Archived material Access restricted Article
Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Thu 05/20/2004 View Wed 05/19/2004 View Tue 05/18/2004 View Mon 05/17/2004 View Sun 05/16/2004 View Sat 05/15/2004 View Fri 05/14/2004
1
2004-05-20 Home Front: Politix
Kerry to pull all US troops out of Iraq by the end of 1st term
Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.
Posted by Dan Darling 2004-05-20 2:31:47 AM|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 Who is his national security advisor, Senior Zapatero?
Posted by Mike  2004-05-20 6:07:19 AM||   2004-05-20 6:07:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Like Zapatero, Senator Turntail Andrun is a cowardly weasel. Unlike Zapatero whose word is his bond, Senator Lyingsackof Excrement is a serial liar. Nothing Senator Flip Flopper states as his policy can be believed. Most likely, Senator Americanhating Bigot would immediately appoint Kofi Annan the Commander in Chief of the US MILITARY, sit back and applaud as the US MILITARY is aligned with the Islamo-fascists and titter with delight as the US MILITARY is ordered by Kofi to do battle with the Zionists.
Posted by Garrison 2004-05-20 6:52:28 AM||   2004-05-20 6:52:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Did he mention he is a decorated war hero? Now he really is playing to the "Get out now" crowd. He will abandon the Iraqi people to the wolfs.
Posted by Deacon Blues 2004-05-20 7:19:04 AM||   2004-05-20 7:19:04 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 There's your warning, Iraq. Get it together with Bush or get the UN. Life in Iraq went well under those oil for food deals, didn't it? Look how well things turned out in Bosnia.

NPR/CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS/BBC/NYT/WP/LAT etc.etc. spend every moment of every day feeding the US population the idea that things in Iraq are a quagmire. And since most people don't get their news from rantburg, most people just accept it as truth.

AQ will assist with a well planned attack, as in Spain and Kerry has a good chance of getting elected over the dead bodies of Americans, and he knows it. It just might work too.
Posted by B 2004-05-20 7:21:33 AM||   2004-05-20 7:21:33 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 "NPR/CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS/BBC/NYT/WP/LAT etc.etc. spend every moment of every day feeding the US population the idea that things in Iraq are a quagmire"
You are exactly right. That is why it is so important that everyone of us, who get the true news from weblogs like rantburg or Littlegreenfootballs, spread the word of their existance. I do it by e-mailing my friends articles and links and asking them to forward them to whomever they know.
Posted by Anonymous4617 2004-05-20 8:25:46 AM||   2004-05-20 8:25:46 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Ya know, I worried about the authenticity of this story for a minute. Why? Because in skimming it, I didn't see a certain tell-tale word.

Then I re-read it more carefully, and found it in paragraphs five and six.
Posted by Robert Crawford  2004-05-20 8:28:19 AM|| [http://www.kloognome.com]  2004-05-20 8:28:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 This statement is evidence of a dangerous level of incompetence. In war, you never announce your intentions like this, especially an intention to quit with or without victory. The "death zone" reference seems to be promising that we will engage in no further offensive operations against other countries, something which no sane person could honestly say, since he has no idea where this war might lead. The fatal pacifism-at-any-price of the Democratic Party is once again revealed.
Posted by virginian 2004-05-20 8:37:12 AM||   2004-05-20 8:37:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 John F'ing Kerry, will get us all either killed or enslaved to the UN. If he gets elected, maybe the South will Rise Again and secede (sp?)? I can hope.
Posted by AllahHateMe 2004-05-20 8:48:13 AM||   2004-05-20 8:48:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Kerry and his socialist supporters are humanitarians.

Humanitarians are better than us because they are not actively seeking to hurt someone else in military combat even though some are trying to hurt us.

That means that even if it means even far crueler and far bloodier American deaths along the way, well, at least they are better than the rest if us because their judgement isn't clouded with such terms as duty ( to defend the USA against terrorism ) and honor ( the only way the US military has ever acquitted itself in combat ).
Posted by badanov  2004-05-20 8:49:49 AM|| [http://www.rkka.org]  2004-05-20 8:49:49 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 I don't know folks, were there either way for a long time methinks. Too many overiding interests. Kerry's a douche but the congress should still be Republican held (unless my math is off). *If* he gets in he'll still have to do a lot of selling of his ideas, many of which will get killed off I hope. I think ensuring the Iraqis have a stable infrastructure and developments of some sort of pseudo democracy will happen no matter whose in the WH - because any idiot can see it's in the best interest of the world. I'm pulling for GWB as are most of my Marine brethren (though I cannot officially express any partisanship while in a professional capacity). No matter what I think personally about a lot of W's policies the guy stays the course and I think he has more compassion for the ordinary joe then Kerry ever could.

OTOH, & to be blunt - if the majority of people in our great country have gotten so damn stupid/apathetic/or ignorant as to elect a political opportunist such as Kerry then the country deserves what it gets. The rest of us will just have to do what we can to be the best Patriots we can be during that time.
Posted by Jarhead 2004-05-20 9:03:01 AM||   2004-05-20 9:03:01 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Now what is the logical conclusion a member of AQ can gather from a statement like Kerry's?

1) I have at least 35-40% of the US e;ectorate that will defend my actions and call for a US pull out of Iraq no matter what I do.

2) The more I do the quicker that time line will shorten.

3) 90-95% of the US media will devote all its energies to convincing a miniscule 10% of the undecided electorate to thinking likewise.

So, given that, over the next five months till the election what do think is a fair percentage of resultant US deaths can be placed at the feet of JFKerry for such an irresponsible message?

Ladies and Gentlemen we need to reach that 10% first.
Posted by TomAnon 2004-05-20 9:03:48 AM||   2004-05-20 9:03:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 #4 What does Kerry plan with other troop deployments like in Bosnia, Kosovo, etc. Didn't Clinton promise in 1998(?) that the U.S. troops would be home by Christmas? How many are still there?
Posted by Sully  2004-05-20 9:13:34 AM||   2004-05-20 9:13:34 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 Translation:

Dear Terrorists: If you kill more and more U.S. Servicemen and murder more U.S. Citizens on TV I will become president and will then surrender to you and your dhimmi Kofi.

--- (apparently) John Kerry, Traitor to Vietnam Vets and Presidential Canidate.

P.S. Be sure to be as graphic as possible with those murders. The media loves it. And dont worry -- my buddies in the media will make sure Bush is blamed for it.
Posted by CrazyFool  2004-05-20 9:18:13 AM||   2004-05-20 9:18:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#14 This was yesterday, and what else was Kerry doing yesterday? Why meeting with Ralph Nader:

The Nader campaign issued a statement afterward saying the meeting was designed "to put the focus on the human race not the presidential horse race" and both men agreed to "continue the dialogue." An added concern for Kerry is Nader's anti-war sentiment which has struck a chord among some voters, especially in closely contested states.
Although Iraq has emerged as a major issue between the two campaigns -- Nader has called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and Kerry, like President Bush, wants to stay the course -- the aide said the two men did not discuss their differences during the hour-long meeting. But Kerry, who campaigned in Oregon on Tuesday, enlisted the help of former rival Howard Dean, whose own maverick bid for the Democratic presidential nomination was built around his vehement opposition to the Iraq war.
Both men have warned that Nader could draw votes from the Democratic candidate.


Kerry meets with Nader, swings back to the anti-war left position.
Posted by Steve  2004-05-20 9:29:55 AM||   2004-05-20 9:29:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#15 Jarhead makes some good points. Even if Bush is reelected, I'm hoping that we're able to substantially reduce the troop count by 2008 as well. However, there's a real danger here. The left is in full throttle to elect "anybody but Bush". This is sounds like the kind of attitude that got Hitler into the Chancellory. This is compounded by the fact that we no longer have a free and independant press anymore. The dominant media in country CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS/BBC/NYT/WP/LAT are now merely a functioning organ of the DNC. My fear is that in the near future we will be looking at something far worse than the prospect of a Kerry administration. Then, it will absolutely matter who is in the WH. The democrat-media complex has to effectively countered. Right now, the blogoshere is the only thing available. Is that enough?
Posted by Rex Mundi 2004-05-20 10:46:52 AM||   2004-05-20 10:46:52 AM|| Front Page Top

#16 This has been a terrible period of loss of American influence, respect and prestige, and it costs us all across the globe."

How about the loss of prestige in the "international community"? How many examples can we come up with there?

