• Kerry said he’s never wilted or wavered. (oh, really?)
• Curiosity: This debate was supposed to be solely about Foreign Policy & Homeland Security, yet Kerry talked about prescription drugs, global warming and stem cell research. (???) So much for following the debate rules.
• Kerry floats the old, discredited story about armed forces family members buying body armor via the internet/web. This bogus claim was floated during the Democratic primary, and was quickly denounced by the media as completely unfounded. Yet, Kerry voted against the $87 billion for troops. Said in the debate that he misspoke. No, it’s not his words that’s the problem, it was his vote that’s what mattered. Only four Senators vote for the war but against the $87 billion. Two of those Senators are Kerry & Edwards.
• Kerry claimed that we’ve spent $200 billion for the war in Iraq. Wrong. The actual amount is only $120 billion. Earlier in the debate Kerry claimed that we’ve spent too much money for Iraq war, yet later in the debate he stated that he wants to spend more money.
• Kerry wanted a broader United Nations/multi-national support for the war in Iraq (ignoring the unanimous 15-0 UN Security Council vote, and the 30+ nations who’ve supplied troops, training, security, equipment, intelligence, money, humanitarian aid, etc.).
• Let's talk about the United Nations Oil-for-Food Fraud program (France, Russia, Germany):
Congressional investigators say that France, Russia and China systematically sabotaged the former United Nations oil-for-food program in Iraq by preventing the United States and Britain from investigating whether Saddam Hussein was diverting billions of dollars.
The paper also accuses the United Nations office charged with overseeing the program of having "pressed" contractors not to rigorously inspect Iraqi oil being sold and the foreign goods being bought. The program office, headed by Benan Sevan, who is also under investigation by a committee appointed by the United Nations, turned a blind eye to corruption charges, the paper says, because it apparently saw oil-for-food "strictly as a humanitarian program."
Representative Christopher Shays, the Connecticut Republican who chairs the subcommittee, said in an interview that there was no doubt that the abuses were systemic and that blame for the widespread corruption must be shared by Security Council members, the United Nations office that administered the program, and the contractors hired by the United Nations to inspect Iraq's oil exports and aid purchases.
Then there's this:
Add to this the recent bizarre phrase from French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The head of the Figaro press group went to see him about the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq; Raffarin assured him they would soon be freed, reportedly saying, "The Iraqi insurgents are our best allies."
Further on-going, in-depth investigation by journalist Claudia Rossett on this whole story (see previous posts in my blog).
• After squawking about wanting a multi-lateral approach regarding Iraq, Kerry then goes on to want bi-lateral (one-on-one only) talks between the USA and North Korea.
• Kerry claimed that North Korea got nuclear weapons during Bush’s years in office. But the facts are that North Korea had nukes before Bush came into office (they developed them in the 90s, thanks to President Clinton and his former Sec. of State Madeline Albright – the once-vaunted agreement which North Korea then quickly ignored).
• Then, after complaining about North Korea having nukes, Kerry then went on to state that he wants to give Iran nuclear materials and technology “if they promise to not use it for weapons.” (Do we really want to trust the radical leadership of Iran to keep their promise?)
• Kerry mentioned WMDs “coming back & forth across the Iraqi borders.” (Thanks you, Mr. Kerry, for finally noticing that!)
From NewsMax: Retired Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong (USMC) had formally been the number two man in command of the Iraq War. DeLong reported to Brig. Gen. Tommy Franks. According to DeLong - U.S. Military Intelligence had been able to determine that WMDs were smuggled out of the country as U.S. military forces were preparing to liberate Iraq. DeLong made the remarks to New York talk radio listeners:
"I do know for a fact that some of those weapons went into Syria, Lebanon, and Iran."
"Two days before the war, on March 17th, we saw through multiple intelligence channels - both human intelligence and technical (satellite, eavesdrop) intelligence - large caravans of people and things, including some of the top 55 Iraqis, going to Syria."
We also know that before then, they buried some of the weapons of mass destruction. There are also some in Lebanon and probably a small amount in Iran."
