Sunday, March 07, 2004
For some friends of mine who want to know more about what kind of leader this John Kerry fellow would be, here are a few resources.
Senator John Kerry Delivers the Weekly Democratic Radio Response-
excerpt-"Even more shocking, tens of thousands of other troops arrived in Iraq to find that — with danger around every corner — there wasn't enough body armor to protect them. Many of their families on the homefront - mothers and fathers, husbands and wives and children — were forced to raise the money to buy it for them. They went to their neighbors for donations — and dipped into their savings to give their sons and daughters the equipment to save their lives — which the Army should be providing. Last month, a young newlywed in Virginia even gave her husband body armor for Valentine's Day as he prepared to ship out to Iraq.
"Families should be sending pictures and care packages to Iraq — and the Department of Defense should be sending the body armor. Today, I call on President Bush to support a law now in Congress to reimburse each and every family who had to buy the body armor this Administration failed to provide. This month, I will also be introducing a Military Family Bill of Rights to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.
"What we face isn't a question of the budget; it's a question of priorities and values. This Administration has given billions to Halliburton and requested 82 million dollars to protect Iraq's 36 miles of coast line. But they call this basic body armor a 'non-priority' item."
Also, here's a link to his view about what needs to be done in North Korea-
Next Step on Korea
August 06, 2003
Washington Post
by John F. Kerry
excerpt-"Freezing North Korea's reprocessing activities is our most urgent need. We cannot allow North Korea to continue to build its capacity to produce bombs while we are negotiating. Ultimately, our goal is to force North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program through an internationally verifiable process. The administration's negotiating strategy must further both these objectives -- and in a way that prevents the North Koreans from extracting concessions from us absent compliance by them.
Administration officials have said precious little about an immediate freeze, preferring to focus on their oft-repeated demand that North Korea dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for a U.N. promise not to attack. History suggests that Kim Jong Il, a paranoid dictator, is not going to do anything on U.S. demand. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are at the core of the country's security and the regime's survival. And they could provide Pyongyang with a new, lucrative source of income for its cash-strapped economy. A viable strategy for addressing this nuclear crisis must take these factors as well as U.S. and allied security needs into account. This does not mean that we pay off Kim Jong Il to dismantle his program. It means that we approach these negotiations with three basic realities firmly in mind."
Any other inquiries into his expeience and views can easily be found on Kerry's website . (if you like what you see, you can also donate to the campaign there-just sayin... ;)....)
Senator John Kerry Delivers the Weekly Democratic Radio Response-
excerpt-"Even more shocking, tens of thousands of other troops arrived in Iraq to find that — with danger around every corner — there wasn't enough body armor to protect them. Many of their families on the homefront - mothers and fathers, husbands and wives and children — were forced to raise the money to buy it for them. They went to their neighbors for donations — and dipped into their savings to give their sons and daughters the equipment to save their lives — which the Army should be providing. Last month, a young newlywed in Virginia even gave her husband body armor for Valentine's Day as he prepared to ship out to Iraq.
"Families should be sending pictures and care packages to Iraq — and the Department of Defense should be sending the body armor. Today, I call on President Bush to support a law now in Congress to reimburse each and every family who had to buy the body armor this Administration failed to provide. This month, I will also be introducing a Military Family Bill of Rights to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.
"What we face isn't a question of the budget; it's a question of priorities and values. This Administration has given billions to Halliburton and requested 82 million dollars to protect Iraq's 36 miles of coast line. But they call this basic body armor a 'non-priority' item."
Also, here's a link to his view about what needs to be done in North Korea-
Next Step on Korea
August 06, 2003
Washington Post
by John F. Kerry
excerpt-"Freezing North Korea's reprocessing activities is our most urgent need. We cannot allow North Korea to continue to build its capacity to produce bombs while we are negotiating. Ultimately, our goal is to force North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program through an internationally verifiable process. The administration's negotiating strategy must further both these objectives -- and in a way that prevents the North Koreans from extracting concessions from us absent compliance by them.
Administration officials have said precious little about an immediate freeze, preferring to focus on their oft-repeated demand that North Korea dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for a U.N. promise not to attack. History suggests that Kim Jong Il, a paranoid dictator, is not going to do anything on U.S. demand. From the North Korean perspective, nuclear weapons are at the core of the country's security and the regime's survival. And they could provide Pyongyang with a new, lucrative source of income for its cash-strapped economy. A viable strategy for addressing this nuclear crisis must take these factors as well as U.S. and allied security needs into account. This does not mean that we pay off Kim Jong Il to dismantle his program. It means that we approach these negotiations with three basic realities firmly in mind."
Any other inquiries into his expeience and views can easily be found on Kerry's website . (if you like what you see, you can also donate to the campaign there-just sayin... ;)....)
