Toronto Star Criticizes Kerry on Iraq
An editorial in The Toronto Star criticizes Kerry for his position on Iraq:
I know what you're all thinking-why in the world do I care what a Canadian newspaper thinks of John Kerry? In short, world opinion about U.S. policies matter. If Canada, our northern neighbor and ally, has doubts about our policies, other countries undoubtedly have much stronger concerns. The rest of the world is hoping Kerry will unseat Bush, but it is important for Kerry to distinguish himself based on his own credentials and vision, rather than simply serving as the "anyone but Bush" candidate.
I am still supporting Kerry, and I urge you to do the same. But Kerry will need to provide a clearer explanation for his vote on Iraq and his beliefs on the use of military force.
"But Kerry comes off looking like "Bush lite" on Iraq, rather than as a candidate with better values and a sounder program. He seems weak. Muddled. Has he learned nothing from a slew of American investigations that have exposed the sloppiness of U.S. intelligence and the shabbiness of the rationale for war?
This is a letdown for American voters who yearn for a real alternative, and a healthier direction. It is not good news for the world, either."
I know what you're all thinking-why in the world do I care what a Canadian newspaper thinks of John Kerry? In short, world opinion about U.S. policies matter. If Canada, our northern neighbor and ally, has doubts about our policies, other countries undoubtedly have much stronger concerns. The rest of the world is hoping Kerry will unseat Bush, but it is important for Kerry to distinguish himself based on his own credentials and vision, rather than simply serving as the "anyone but Bush" candidate.
I am still supporting Kerry, and I urge you to do the same. But Kerry will need to provide a clearer explanation for his vote on Iraq and his beliefs on the use of military force.
posted by Ben at 10:17 AM
5 Comments:
I commend you on putting together an excellent start to your website. I like the daily quotes and the layout is clean and clear. Good luck to you!
PS Kerry did not say he would go to war knowing what he knows now. He said he would still vote to give the president the authority to act, if necessary. He then went on to criticize how Bush rushed to war and has no plan to win the peace. Today his campaign is filling in the details by saying Kerry would have pursued the inspections until their rightful conclusion and would have gone to war ONLY as a last resort, with the agreement of our normal allies. A big difference.
I agree completely. We need Kerry to re-estabolish a connection with the world, who hates us right now. Being Bush-lite will not do it.
jjem!
*enjoys
There's only one thing I have in response to the latter bs, and think about it REAL HARD: the reason Canada anjoys it's "relaxed position" is simple- it keeps its fingers out of other people's wars and politics. Period. The reason other countries hate the US right now is because they are the empitome of hypocrites- they say they fight for "freedom" but instead they fight anyone that is different from them and impose their beliefs through marketing. This is humanity, when a country gets big they will always get corrupt, that's just the way it is. All I can say is learn to read between the lies.
Andy, I appreciate your comments, especially since you had the courage to post on an unabashedly liberal blog.
Personally my opinion on this matter is heavily influenced by the 4.5 months I spent in Europe, mostly Germany. Everywhere I went, even in small towns in countries normally very friendly to America, I found anti-Bush and anti-American graffiti. The fact is, Bush and the US are not respected in 90% of the world. How can we complain about countries' lack of help when we stepped all over them and disrespected them during the run-up to the war? I agree that Kerry's Iraq policy is unfortunately not drastically different than Bush's, which is unfortunate. The whole point of this entry was that Kerry needs to develop a much more substantive policy on Iraq.
As for the UN, I agree that it needs to be reformed. But ignoring what could be a very effective institution does not do anyone any good. As powerful as we are militarily and economically, what good does this do if the nations of the world fear us rather than respect us? I fail to understand the right's argument that the world will be safer if more people hate us. The more we are hated in the Arab world, the easier it will be to recruit terrorists. Bush has failed to take any action on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the terrorism will continue if the status quo does not change.
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