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Sun 3 Oct, 2004 12:33 pm
Senator Kerry said during the debate Thursday night that we do not have allies in Iraq. He means that we don't have the countries of France, Russia, and Germany, which in his mind, we apparently need to have their approval before we act in our own defense. We do have allies in Iraq and to not acknowledge their service and courage would be, and is an insult to them. Senator Kerry is insulting the United Kingdom. Senator Kerry is insulting Poland. Senator Kerry is insulting South Korea, Italy, the Ukraine, the Netherlands, Romania, Japan, Denmark, Bulgaria, Thailand, El Salvador, Hungary, Australia, Mongolia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Albania, Estonia, Tonga, Singapore, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, and Armenia. All of these countries are our allies, and either have troops in Iraq or will have troops soon. They recognized the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and answered the call when France, Russia, and Germany didn't, and not because they didn't see the threat but that is where they got their oil supply from. For Senator Kerry to not recognize the great contribution they play in Iraq is as insulting as it is stupid.
Na Zdrowie, Senator Kerry...
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Polish President disses Democrat President wannabe
Kerry's campaign to win friends and influence allies continues to bear fruit around the world. The Americans might be bearing 90% of costs and 90% of casualties, but the rest of the Coalition doesn't even get 10% respect from Kerry.
This is how the Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski (who happens to be an ex-communist) reacted to Kerry's remarks during the presidential debate (
link in Polish, my translation):
"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."
Source
PS........Welcome to A2K, rameses594
JustWonders wrote:Na Zdrowie, Senator Kerry...
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Polish President disses Democrat President wannabe
Kerry's campaign to win friends and influence allies continues to bear fruit around the world. The Americans might be bearing 90% of costs and 90% of casualties, but the rest of the Coalition doesn't even get 10% respect from Kerry.
This is how the Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski (who happens to be an ex-communist) reacted to Kerry's remarks during the presidential debate (
link in Polish, my translation):
"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."
Source
Amen Aleksander
I can't wait to hear how Kerry responds to these comments -- if he dares.
This is the man who would have us believe that he can improve relations with our allies. If he gets elected he'll be bringing more new problems with him then any he can solve with the perfidious France or Germany.
Finn - he won't dare comment.
What's worse...it's highly doubtful you'll see the Polish president's comments anywhere in the NY or LATimes.
Yes, but when Fidel Castro holds an anti-Bush rally in Cuba, that some how makes the papers. Then the left claims there is no liberal bias in the media.
The reason that not many people are making hay over his comment is because they know the allies we have Iraq though they mean well I guess are still not in a position to be of a help to us like those countries you all just dismissed and that is why we are having to bear 90% of the burden in cost of lives and money.
As my kids used to say when they were younger and it was in style--Duh.
We do bear the majority of work in Iraq, we are the strongest and wealthiest country there and have a duty to do so, but the Senator insulted them plain and simple.
Those that followed Bush into this unjustified war doesn't need insulting. They did that all by themselves.
revel wrote:The reason that not many people are making hay over his comment is because they know the allies we have Iraq though they mean well I guess are still not in a position to be of a help to us like those countries you all just dismissed and that is why we are having to bear 90% of the burden in cost of lives and money.
As my kids used to say when they were younger and it was in style--Duh.
I would agree with your statement completely, revel, except that the UK has suffered more casualities and spent more money than all the other allies added together. That aside, I agree.
Will a comment like that it is hard to believe that the Democratic Party wants there to be a stronger world community.
It's funny, rameses, but Tony Blair was good friends with Clinton but he doesnt seem to have hit it off with either Bush or Kerry.
I think the criticism is against ad-hoc coallitions that snub wider, world organizations like the UN and its Security Council.
For all of lambasting done against the UN, the US administration is still trying to work through it to gain a mesure of world legitimacy.
Grand Duke wrote:It's funny, rameses, but Tony Blair was good friends with Clinton but he doesnt seem to have hit it off with either Bush or Kerry.
And also admitted Iraq was based on bad intel and apologized to his constituients.
http://www.iht.com/articles/540940.html
Too bad our administration would never consider doing such an honest and truthful thing. Instead it's more of the same.
revel wrote:The reason that not many people are making hay over his comment is because they know the allies we have Iraq though they mean well I guess are still not in a position to be of a help to us like those countries you all just dismissed and that is why we are having to bear 90% of the burden in cost of lives and money.
As my kids used to say when they were younger and it was in style--Duh.
Oh right.
So we should hang on the every word of Chirac and Schroeder because they blew us off, but dismiss the opinions of those who actually stood by us.
Perfectly reasonable, I guess, if one is a Liberal.
cicerone imposter wrote:Those that followed Bush into this unjustified war doesn't need insulting. They did that all by themselves.
Perhaps, but France and Germany (both up to their ears in deals with Saddam) hardly default to sainthood by not following Bush. Kerry and his supporters have no real idea how this pandering to The Chocolate Makers infuriates a very large segment of the population.
The point is that Kerry has made it a central issue in his campaign that he is better able to win the support of our allies than George Bush.
Either Kerry doesn't believe England, Australia, Spain, Poland etc etc are our allies or he is clearly full of shite.
Even Bush has insulted France and Germany the way Kerry has insulted the members of the Coalition, and recently Alawi.
One can argue that they, for whatever reasons, deserve to be insulted. (Hell, I'm all for insulting France and Germany), but it is inane to then argue that the insulter can do a better job of gaining the cooperation of the insulted than the current president.
Lol - well, my country is an "ally" in Iraq - and I am not in the least insulted by Kerry's comment - well, no more so thna by any careless American ignorance about Australia.
I assume the point he was making was that international support for the war was very low? And that even Britain and Australia have thoughts about getting out? - (Britain, especially, is in great internal pressure to get out, and the Oz Opposition leader is talking of a withdrawal of troops, and an emphasis on nation-building) leaving the US effectively alone to manage what I fear is a deteriorating situation. (I hope I am wring about the latter, by the way, though I fiercely oppose the war)
That the citizens of both Australia and the UK were/are angry with their political leaders for participating in the "coalition of the willing" says more than what any pundit wishes to say about this "coalition" in the US.
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