No counterparts to the young Kerry at Afghanistan hearing

[bigtree]

April 22, 2009

WASHINGTON - Thirty-eight years ago today, a soldier fresh from Vietnam riveted the nation by recounting the horrors of a far-away war, famously asking the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

The speech by 27-year-old John Kerry launched his rise from antiwar protester to presidential nominee to chairman of that very same powerful committee.

Tomorrow Senator Kerry will listen as veterans of the war in Afghanistan shine a spotlight on a conflict that a small but growing number of Americans are beginning to question, even as President Obama increases troops. But in a sign of how much Kerry - and the country - has changed since 1971, tomorrow's hearings will feature few - if any - dramatic calls for withdrawal.

Kerry's committee did not invite any witness from the Iraq Veterans Against the War, the modern-day analog of the antiwar group he represented when he testified in 1971. That group, which includes Afghanistan war veterans, has called for an end to the Afghan war. At least three out of the four Afghan war veterans who will testify tomorrow oppose a US withdrawal.

Kerry himself, now an elder statesman and key ally of the president, has resisted drawing parallels with Vietnam . . .


read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/04/22/no_counterparts_to_the_young_kerry_at_war_hearing/

related:

April 21, 2009
Kerry: Administration lacks 'real strategy' for handling Pakistan - USATODAY
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said he did not mean to criticize Obama. "I was not blasting the president," he said. "What I'm saying is that the details have not been fleshed out. We're working hand in hand on it."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-21-kerry_N.htm

[yurbud]

1. Kerry himself is hardly the guy he was in 1971

[bigtree]

2. he's still committed to the ideals he expressed back then

. . . It's clear, though, that he's not drawing a line between the insanity of the Vietnam aggression with the aggression in Afghanistan. He looks to be hoping that he can mitigate the assaults and occupation with a flood of aid to Pakistan. He's shooting craps on this one.