"To smuggle the weapons would not require large vehicles."
"In order to transport their biological weapons, they would take their entire experimental weapons system in one or two suitcases - pretty easy to hide."
"Saddam's deputies could have fit the chemical weapon's cache into one or two vans, which they could then bury or drive across on of the borders."
"Human intelligence also indicated that Saddam's deputies also took billions of dollars with them when they went into Syria."
"It's no surprise that the weapons buried in Iraq have yet to be uncovered. Seven eighths of the country is arid desert and the size of California. You could probably bury 100 Empire State buildings and not find them."
• Kerry stated over and over again that he wants “summits” rather than decisive and preemptive action. Talk is cheap. Talk in the face of radical and murderous terrorists throughout the world is downright dangerous.
• Kerry wanted a larger coalition for this current Iraq war Iraq. Yet, we had an even bigger and stronger coalition for the first Gulf War – and Kerry voted against that war.
• Kerry made a WWII reference, stating that our “invading” Iraq after 9/11 is like FDR invading Mexico after Pearl Harbor(???). A much a better correlation is FDR going after Nazi Germany after Pearl Harbor. The US lost almost 300,000 troops over 4 years (6,000 on D-Day alone against Germany). In comparison, the Afghanistan & Iraq War has been over the course of 3 years, and we’ve lost less than 1500 troops. And he calls that a quagmire???
• Curious that Jim Lehrer never brought up Kerry’s 20 year Senate record. He’s voted against scores of weapons and defense systems both before and after the Cold War.
Kerry often touts his eight years on the Senate Intelligence Committee as a prime qualification for office. Kerry promised to "immediately reform the intelligence system," [but] as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee Kerry was absent for 76 percent of the committee's public hearings. Kerry is listed as present at only 11 of the 49 public meetings of the committee while he was a member (from 1993 through January of 2001, when Kerry left the committee).
FactCheck.org examined the official, published records of those hearings. And indeed, Kerry is listed as attending only 11 of those hearings. Kerry's apparent absence from 38 of the hearings actually figures out to an absentee rate of 77.6%.
And, acording to Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson in his book "Reckless Disregard":
During the 1980s and 90s "At a time when his country was enduring terrorist attack upon terrorist attack overseas, Kerry voted to cut funding for the FBI by 60%, to reduce funding for the CIA by 80%, and to slash funding for the National Security Agency by 80%. He did vote, however, to increase funding to the United Nations by 800%." In 1997 he asked a colleague "Now that [the cold war] struggle is over, why is it that our vast intelligence apparatus continues to grow?"
• Kerry claimed that we’ve “outsourced” the battle against Bin Ladin in Afghanistan. No – it’s a different war which needed different tactics (we learned from the Soviet’s mistakes of the 80s). It’s hazardous, mountainous terrain. We needed some of the Afghans for guidance in area, and we used special forces (smaller, specialized, and more precise). We’ve caught or killed 75% of Al Qaida leadership that was in Afghanistan.
• Afghanistan will be holding free and democratic elections next month!
• Remember the Iraqi Top-50 Most Wanted deck of cards? We’ve caught or killed 75% of those Iraqis, including capturing Saddam himself, and killing his two sadistic and murderous sons.
• Iraq has only been self-governing post-war for only four months (we turned over sovereignty in June). They will be holding elections for the first time in decades in January.
• A crucial website for accurate information about the truth in Iraq (by a website called, of all things, The Truth About Iraq)!
• What is Kerry’s “plan” for Iraq? On at least three separate occasions he was asked for specifics from Jim Lehrer, yet Kerry never gave specifics.
• What is Kerry’s “plan” according to his website?
1) Train Iraqi Forces (already doing that)
2) Proceed Iraq Reconstruction (already doing that)
3) Hold Iraqi Elections (already scheduled to do that)
4) Bring in more Allies with a Global Summit (he’s denigrated the allies, calling them “coerced and bribed” – Germany & France have already stated publicly that even if Kerry is elected, they still will not add any troops to Iraq)
• President of Poland wasn’t happy at all with Kerry dismissing his country’s vital contributions toward the war. I’m search for this incredible quote. As soon as I find it, I’ll post it here.
