John Kerry, Anti War Then and Pro War Now

Discussion in 'Politics Discussion' started by Casper, Nov 2, 2014.

  1. Casper

    Casper Well-Known Member

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    Fascinating to see the difference between what John Kerry was/said back in 1970/71 and what he says/does now

    [h=1]Vietnam Veterans Against the War Statement by John Kerry to the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations
    [/h] [h=2]April 23, 1971[/h]We could come back to this country, we could be quiet, we could hold our silence, we could not tell what went on in Vietnam, but we feel because of what threatens this country, not the reds, but the crimes which we are committing that threaten it, that we have to speak out.... In our opinion and from our experience, there is nothing in South Vietnam which could happen that realistically threatens the United States of America. And to attempt to justify the loss of one American life in Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos by linking such loss to the preservation of freedom, which those misfits supposedly abuse, is to us the height of criminal hypocrisy, and it is that kind of hypocrisy which we feel has torn this country apart.
    We found that not only was it a civil war, an effort by a people who had for years been seeking their liberation from any colonial influence whatsoever, but also we found that the Vietnamese whom we had enthusiastically molded after our own image were hard put to take up the fight against the threat we were supposedly saving them from.
    We found most people didn't even know the difference between communism and democracy. They only wanted to work in rice paddies without helicopters strafing them and bombs with napalm burning their villages and tearing their country apart. They wanted everything to do with the war, particularly with this foreign presence of the United States of America, to leave them alone in peace, and they practiced the art of survival by siding with whichever military force was present at a particular time, be it Viet Cong, North Vietnamese or American.
    We found also that all too often American men were dying in those rice paddies for want of support from their allies. We saw first hand how monies from American taxes were used for a corrupt dictatorial regime. We saw that many people in this country had a one-sided idea of who was kept free by the flag, and blacks provided the highest percentage of casualties. We saw Vietnam ravaged equally by American bombs and search and destroy missions, as well as by Viet Cong terrorism - and yet we listened while this country tried to blame all of the havoc on the Viet Cong.

    http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Primary/Manifestos/VVAW_Kerry_Senate.html

    So that was the young John Kerry then, so how did he become the very essence and embodiment of that which he fought against decades ago?
     
  2. Thejamal

    Thejamal Guest

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    It's the nature of being a politician. Always flip flopping, always sticking your finger up to see which way the wind is blowing and following that in order to stay in power and stay in office.

    To be fair though, it's not really reasonable to expect someone to maintain the same viewpoint over the course of 40 years on one topic and have your opinion change. But this is hardly the first thing Kerry has flopped on in his political career.
     
  3. Rhoda D'Ettore

    Rhoda D'Ettore Guest

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    True people develop and grow. Their ideals change. But I can't help but to think Kerry was already charting his course back then. He catered to the people who were the most demonstrative, which gave him a following. In his position now, he cannot appear to be weak. He has to look strong, commanding, and decisive. I just don't think any of them realize how ridiculous they all look/sound when they do this. I never thought Kerry looked presidential or authoritative in any way.
     
  4. springbreeze

    springbreeze Well-Known Member

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    To be honest, I don't think it is fair for us to expect anyone, politicians and non-politicians, to believe the same thing 40+ years later. Most people don't. I know in just 10 years, I've changed many of my beliefs. I also think in general, youth brings on a more idealist, for-the-people mindset. With age comes more years of financial worries, knowledge (for good and bad) and corruption. Life changes. People change. Very little remains the same.
     
  5. Casper

    Casper Well-Known Member

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    Yes, naturally people's views change as they get older/circumstances change/new information becomes available etc but I have to question the motivation for such a fundamental and diametrically opposed change and it appears to me to be founded on money and power.

    Can anyone pinpoint a tipping point for this change?

    Christopher Hitchens was another who's dramatic turnaround from anti war to pro war appears based on financial incentive and 'mainstream acceptance'.
     
  6. Rainman

    Rainman Senior Investor

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    Circumstances change. There are times you may not support military action because your 'help' is not needed somewhere. In Vietnam for example it was nothing more than countries with opposing ideologies flexing muscles in some foreign land. The U.S didn't need to be there. Right now though with terrorists popping up all over the globe, even someone who was against war back then would quite obviously change their stance on war because sitting back and doing nothing would embolden those people/terrorists and make things worse. But then again it's the nature of politicians to go with the flow of popular opinion.
     
  7. Gelsemium

    Gelsemium Senior Investor

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    That's just the way politics act, one day they believe in peace, the other day they believe in war, this is the way our countries are run as well, floating with the wind.
     
  8. gmckee1985

    gmckee1985 Senior Investor

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    I wouldn't label him as pro war. He's been a pretty weak secretary of state. The Obama administration in particular is reluctant to use military force. I think the guy is just a political opportunist. I don't think he has any strong views either way. He just says what he thinks we gain him the most popularity and serves at the wishes of the president.
     
  9. Gelsemium

    Gelsemium Senior Investor

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    What the media say not always reflect the reality and like you say once the media label a person like pro or anti-war it's really hard to see that label disappear.
     
  10. Determined2014

    Determined2014 Guest

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    I do not believe that John Kerry is a guy who can stand firm for what he wants or thinks is right for the people, he is like a chameleon, he changes to please people or does what he is told to do without thinking of the reputation of his charecter.
     

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