throw one-hundred $1.00 bills out the window and make a hundred people very happy.”
The pilot rolls her eyes, looks at all of them and says, “I could throw all of you out the window and make the whole country happy.”
October 20th, 2004 at 5:41 pm
“Because the connections between Saddam and al Qaeda are numerous and documented”
man that’s funny Matt! Except Bush says there’s no connection as well.
October 21st, 2004 at 9:06 pm
Michelle is your immense ignorance natural or do you work hard at it.
October 22nd, 2004 at 9:03 am
Its Bush who has a pre-911 mindset. He is still trying to “decapitate” al-qaeda, but according to his own experts in his own government global terror is now “metastasizing. It doesn’t matter if you catch so-and-so from al-qaeda, the war has spread like wildfire, and this as a direct result of Bush’s continuing actions in Iraq. He is still fighting an old fashioned tank battle against global assymetrical warfare. There is widespread arguments WITHIN republican lines about Bush’s decisions and tactics. Even within his own administration.
Another 911 is guaranteed BECAUSE of the attack on Iraq. This is not a matter of my opinion, and it is hopeless for you to try to spin against it. Because it is world opinion, and in particular it is the opinion of the terrorists. Bush has encouraged them, and given them more reason to fight. Al Qaeda has grown immensely under Bush, and there was even a statement saying that they would prefer Bush would win, because it helps their cause. He is so stupid that he makes them look justified.
October 22nd, 2004 at 5:44 pm
todd, you’re falling for the same old scheme…
have you read the 9/11 commission report? or even flipped through it? Would you like my copy? I have several pages bookmarked that mention Iraq/Al Qaeda connections..
You have to see a difference between Al Qaeda and 9/11.. Iraq may not have been involved in the planning of 9/11, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have connections with Al Qaeda…
October 25th, 2004 at 8:06 pm
Oh please, Matt.
October 27th, 2004 at 9:17 am
Kerry2004 didn’t finish his/her sentence.
I’ll give it a try.
“Oh please, Matt, stop citing sources like the 9/11 commission report! Doing so exposes the democrat talking points as mindless rhetoric and fabrications! I beg you, STOP!”