UPDATE: Thanks to PowerLine, I found the quote:
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski on the debate:
It's sad that a Senator with twenty years of experience does not appreciate Polish sacrifice...I don't think it's a question of ignorance. One thing has to be said very clearly: this Coalition is not just the United States, Great Britain and Australia, but there's also contribution of Polish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Spanish soldiers who died in Iraq. It's immoral to not see this involvement we undertook because we believe that we have to fight terrorism together, that we need to show international solidarity, that Saddam Hussein is a danger to the world.
From such a perspective, you can say we are disappointed that our stance and the sacrifice of our soldiers is so marginalised. I blame it on electioneering -- and a message, indirectly expressed by Senator Kerry - that he thinks more of a coalition that would put the United States together with France and Germany, that is those who in the matter of Iraq said "no."
President Bush is behaving like a true Texan gentleman -- he's fighting for the recognition of other countries' contribution in the Coalition.
• According to this report, 9 out of 10 French people want Kerry to win. (Sorry… I don’t vote for French Party Candidates.)
• What does Kerry consider our worst threat? “Nuclear proliferation.”(???) Umm… Terrorists proved they don’t need nukes to be effective: Madrid (trains), Moscow (subway), Moscow (theater), Russia (two planes), Beslan (school), Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bali, North Africa (two US embassies), USS Cole, Israel (countless suicide bombers), the World Trade Center (’93), and of course 9/11 showed that all they needed was 19 willing men, some box cutters and four commercial airplanes. Our worst threat is radical Islamic terrorists.
• Kerry wants a “Global Test”??? Is he out of his frelling mind?! Has he ever heard of national sovereignty?
• From Citizen Smash (at InstaPundit):
THERE WAS A MOMENT in last night’s Presidential Debate that got me angry – and it probably wasn’t the same moment you’re thinking about right now.
KERRY: It is vital for us not to confuse the war, ever, with the warriors. That happened before. And that's one of the reasons why I believe I can get this job done, because I am determined for those soldiers and for those families, for those kids who put their lives on the line. That is noble. That's the most noble thing that anybody can do. And I want to make sure the outcome honors that nobility.
Kerry is promoting a fallacy here. You can’t completely separate the war from the warriors, because we’re the ones that plan and execute the war. Kerry would have you believe that the President has a sand table in the White House War Room, where he gathers his generals around him and commands them on how to fight the war. He’s telling us that he could do a better job directing those generals than Bush has.
Bullshit.
This is not a military dictatorship. The President makes the decision to go to war, after consulting with Congress. He may even approve or veto specific military strategies. But he does not write the war plan – the Pentagon does that. Our war planners are some of the most brilliant, thoughtful, and well-educated warriors on the planet. They’ve studied Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, and Mahan. They’ve dissected and analyzed all the major battles in history, from Thermopylae to Desert Storm. They know about logistics, intelligence, artillery, air support, guerilla tactics, and psychological warfare. They are professionals – the best of the best.
The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who fight these battles are not automatons. We teach our warfighters to think and react. We train them to adapt to the situation on the ground, and learn from their mistakes. And we are proud of what we have accomplished. When Kerry calls Iraq “a grand diversion,” and “the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he insults all of us, and denigrates our efforts.
Read all of it here.
• Kerry Top-10 Flip-Flops from 1st Debate.
• According to Hugh Hewitt, these are the six big Kerry blunders from Debate One.
Kerry may get a tiny bump on "style points," but he'll lose big time due to the lack of serious substance. We don't need an arrogant & verbose legislative debator for president, we need a tested & proven executive leader who will act decisively for the protection of the country he serves.
Like I said way back on July 7th:
BUSH ---- 56% (35-38 states)
KERRY -- 42% (12-15 states, max)
NADER -- 2%
And Republican gains in both the House & Senate
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