Sudan-genocide
Rwanda-genocide
Oil-For-Food-starvation and sanctioned corrpution at the UN and our "allies" governments

The list goes on and on. Let's keep putting it out there--are we supposed to emulate these "sophisticated, nuanced" idiots in the international community?

Jules
Posted by jules 187 2004-05-20 10:59:49 AM||   2004-05-20 10:59:49 AM|| Front Page Top

#17 It's actually a smooth move if you don't care if AQ will kill Americans in a move to help you get elected.

Personally, I think it will backfire if AQ attacks America. But what's Kerry got to lose?

Never the less, it worked in Spain, and Kerry is willing to try it here.
Posted by B 2004-05-20 11:01:19 AM||   2004-05-20 11:01:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#18 This morning I was disheartened by this because I thought AQ might be successful with an attack. Because the media aspect of this war has been a 100% total failure, I thought...ya know this will probably work.

But it occurs to me that AQ, while understanding Euroweenies, doesn't get America...and this will backfire and result in a landslide for Bush.
Posted by B 2004-05-20 11:11:14 AM||   2004-05-20 11:11:14 AM|| Front Page Top

#19 Every day, in every way, John Kerry takes the time to remind me that he is, indeed, a complete asshat.

I would vote for Bill Clinton before I would vote for Kerry, and that's saying something.
Posted by Chris W.  2004-05-20 11:16:30 AM||   2004-05-20 11:16:30 AM|| Front Page Top

#20 I don't think there is a more evil man than John F'himself Kerry. He's the worst of the bad, and his slick rhetoric is Hitlerean. He is a male version of Hillary. With the information networks and sources sown up for the DNC, people can be fooled. That's what Kerry and the rest of the bad guys count on. In order for Kerry to "feel like a man" he must win the Presidency. It's not about the people, it's about him. It's not about service, it's about him. It's not about the war, the peace, the needs of America, it's about him and his need to prove he's important. I bet he's a diagnosable as having a borderline personality disorder, IMO. He's married to a narcissist, and the two disorders are often found paired together like that.
Posted by ex-lib 2004-05-20 11:38:54 AM||   2004-05-20 11:38:54 AM|| Front Page Top

#21 Here's Kerry: "Look, you may have some deployments of people for a long period of time in the Middle East depending on what the overall approach to the Middle East is. I'm not going to tell you we won't shift deployments from one place to another, but we're not going to be engaged in an active kind of death zone the way we are today."

"Death zone?" WTF is he talking about? Was Lower Mahattan a death zone at 8:40 a.m. on September 11th? No, but it was a few minutes later. Anywhere there are Americans in the Middle East, there is a potential death zone. At least under Bush the death zone of Iraq is populated by armed US forces and not many American civilians. This guy is just a pathetic loser.
Posted by Tibor 2004-05-20 12:22:34 PM||   2004-05-20 12:22:34 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 He is a male version of Hillary.

Hillary's female? With those boxcar calves?
Posted by Raj  2004-05-20 12:48:50 PM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com]  2004-05-20 12:48:50 PM|| Front Page Top

#23 Theatrics. This is the word that John Kerry brings to mind. Theatrics. To state that he will bring home our troops "with honor and the interests of our country", is simply a statement of election interests. It's a stupid statement. Our troops--and our nation--are at war. This is a war that will last some time. Sacrifices will be made. Must be made. Troops, if not in Iraq, will then be deployed elsewhere. Such is war. Kerry, should he be elected, will inherit this war. His statement undermines the gravity of this war. While I do not apologize for Bushs' errors (he has made some), I do applaud his resilience and perserverence towards taking the fight to the enemy. Will Kerry do the same? Or will he withdraw our troops "with honor and the interests of our country", thus putting America on the defensive?

This is not Vietnam. Not even close. This war is not confined to a specific tropical region, nor is it a quagmire. This war is global. There is no option to "withdraw".

I served in the armed forces. And I talk to the warriors who fight this battle. There are some some exceptions, but the vast majority know they're in it for the long haul.

There is no "withdraw".
Posted by TaleWeaver  2004-05-20 2:29:19 PM||   2004-05-20 2:29:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#24 OTOH, & to be blunt - if the majority of people in our great country have gotten so damn stupid/apathetic/or ignorant as to elect a political opportunist such as Kerry then the country deserves what it gets.

I am convinced that Kerry will shoot himself in the foot while it is firmly planted in his mouth before the election and probably after the convention. He will have his Dukakis moment either during the debate - "Senator, if someone was too drunk and decided to take a breeze at your wife...." - or riding around in a Hummer like he was Arnie. Also, me thinks Iraq gets less attention after end of June just as oil prices top out, interest rates start to rise and the economy takes center stage. Some time in October if Bush is still down in the polls Binny will pop up at Gitmo being interviewed by Mike Wallace and complaining about the quality of goat we serve.
Posted by Jack is Back!  2004-05-20 3:06:37 PM||   2004-05-20 3:06:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#25 
Kerry needs to have an accident. Too bad Ski Season is over, then maybe he could have run into a tree or something.

I'm just sayin`...

-AR
Posted by Analog Roam 2004-05-20 3:13:37 PM||   2004-05-20 3:13:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#26 I'm praying this moron doesn't get elected. He does, and we might as well just all go to the local Borders and pick up copies of the Qu'ran, because it'll only be a matter of time.

It would seem to me that this is another instance of something that . . . Cingold, I think it was? . . . brought up the other day. You can't just be anti-something; you have to stand for something else. Is Kerry doing this because he wants to be anti-Bush, or does he honestly think it's a good idea? I'd like to hear his plan for dismantling the greatest threat humanity has ever faced if he thinks Bush's is so lousy. I'm not saying we haven't made mistakes, but we can't afford to give up on this one, and we simply cannot afford to elect someone who will.
Posted by The Doctor 2004-05-20 3:57:56 PM||   2004-05-20 3:57:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#27 "...he also criticised President George W Bush for damaging relations with allies."

Has Kerry ever said specifically which of our allies Bush has supposedly alienated? Or why he considers them "allies" absent their cooperation in the WoT? Or just exactly what help we're missing? I have to assume he means Germany and France, but I've never heard him actually say it; and I've never heard anyone in the news media press him on the point.

I've been voting since 1972, and in all that time I've never seen the Democrats (my party for 31 years, until last year) field a presidential candidate who's as much of a roaring asshole as John Kerry. I really fear for our childrens' futures if this dickhead gets elected.
Posted by Dave D.  2004-05-20 4:19:46 PM||   2004-05-20 4:19:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#28 I'm not so worried.

When last the FEC checked their shorts and found no balls, rich Republicans (is that redundant? ;-)) have been raising money hand over fist for their own 527 organizations.

Just wait for all the various flip-flopping commercials (vote for war/vote to fund troops, strategic oil reserve, "family" SUV, etc.) to come out.

There's a wealth of material to run on Kerry.

Posted by Daniel King 2004-05-20 4:32:24 PM||   2004-05-20 4:32:24 PM|| Front Page Top

#29 Kerry needs to have an accident. Too bad Ski Season is over, then maybe he could have run into a tree or something.

Funny you should mention that, AR. Well, in a twisted way...
Posted by Raj  2004-05-20 4:33:13 PM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com]  2004-05-20 4:33:13 PM|| Front Page Top

#30 If Mr. Kerry does get elected I think we will have a repeat of the Carter Administration only worse. Carter got elected because he was running against Ford, not because of any of his policy statements. After the election he didn't even have the support of his own party which is why his was such a bad presidency. Kerry's only platform right now is "I'm not Bush" and I think the people that vote form will not be willing to support him which leaves the strongest Democrats to be Hitlery Clinton and Senator Ted "Bogagas" Kennedy. God help us.
Posted by Deacon Blues 2004-05-20 5:18:10 PM||   2004-05-20 5:18:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#31 Kerry is so vacuous as to be unbelievable. Who could someone like this pick for a VP, Nancy Pelosi, Robert Byrd, Teddy Kennedy? It is hard to imagine that respect for the US could be lower than it was under Clinton, but I think were we blighted by a Kerry administration, we could ply new depths.
Posted by RWV 2004-05-20 6:33:52 PM||   2004-05-20 6:33:52 PM|| Front Page Top

#32 
Raj: Funny you should mention that, AR. Well, in a twisted way...

Actually, the Kennedy incident, and the Bono, (as in Sonny)incident were at the forefront of my mind (such that it is) when I was fantasizing about Kerry eating some bark.

Twisted? Me? HaHa, if you only knew!

