Kerry Assails Bush's Foreign Policy
Why Is U.S. Almost Alone in Iraq? Senator Asks in Meeting on Economy
By Lois Romano
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 9, 2004; