Whose service matters more? [Archive] - Marine Corps

thedrifter

02-18-04, 06:33 AM

Issue Date: February 23, 2004

Kerry isn’t credible to many in military

By Robert F. Dorr

What will it mean for military people if John Kerry becomes the Democratic nominee for president?
The junior senator from Massachusetts arouses a range of reactions from current and former members of the armed forces — and from me.

“I think he talks out of both sides of his mouth,” said a retired Air Force colonel who completed two combat tours in Vietnam. “When it was convenient, he was an anti-war peacenik. Now that military service has become respectable again, he emphasizes his military accomplishments.”

Others like Kerry’s war record. A Vietnam veteran said, “He was a brown-water sailor in Vietnam. His record as a Swift boat skipper with scores of raids up the Mekong Delta’s rivers and canals is legendary. He could have sat it all out at the O-Club at Cam Ranh Bay but insisted on combat duty and persisted until he got it.”

Kerry’s Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts are the real thing. As a Navy lieutenant junior grade under fire, he turned his boat back into harm’s way to rescue a crew member who fell overboard.

But does that matter? I don’t think so. My impression is that most military people don’t think so, either.

“If we elected only war heroes, we would miss out on a lot of great leaders,” a former B-52 pilot said. “I want somebody I’m comfortable with.”

Kerry returned from war to join a rebellion in America. In a celebrated 1971 anti-war protest, he threw away military ribbons. There is dispute about whether the ribbons were his or someone else’s. Kerry retains his medals from the war.

Does being an anti-war protester make Kerry a poor candidate?

I don’t think so, but some military people do. Never mind that in 1971, many people in America opposed the war in Vietnam. Today, the nation is at war again. Those images of Kerry’s anti-war protests don’t fit in the America of today.

Ultimately, what matters is not what Kerry did but what he would do.

I believe the greatest danger to this nation comes not from terrorists but from deficit spending. I believe the war in Iraq was a mistake and that we should have concentrated on those who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001. I want to reduce government borrowing but increase the armed forces.

Above all, I believe we can sort out the issues that divide us as a nation only if both major parties offer serious, credible candidates.

Although military folk often are portrayed as a monolith of President Bush supporters, many say they share my view. They want to stop government borrowing. They see the enemy as Osama bin Laden, not Saddam Hussein. They want to increase the armed forces to ease today’s relentless op tempo.

Above all, they want a reasoned debate about real issues.

Kerry fails all of these tests. That is why I hope Kerry will not be the Democratic nominee.

The Bush administration, with help from Congress, is spending money that doesn’t exist while cutting taxes. The federal deficit for fiscal 2004, depending on whose numbers you believe, will be $477 billion, $500 billion or $521 billion.

That’s a big swath of red ink and could lead to runaway inflation.

Some Democratic candidates want to reverse this trend. But Kerry has his own tax-cut plan that appears to require more government borrowing.

The Bush administration was doing well against al-Qaida in Afghanistan and around the world when it shifted gears to invade Iraq. Kerry voted in the Senate to support the Iraq invasion.

After resisting any increase in the armed forces, the Bush administration is seeking a 33,000-troop increase in the size of the Army and calling it temporary.

Kerry says he would increase the military by 40,000 troops. Details are sparse. The proposal is inconsistent with Kerry’s long record of voting against military weapons programs.

Kerry has two problems. The first is a problem of consistency. The second is that his positions, at least those he espouses today, sound too similar to Bush’s.

If you like the Kerry of today, you’ll probably vote for Bush.

If you don’t support Bush, you probably won’t want Kerry, either.

Either way, Kerry is the wrong candidate for president in the Nov. 2 election.

The writer, an Air Force veteran, is the author of numerous books on Air Force topics, including “Air Force One.” His e-mail address is robertdorr@aol.com.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2630809.php

Sempers,

Roger
:marine: