Oct 11th, 2004, 07:56 PM
How Kerry could win
"You know, I hesitate to say this for fear that the president and his campaign team will twist my words to their favor, but I feel that's it's improtant that the American people understand just how much contrast there is between my plan for the War on Terror and his. Obviously, as I have said many times over in the last few months, his has proven to be a failure. I have been accused of being less than clear about my own plan, and I accept that criticism as fair. I'm here today to state unequivically for the campaign record just how wrong the president is when he claims that my plan is 'just like his.'"
"The president has prosecuted this war so far based in the mistaken belief that we can and therefore should punish the so-called 'state-sponsors' of terror groups. His theory holds that with the threat of overwhelming force we can coerce certain leaders to crack down on terrorists operating within their borders or, as in some cases, stop them from actually funding terrorist activities overtly. To a degree, he has a point, though his theory is fundamentally flawed."
"In the 1980's, I served in the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations. Our group was charged with finding and eliminating the illicit methods Latin American drug cartels were using to launder their money in certain international banks. Though were we weren't investigating Middle-Eastern terrorists at the time, I learned a few things about how operations such as Osama Bin Laden's attack of September 11, 2001 are funded and planned. The methods we developed back then were adopted as fundamental parts of the Patriot Act and are used to chase terrorist money funnelled through the same channels today."
"Where I come from, bragging is not considered civilized behavior. I do the things I feel are important, rather than spend time tooting my own horn about past accomplishments. When the president accuses me of being unwilling to discuss what he derisively calls my 20 year liberal record in the Senate, I'd ask you to remember that I was fighting to protect my country from international threats back when he was still managing a baseball team in Texas."
"My view of how terrorists operate and how we can best defeat them is better informed than the president's theory that simply threatening and posturing to so-called state-sponsors will somehow make the terrorists go away. He says I prefer a law-enforcement approach. At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, I'll explain why that's the only approach with any hope of victory in the War on Terror."
"Terrorist groups like Al Qaeda impose themselves on weak regimes such as that of the Taliban in Afghanistan. They operate like bullies, common street thugs, just as we are now witnessing first hand in Iraq. They operate outside the law, and law-enforcement is exactly what they need. The president has called the War on Terror a 'clash of civilizations.' I say that's giving terrorists far too much credit. Those that kidnap aid workers and force tearful pleas for mercy from them before sawing their heads off are not what I'd call civilized. Terrorists are the enemies of civilization."
"My fellow Americans, this is a clash between civilization and the forces of chaos. Terrorists do not function because of state sponsorship. They operate in spite of the existence of states and nations, despite the rule of law. Their goal is to destroy governments, not to be sponsored by them. Our experiences in Iraq have shown us that terrorists, like vermin, hide when our troops show up to invade a country. We attacked and deposed Saddam Hussein, but that did nothing to hurt Al Qaeda."
"President Bush is too heavily invested in his flawed theories to understand this. These are the same flawed theories that brought more chaos and thus Al Qaeda and terror to Iraq. We need to be asking ourselves honestly what the president's plan is after Iraq. Which country are we going to attack and destabilize next? Part of regime change is inevitably a weakening of the government structure of any country, and Iraq is proof that weakness attracts terrorism and terrorists. Which country are we planning to spread terrorism to next?"
"Contrary to the president's claims, very few of the fighters captured in Iraq are foreigners. The terrorists we are capturing in Iraq are mostly Iraqi people, driven to insurgency by the president's inability or refusal to make the necessary plans for peace after Saddam Hussein was deposed. He thought all we had to do was attack the country and everything else would magically fall into place."
"Instead of falling into place, the situation in Iraq has fallen deeper into chaos, which is the ideal breeding ground for terrorists. By removing what little civilization was left in Iraq after 12 years of brutal sanctions, the president strengthened the power of terror by inflicting it on the Iraqi people. They have hope to be better off than they were before, nut there's still a lot of hard work to do. I supported the removal of Saddam Hussein. He was a terrible man. I also support the War on Terror. The single greatest threat to civilization in this new century is the chaotic threat of terrorists with Weapons of Mass Destruction capable of leveling entire cities in any country they choose."
"I do not, however, support the decision the president made to rush to war in Iraq without thinking it through, without taking the time to make sure it was done right. The people of Iraq deserved more than hope and luck, and we should have given them more. The fathers and mothers of the American soldiers that have fallen in Iraq deserved to know their sons and daughters were dying as a last resort, not because their Commander in Chief felt that taking out Saddam Hussein might show terrorists how powerful America is. We know now that Al Qaeda had virtually nothing to do with Saddam's regime. What effect has the removal of Saddam had on Al Qaeda? We opened up a new front for them in Iraq, one much closer to home for them, and many people have suffered for it."
"There is still hope that we can leave Iraq much better than we found it. No matter what, I am determined that America can help bring peace and democracy to the people of that nation, and I am committed that we should do whatever is required to see that happens as quickly as possible. The president has recently started to institute the kinds of plans that people like me were asking for back when he was asking us to give him a blank check for $87 Billion. Now that the presidential election of 2004 is almost here, over a year later, security and quality of life are becoming areas of greater focus in Iraq, and I'm just glad these efforts are finally getting made. When the invasion of Iraq was still being planned, make no mistake, there were people like me asking to be heard, people that wanted to make sure a plan for the peace was in place. We were shut out of those meetings, and Iraq has suffered for it. Now that the president's performance review is up, he's finally making some efforts to bring peace to Iraq. Too little, too late."
"When the administration announced it's new plan for a safer, more secure Iraq last week, they said the announcement was due in part to pressure from my campaign. I ask you, if my positions on the War on Terror can influence White House policies in such a positive way before I'm even elected president, how much safer will we all be when the Kerry Administration is guiding America's foreign policy?"
"I know that when you all go to vote in a few weeks that the main worry on your minds will be the safety and security of our Homeland. I want you to remember that I, like most people in Washington including the president, understand that a successful War on Terror is the key to that goal, and that I will not falter in pursing victory. I want you to remember that while the president is offering four more years of the same flawed theories, I am offering a better plan, based in the understanding that to win the War on Terror, we must go in knowing that we are fighting a war of civilization against chaos itself. We will not achieve victory by pursuing Mr. Bush's misguided plan of attacking random nations, risking lives, wasting Billions of dollars and destroying age-old alliances while making the world a more dangerous place. We must aggressively engage the terrorists themselves and destroy them. If we are to spread freedom, then that can only be done by example, not at the threat of violence. America is not free because some other country forced us to be."
"Despite all odds, and no matter the costs, Afghanistan and Iraq will stand as tributes to freedom and prosperity for all of the people of the Middle East to see. We will finish what we began. Freedom is indeed a temptation to those that are denied it by their governments, and if we can succeed in those two countries they will stand as beacons to oppressed people everywhere; monuments to what the world can accomplish when we all unite for the greater good. It is light and order that will defeat chaos and win the War on Terror. The prospect of four more years of misguided attacks and diplomatic failures threatens to dim that light and disorder the world further, strengthening chaos and endangering our success in this war."
"If we must risk our sons and daughters and the lives of countless oppressed people all over the world that might fall in the path of our military forces, then I believe we should take great pains to make sure no life is taken unnecessarily. That is our most basic duty as the stewards of civilization, and my committment to this ideal is what will see us to victory in the War on Terror and to success in Iraq and Afghanistan."
"When the president says my plan and his plan are basically the same thing, please don't let him fool you. Mine is a plan for victory, strenghtened by the many years I have fought to protect this country, both as a soldier and a Senator, and when asked, the president has admitted that he doesn't think he can win the War on Terror. He doesn't think it's the kind of war that can be won. I disagree, and that's why I'm asking for your permission to lead this country back on to the path to success, victory and freedom for all."
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