Monday, October 11, 2004
The Kerry Line: John Kerry's Pre-9/11 Worldview
"John Kerry's characterization of terrorism as a 'nuisance' shows that he doesn't recognize the threats facing this country and does not have the vision and determination needed to defeat terrorism. The fact that his top foreign policy adviser sees the War on Terror as a 'metaphor' adds to Kerry's credibility problem on the most important issue facing our nation."
- Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman
Kerry's Pre-9/11 Worldview
Kerry Said Terrorism Is A Law Enforcement Issue Like Prostitution And Gambling That Can Be "Reduced" But Not Ended. "When I asked Kerry what it would take for Americans to feel safe again, he displayed a much less apocalyptic worldview. 'We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance,' Kerry said. 'As a former law-enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally, it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life.'" (Matt Bai, "Kerry's Undeclared War," The New York Times Magazine, 10/10/04)
Kerry Advisor Richard Holbrooke Doesn't Think We're At War. HOLBROOKE: "'We're not in a war on terror, in the literal sense,' says Richard Holbrooke, the Clinton-era diplomat who could well become Kerry's secretary of state. 'The war on terror is like saying 'the war on poverty.' It's just a metaphor.'" (Matt Bai, "Kerry's Undeclared War," The New York Times Magazine, 10/10/04)
Kerry Views The War On Terror As A Law Enforcement Matter
In March 2004, Kerry Balked At Calling War On Terror An Actual War. "The final victory in the war on terror depends on a victory in the war of ideas, much more than the war on the battlefield. And the war - not the war, I don't want to use that terminology. The engagement of economies, the economic transformation, the transformation to modernity of a whole bunch of countries that have been avoiding the future. And that future's coming at us like it or not, in the context of terror, and in the context of failed states, and dysfunctional economies, and all that goes with that." (The New York Times Website, "In His Words: John Kerry," www.nytimes.com, 3/6/04)
In January 2004, Kerry Said The War On Terror May Be "Occasionally Military," But It Is "Primarily An Intelligence And Law Enforcement Operation." NBC'S TOM BROKAW: "Senator Kerry, let me ask you a question. Robert Kagan ? has written recently that Europeans believe that the Bush administration has exaggerated the threat of terrorism, and the Bush administration believes that the Europeans simply don't get it. Who is right?" KERRY: "I think it's somewhere in between. I think that there has been an exaggeration and there has been a refocusing ? The war on terror is less ? it is occasionally military, and it will be, and it will continue to be for a long time. And we will need the best-trained and the most well-equipped and the most capable military, such as we have today. But it's primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation that requires cooperation around the world ? the very thing this administration is worst at. I will renew our alliances. I will rejoin the community of nations. I will build the kind of cooperative effort that we need in order to be able to win. And most importantly, the war on terror is also an engagement in the Middle East economically, socially, culturally, in a way that we haven't embraced, because otherwise we're inviting a clash of civilizations. And I think this administration's arrogant and ideological policy is taking America down a more dangerous path. I will make America safer than they are." (Sen. John Kerry, Democrat Presidential Candidates Debate, Greenville, SC, 1/29/04)
In January 2004, Kerry Said: "[W]ar On Terror Is Far Less Of A Military Operation And Far More Of An Intelligence-Gathering, Law-Enforcement Operation." (The Iowa Brown & Black Coalition Presidential Forum, Des Moines, IA, 1/11/04)
In September 2003, Kerry Said The War On Terror Was "Far More Of A Law Enforcement" Than "Military" Operation. "t is important to fight terror abroad. And would I rather fight terror abroad than here in this country. But the fight against terror is far more of a law enforcement and intelligence operation than it is a day-to-day huge military operation." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 9/8/03)
In March 2003, Kerry Said: "[W]hat We've Learned Is That The War On Terror Is Much More Of An Intelligence Operation And A Law Enforcement Operation." (NPR's "All Things Considered," 3/19/03)
In June 2002, Kerry Said War On Terror Rhetoric "Is Overblown," And Should "Fundamentally" Focus On Law Enforcement. "[W]hat I think all of us need to focus on is the fact that the rhetoric of this war is overblown in some ways and not focused properly in others. This is not a war as we have known it. This is not a war in which there's a front-line or the troops are going out every day on control. This is fundamentally an intelligence operation and the law enforcement operation and a diplomatic operation." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 6/23/02)
The Kerry Line: John Kerry's Pre-9/11 Worldview
"John Kerry's characterization of terrorism as a 'nuisance' shows that he doesn't recognize the threats facing this country and does not have the vision and determination needed to defeat terrorism. The fact that his top foreign policy adviser sees the War on Terror as a 'metaphor' adds to Kerry's credibility problem on the most important issue facing our nation."
- Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman
Kerry's Pre-9/11 Worldview
Kerry Said Terrorism Is A Law Enforcement Issue Like Prostitution And Gambling That Can Be "Reduced" But Not Ended. "When I asked Kerry what it would take for Americans to feel safe again, he displayed a much less apocalyptic worldview. 'We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance,' Kerry said. 'As a former law-enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally, it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life.'" (Matt Bai, "Kerry's Undeclared War," The New York Times Magazine, 10/10/04)
Kerry Advisor Richard Holbrooke Doesn't Think We're At War. HOLBROOKE: "'We're not in a war on terror, in the literal sense,' says Richard Holbrooke, the Clinton-era diplomat who could well become Kerry's secretary of state. 'The war on terror is like saying 'the war on poverty.' It's just a metaphor.'" (Matt Bai, "Kerry's Undeclared War," The New York Times Magazine, 10/10/04)
Kerry Views The War On Terror As A Law Enforcement Matter
In March 2004, Kerry Balked At Calling War On Terror An Actual War. "The final victory in the war on terror depends on a victory in the war of ideas, much more than the war on the battlefield. And the war - not the war, I don't want to use that terminology. The engagement of economies, the economic transformation, the transformation to modernity of a whole bunch of countries that have been avoiding the future. And that future's coming at us like it or not, in the context of terror, and in the context of failed states, and dysfunctional economies, and all that goes with that." (The New York Times Website, "In His Words: John Kerry," www.nytimes.com, 3/6/04)
In January 2004, Kerry Said The War On Terror May Be "Occasionally Military," But It Is "Primarily An Intelligence And Law Enforcement Operation." NBC'S TOM BROKAW: "Senator Kerry, let me ask you a question. Robert Kagan ? has written recently that Europeans believe that the Bush administration has exaggerated the threat of terrorism, and the Bush administration believes that the Europeans simply don't get it. Who is right?" KERRY: "I think it's somewhere in between. I think that there has been an exaggeration and there has been a refocusing ? The war on terror is less ? it is occasionally military, and it will be, and it will continue to be for a long time. And we will need the best-trained and the most well-equipped and the most capable military, such as we have today. But it's primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation that requires cooperation around the world ? the very thing this administration is worst at. I will renew our alliances. I will rejoin the community of nations. I will build the kind of cooperative effort that we need in order to be able to win. And most importantly, the war on terror is also an engagement in the Middle East economically, socially, culturally, in a way that we haven't embraced, because otherwise we're inviting a clash of civilizations. And I think this administration's arrogant and ideological policy is taking America down a more dangerous path. I will make America safer than they are." (Sen. John Kerry, Democrat Presidential Candidates Debate, Greenville, SC, 1/29/04)
In January 2004, Kerry Said: "[W]ar On Terror Is Far Less Of A Military Operation And Far More Of An Intelligence-Gathering, Law-Enforcement Operation." (The Iowa Brown & Black Coalition Presidential Forum, Des Moines, IA, 1/11/04)
In September 2003, Kerry Said The War On Terror Was "Far More Of A Law Enforcement" Than "Military" Operation. "t is important to fight terror abroad. And would I rather fight terror abroad than here in this country. But the fight against terror is far more of a law enforcement and intelligence operation than it is a day-to-day huge military operation." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 9/8/03)
In March 2003, Kerry Said: "[W]hat We've Learned Is That The War On Terror Is Much More Of An Intelligence Operation And A Law Enforcement Operation." (NPR's "All Things Considered," 3/19/03)
In June 2002, Kerry Said War On Terror Rhetoric "Is Overblown," And Should "Fundamentally" Focus On Law Enforcement. "[W]hat I think all of us need to focus on is the fact that the rhetoric of this war is overblown in some ways and not focused properly in others. This is not a war as we have known it. This is not a war in which there's a front-line or the troops are going out every day on control. This is fundamentally an intelligence operation and the law enforcement operation and a diplomatic operation." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 6/23/02)
