PLYMOUTH N.H. – On Tuesday, October 7, Presidential Candidate Senator John Kerry received questions from The Clock concerning the Iraq War, the Columbian element of the war on drugs, the economy, and his ties to George W. Bush. Kerry’s answers were drawn upon his experiences in the Vietnam War and his own convictions concerning the policies and consequences of the Bush administration.
When asked how his direct experience in the Vietnam War shaped his opinion of war, and how this opinion would guide him in future conflicts, Kerry responded, “It’s had a profound impact on my opinion about the responsibility of leaders to make the right de-cisions about when and how we send people to war.” He added that Bush made the wrong decision, because he broke his promises about making it a last resort and having international support before going to war.
“The lesson I learned is that, as a President, you have to be able to look in the eyes of parents, whose daughters or sons were lost in whatever conflict it is, and be able to say to them that you tried to do everything possible to avoid their loss.” He added, “I don’t think the President passes that test in Iraq.”
Kerry voted for the Iraq War to hold Saddam Hussein accountable due to his history and because of the intellegence given at the time. “I think the vote was correct in terms of the security of our country, but unfortunately the President broke every promise that he made to us about it.” He added that the war was the only way to get inspectors into Iraq to do their job.
Critics of the War on Drugs believe the conflict between the US Military supported Columbian Government and the FARC (Revo-lutionary Armed Forces of Columbia), who tax coca growers within their circle of influence, will eventually escalate into a second, bloodier Vietnam War. Kerry was asked to comment on the ever-increasing role of the US in South American drug policy, the potential for a second Vietnam style clash in Columbia, and his overall opinion on existing drug policies in South America.
“If you have wise decision mak-ers, we won’t get drawn in, and we shouldn’t get drawn in, and we have to be very careful of it.” Kerry said the US can’t get sucked into the gue-rilla component that is separate from the drug component, even though guerillas “have always used drugs as a means of financing their enter-prises.” He said it was important to have a government in Columbia that without violating human rights or using drugs as an excuse to wage war on guerillas will decide what it wants to do about narcotics. He added we need to review that policy because, “Columbia has some seri-ous question marks at this point.”
Kerry said, “I don’t think we’ve put the proper focus on our own anti-drug efforts in America. We’re never going to succeed in completely interdicting.” He said interdiction is only one component solving the drug problem. Enough resources must be put into treat-ment and education in America. “Those are the two most effective pegs on any anti-drug effort, and we’re not sufficiently committed on them in this ountry.”
On the degree of the Bush Ad-ministrations responsibility for the current state of the economy, and how he would go about maintain-ing a stable, healthy economy, Kerry responded the Bush Administration has significantly contributed to the “downturn” of the economy. He pointed to “bad” fiscal policies, “irre-sponsible” tax programs and tax cuts “which contributed to the deficit,” and a lack of investment in infra-structure, education, and scientific exploration “that will help to revive the economy.” Kerry said we need to be far more committed to educa-tion, job creation, incentives that will create more jobs, better international trade relationships, infrastructure in-vestment, and getting people back to work “now.”
“If we push the curve of technol-ogy on alternative and renewable fuels, we start to do more in respect to energy independence.” Kerry stated by lowering the cost of en-ergy, the cost of doing business, and the cost of healthcare, businesses could be more competitive, creat-ing more jobs.Finally, Kerry was asked, if he were to receive the democratic nomination, would it be awkward running against someone who’s a member of the same society (The Skull and Bones) based at his alma matter (Yale University). “The answer is no. It’s not awkward to run against him at all because I disagree with almost every choice he has made as President,” saying Bush was irresponsible with tax and economic policy and has no health care policy.
“He broke his promises on educa-tion. He mislead America about the war and how he would go to war. He’s broken his promises in respect to prescription drugs. He broke his promise about changing the tone in Washington. He’s broken his prom-ise about not creating a deficit and creating jobs in exchange for the tax cut. He broke his promise about not spending social security money.”
Kerry called the Bush adminis-tration the greatest “say one thing, do another” administration he had ever seen. “I look forward to run-ning against him because I think he’s leading America in a radically wrong direction. I intend to stand up and fight for democratic values, and fight to put our country back on track.” As part of the Presidential Candidate Lecture Series, Senator John Kerry will give a talk Tuesday, October 14, at 2:30 p.m. in the HUB Fireplace Lounge.