Obama Echoes Kerry; Draws Criticism From Romney
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama came under fire Tuesday for saying that U.S. troops in Afghanistan are “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians.” The junior senator from Illinois made the comment Monday at a campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire.
“We’ve got to get the job done there,” he said of Afghanistan. “And that requires us to have enough troops so that we’re not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there.”
The comment drew a rebuke Tuesday from the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
“That is a very troubling remark on so many levels,” said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden. “Most importantly, it’s emblematic of Senator Obama’s lack of experience for the job of commander-in-chief. But it’s also an entirely inaccurate condemnation of the efforts of the men and women of the United States military who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
A spokesman for Obama, who will speak at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Missouri next week, did not immediately respond to Madden’s criticism.
There once was a presidential candidate, also a senator, who made similar comments to those recently made by Senator Obama, and they came back to haunt said presidential candidate, despite the fact those comments were made 36 years ago on April 22, 1971, by John Kerry:
They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
Will Barack Obama be this election’s John Kerry?
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TAGS: Barack Obama, John Kerry, Mitt Romney, New Hampshire.
Aaron Margolis is a life long resident of the Bay State, and works at an architectural firm north of Boston. Aaron has a Master of Architecture Degree from Boston Architectural College and is currently in the process of becoming of a Registered Architect.
“Will Barack Obama be this election’s John Kerry?”
If by that you mean – the Democratic nominee who is defeated by the Republican nominee…..God! I hope so!!!!
oh please.. like obama could get the nomination…
Voodoo Daddy – That’s what I said at this point in the last presidential primary! I laughed when people asked me if I thought John Kerry could be the nominee. I would say “Once you get a good look at John Kerry, you will see how silly that question is!”
Stranger – and more awful – things have happened.
I think the difference between Obama and Kerry is that Kerry KNEW what he was saying. Kerry KNEW he was lying when he made his statements. Obama THINKS he know’s what he is saying. He has no idea. He’s just a dope.
I’ll give you that V, Kerry knew he was lying. The Obama phenom just astounds me. When you think that he is Senator/Presidential candidate becasue Jeri Ryan didn’t want to go to a sex club in Paris a million years ago…….amazing……
Hahahaha. Outstanding observation Maggie! Jeri Ryan………oh I’m sure she’s done worse too, being in Hollyweird and all. She really wanted to be 6 of 9 on the show…….
I wonder if Obama was white if we would have ever heard of him………sounds racist, but it isn’t. You can’t tell me there aren’t a dozen better qualified pols in his state alone……..oh the humanity.
I don’t see what the problem is, Obama was pretty much on the ball here. Have any of you talked to any of our veterans from these two fronts, its a disaster over there. We had no plan going in and we lack leadership to get us out and accomplish something. Do I think Obama is right being a Veteran, yes. Do I think he will solve the proble, no way. Sad reality is that every candidate running is out of touch with the realities of the homefront and our wars overseas. I pray that a real leader will step it up and realize that we can’t just run away from these battles overseas, but we need to get a plan that actuall works to avoid the potential cycle of genocide and violence that will occur if we pull away now. Seriously, when was the last time we have a President who actually saw action. McCain did, but he showed his true colors as a leader and he will fail us also.
**”We’ve got to get the job done there,” he said of Afghanistan. “And that requires us to have enough troops so that we’re not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there.”**
All right. I’ll bite. Marine – Which way are you taking this remark?
A: Obama thinks there are sufficient troop levels in Afghanistan currently and reducing them would force the remaining troops to simply “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there”?
or
B: Obama thinks that current troop levels in Afghanistan are insufficient to the point that troops (just American? all NATO forces?) are doing nothing more than “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there”?
Because if the answer is “A”, my response is that to reduce troop levels would be a bad idea but nothing could cause American troops to indiscriminately kill civilians wholesale as a matter of policy (mistakes happen, individual psychos put their own plans into play outside of ROE).
Now, if the answer is “B” that is simply a blatant lie. Is it a lie of ignorance as V states (“He’s just a dope.”)? Or is it a malicious, calculated, politically motivated lie (like Kerry and his WinterSoldier BS)? I don’t know. I don’t care.
To answer the question posed by Marine “Have any of you talked to any of our veterans from these two fronts, its a disaster over there.” Yes, my friend, extensively. I have many friends who are veterans of this and other conflicts and still others who are currently serving. More to the point, in a few short months, the favorite Naval Consort will pack my teeny-tiny heart into his seabag and head back to the Gulf for his 3rd deployment since 9/11.
I am aware that there are problems with many aspects of the war as it was planned and executed in both Afghanistan and Iraq. None of those problems include “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians”. The current military operations are being conducted like no other in the history of man. The care taken to prevent and reduce civilian casualties is unprecedented. If Obama was “on the ball” with that remark it was an eight ball, my friend.
Marine, don’t disappoint me by coming back with BS about Abu Ghraib, Haditha, Hamdania, etc. Those incidents are abberations and not indicitive of U.S. policy or ROE. Nor do they reflect the honorable intent of our military men and women.