Senator Kerry Speaks!

I listened to Senator’s Kerry’s speech at the DNC. In fact, I printed out the speech transcript. Thoughts have been swirling through my mind. I noted that applause was the greatest when he made promises to the people about new government programs and anything couched diplomatically, but clearly bashing, the current administration.

Kerry spoke of his experience in Berlin when he bicycled through the gates. ”I saw
the fear in the eyes of people who were not free”. I cannot help but wonder why he
does not realize that the same fear has been in the eyes of Afghani and Iraqi people
for many years. These people, although from a vastly different culture than the
Europeans, have been longing for an opportunity to be free. Is he even aware of the
many women in Afghanistan who longed for the freedom that his wife holds so dear?
Does he know how many Afghani women have registered to vote, or does voter registration belong only to the Americans? Has he read any of the Iraqi blogs who so eloquently describe their hopes for the freedom we Americans have. Does he realize
how many Iraqis are taking the freedom of speech to their hearts? Blogs are
multiplying each day and include writings and pictures from a from a 13 year old
girl to mature professional people. Americans, Europeans, Asians and Australians
read these blogs daily and have direct communication with the bloggers. Not all
views of the Americans and the coalition are positive but, despite the negatives they
face in their daily lives, they are reaching out for democracy and a better life. What better way is there to fight for hearts and minds? What better way to assure that radical Islamofascist views do not take hold in Iraq. These people need time to trulytrust Western nations. What they do not need is for the US to hasten our departure before a strong, democratic federation is in place, through elections by and for the people, with adequate quantity and quality of their nations defense is accomplished. Are American and European people the only ones who deserve freedom? Are we so lacking in fire stations in America that we can ill afford to build one in Baghdad? We cannot take all of the world’s huddling masses, yearning to be free, within our
borders. When Kerry says, “the measure of our character is our willingness to give of ourselves for others and for our country”, what others is he speaking of? Is Kerry’s 0.07% of his reported income, that he donated to charity, the measure of our
willingness to give of ourselves. Is this the example we, as Americans, are to emulate if he is leading us?

Kerry states, “We are a nation at war—a global War on Terror against an enemy
unlike any we have never known before”. Despite the unknown aspects of the enemy, Kerry voices repeatedly, that clear, concise, executable plans for the postwar priod,
should have been made well in advance of the start of the war. He redefines his views
at frequent intervals, but cannot grant the administration the opportunity of redefining plans on the post war phase in Afghanistan and Iraq. Can he say ,as a truth teller to the American people, that any one of our various conflicts and subsequent nation rebuilding went off without a hitch? Were all of our past military plans perfect? Did we rapidly leave Japan, Germany, South Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo etc. rapidly? What is Kerry’s plan in Iraq if his diplomatic overtures do not widen the coalition? It is possible that they will fail. What then? How soon will we cut and run?


According to Kerry, “We need to rebuild our alliances, so that we can get the
terrorists before they get us. I defended this country as a young man and I
will defend it as President. I will never hesitate to use force when it is required”.
“I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security”. These are Kerry’s own words. Can anyone tell me how this differs from
what President Bush did for our nation? Does Kerry not realize that France and
Germany would never have voted with us and would exercise their veto over toppling Saddam. Does the documentation of the ‘food for oil’ scandal not make him question
diplomatic skills as a means of gaining their support?

“For four years, we have heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They’re what we live by. They’re about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families”. My question is this,
“are American families the only families of value?” Are the families who have
suffered under the Taliban rule and Saddam’s brutality of less value ? We listened to
the UN and ended the gulf war without taking out Saddam. To our great shame, thousands of Iraqis were killed because we encouraged them to overthrow Saddam
and then nobody came to help. With the sanctions, food for oil, and the fact that the money Iraq got never went to food or medicine for his people, how would the Iraqis ever free themselves of Saddam and his sons?

Kerry assures us that he will be strong on terrorism. “Any attack will be met with a
swift and certain response”. Hello, does anybody recall we have been attacked. Do Americans want to wait for another attack before we actively engage the terrorists?