John Kerry may try to stay on message on the campaign trail, but his past can still catch up with him, even through no fault of his own. Today, the Washington Post tried to bolster his standing as a diplomat and global thinker, and wound up torpedoing him yet again as a man who values world opinion over American security:

Kerry's belief in working with allies runs so deep that he has maintained that the loss of American life can be better justified if it occurs in the course of a mission with international support. In 1994, discussing the possibility of U.S. troops being killed in Bosnia, he said, "If you mean dying in the course of the United Nations effort, yes, it is worth that. If you mean dying American troops unilaterally going in with some false presumption that we can affect the outcome, the answer is unequivocally no."

The Post attempts to spin this response as an example of Kerry's nuance and principles to work within international forums for global change, but the effort falls flat. In fact, Kerry's comment reveals two major flaws in his thinking. First, American troops should only be deployed in battle to protect American interests and/or in support of our national security. We do not maintain our military just to cater to the whims of foreign governments around the world. Ans second, when we talk about protecting our national security, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform always has meaning.

Think about this for just a moment. Kerry doesn't put the value on the life itself -- he only measures it by whether it makes other people like us or not. Someone with a grasp of military matters evaluates the mission, not its popularity, in order to determine its worth. Kerry instead exhibits an obsession with coalitions instead of missions, and the result is a complete paralysis on national security issues that America can ill afford.

Kerry's statement also demonstrates his tone-deafness. What man or woman wearing the uniform wants to hear their commander-in-chief tell them that their life is discounted when the French don't approve of the mission? And how does it sound to Americans in general to hear that America is not worth defending with our lives, but the collection of dictatorships and kleptocracies at Turtle Bay somehow ranks higher for sacrifice?

Kerry's staff should drop a note to the Post thanking them for the help, and inviting them to stop soon.

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» Dying For The UN from Secure Liberty
United States sovereignty is meaningless to John Kerry, or at a minimum, it is worth less than the United Nations. From the Washington Post we get this ignorant statement: Kerry's belief in working with allies runs so deep that he has maintained that ... [Read More]

Tracked on October 20, 2004 9:15 PM

» Kerry: UN Worth Dying For, Not USA from rightpundit.com
Captain Ed at Captain's Quarter has found another news article by the Washington Post showing how John Kerry is not fit to command our troops. The Washington Post article (registration required; if you want to read it, go thru the good Captain's... [Read More]

Tracked on October 21, 2004 7:43 AM