Wednesday, October 20, 2004
COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY
Kerry: U.S. deaths justified if on U.N. mission
In 1994, senator said troops die in vain if it's part of unilateral
effort
Posted: October 20, 2004
3:00 p.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Ten years ago, Sen. John Kerry said the deaths of U.S. military
personnel are justified if they are engaged in a United Nations effort,
but not if they die while fighting in a unilateral operation.
The comment was made while discussing the possibility of U.S. troops
being killed in Bosnia, the Washington Post reported:
"If you mean dying in the course of the United Nations effort, yes, it
is worth that. If you mean dying American troops unilaterally going in
with some false presumption that we can affect the outcome, the answer is
unequivocally no."
Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, has been critical of
President Bush invading Iraq without the assistance and buy-in of certain
European countries, even though the U.S.-led coalition includes over 30
nations.
Bush has criticized his opponent for his insistence that any U.S.
military operation pass a "global test" before being conducted.
Kerry detractors have criticized what they characterize as his need to
get U.N. permission to use military force.
"What it means, practically, is that you always go to the lowest common
denominator," Tom Donnelly, a defense expert at the American Enterprise
Institute, told the Post. "So whatever the least willing member of the
coalition is willing to do, that defines the policy."
