Analysis
Headline The headline given by the Grand Rapids press to this article is problematic. Aside from being grammatically incorrect, the meaning of the headline is rather unclear. In the article, Kerry seems to be saying that the troop levels in Iraq are inadequate compared to the scale of the mission. He is not saying the military is not “capable”.
Article Text
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry says the Bush administration has stretched the U.S. military too thin, complicating the mission to create a stable Iraq.
Kerry said the country is in danger of returning to the low point of the Vietnam War in the late 1970s by creating “another hollow Army,” with too few ready to fight.
“Despite all its talk of transforming our military, the Bush administration has done far too little to adapt our forces to the new missions they have to undertake,” Kerry said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Mo.
“We went into Iraq with too few troops to prevent looting and crime, and we failed to secure nearly a million tons of conventional weapons now being used against our troops,” he said. “We failed to build alliances and squandered the opportunity to generate wider support inside Iraq, in the Arab world, and among the major powers. These mistakes have complicated our mission and complicated our objective – a stable Iraq with a representative government secure in its borders.”
Kerry said the Bush administration has extended tours of duty, delayed retirements and prevented enlisted personnel from leaving the service. He said it may increase the troop force, but it’s “on the backs of the men and women who’ve already fulfilled their obligation to the armed forces and to our country, and it runs counter to the traditions of an all-volunteer military.”
“They have effectively used a stop-loss policy as a backdoor draft,” he said.
Article Ommitted from The Grand Rapids Press Version
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry has failed to support the troops financially in the Senate, voting against weapons systems and military benefits. He cited the Massachusetts senator’s vote last year against the $87 billion to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and his failure to appear in the Senate Wednesday to vote for Bush’s request for $25 billion for this fall’s military operations in the two countries.
The Senate voted 95-0 to provide the money. Kerry was campaigning in Florida.
“His speech is filled with empty promises and campaign rhetoric that is completely disconnected with his 20-year record in the United States Senate,” Schmidt said Thursday.
Kerry’s speech on modernizing the military for new threats is the third policy address during an 11-day focus on national security. He said the job of leading the military is central to the presidency, just as it was in Truman’s day.
“Strong leadership demands more than the willingness to use force,” he said. “It means directing the use of the right tools at the right time for the right purpose and the right cause. Only then will we be strong and more respected around the world.”
Kerry also announced a senior military advisory group that will advise his campaign on defense and national security. Members include primary rival and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark and two former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili and retired Navy Admiral William Crowe.
Related posts:
- Iraq Watch: Unrest in the Military, No WMD, Bush and Kerry on Iraq
- Iraq Watch: Fighting in Najaf, Military Contracts and Reconstruction, Women and Torture, John Kerry’s Support of the Occupation
- Kerry still Supports giving Bush Authority to start Iraq War
- Iraq Watch: Growing Iraqi Resistance, Kerry on Iraq, Bush’s RNC Address
- And the Difference is? Counting the Similarities Between Bush and Kerry