-AR
Posted by Analog Roam 2004-05-20 7:38:33 PM||   2004-05-20 7:38:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#33 Was World War II a "quagmire"?
Just asking.
Posted by tu3031 2004-05-20 9:42:46 PM||   2004-05-20 9:42:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#34 I beg to differ with some posted opinions.

The Commander in Chief can order the withdrawal of any and all troops any time the mood strikes him. Period. Full Stop. That's what being the CinC and head of the Executive Branch of Gov't means. There will be institutional foot-dragging, of course, for any insane order - but it will eventually happen, even if considered insane by most.

Who is elected President, CinC, matters more than anything else in Nov - by an incredibly wide margin.

Perhaps he'll decide to remove all troops by the end of his first year, instead of term. Who's to stop him? Think about it.
Posted by .com 2004-05-20 9:58:35 PM||   2004-05-20 9:58:35 PM|| Front Page Top

#35 .com> true enough, he could pull us by 2006. However, being the political opportunist he is who knows what he'll do given the reading on his political pitot - thus he is fittingly skerry. OTOH - I'm inclined to believe he'll want other ajendas met back home, to push these he will need Republican help, many Republicans won't want a quick pull outta Iraq so he may have to play ball until the end of his first term. Plus, look at the language - "end of his first term" - could be 2008? Seems to me we may have Iraq in decent shape by then anyhow so his promise would be meaningless. Hell, we may have them in pretty good shape in the next 18 months, wish I had the crystal ball bro'. (I'm trying to mentally adapt and overcome early and see the silver lining if this chump gets in - Lord forbid. ) My $.02 anyhow.
Posted by Jarhead 2004-05-20 10:29:47 PM||   2004-05-20 10:29:47 PM|| Front Page Top

#36 JH - Maybe you're right. I recall that the #2 Donk Candidate screeched that he'd bring them home immediately. If he had controlled himself just a tiny bit more and been just the least bit less insane...

Iraq is only one aspect, however. The execution of the WoT will suffer across the board - and eventually regular people, you, me, your daughter, son will suffer because of it. It will prolly allow for another major hit on America just in the confusion and mixed messages of transition and endlessly nuanced half-assed multiculti stupidity, IMHO.

Economically, politically, in every way that matters, it would hurt.

I think of it as Zapatero redux - with all of the ramifications implicit.
Posted by .com 2004-05-20 10:42:04 PM||   2004-05-20 10:42:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#37 I think he's looking for a re-enactment of the last chopper from Saigon...something in a "Last Blackhawk from Kirkuk" mode to complete the bio circle
Posted by Frank G  2004-05-20 10:46:14 PM||   2004-05-20 10:46:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#38 .com> I agree w/you - the rest of the WOT is another matter. Iraq is definitely only one quotient. A skerry admin prolly has no nuts for the necessary yet politically un-popular dirty work it will take to deal w/Iran/Syria/Norks/Soddy et al.
Posted by Jarhead 2004-05-20 10:58:08 PM||   2004-05-20 10:58:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#39 Or a sitcom, Chopper 7, about a ex VN vet who flies rescue missions over DC. Bomber jacket, check! Campaign patch, check! It's a go and lift off. Que music!
Posted by Lucky 2004-05-20 11:00:07 PM||   2004-05-20 11:00:07 PM|| Front Page Top

#40 Frank G.:

Extending your analogy a little bit: with Kerry it would likelier be "The Last Blackhawk DOWN in Kirkuk".

I see a Kerry administration being just as muddled and fainthearted on foreign policy as the Clinton administration. The first bad turn would cause him to panic and run screaming for the exits.
Posted by Carl in N.H.  2004-05-20 11:02:35 PM||   2004-05-20 11:02:35 PM|| Front Page Top

16:29 Quarterdeck
23:49 cingold
23:34 Anonymous5102
15:12 Anonymous5013
20:59 Anonymous4974
10:44 jules 187
02:58 SON OF TOLUI
02:07 someone
00:33 Edward Yee
00:27 Edward Yee
00:25 scott
00:17 virginian
00:13 Anonymoose
00:02 Lucky
23:57 Lucky
23:54 virginian
23:53 Lucky
23:43 Lucky
23:35 Charles
23:33 Charles
23:29 OldSpook
23:21 Laurence of the Rats
23:17 Lucky
23:02 Carl in N.H.









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com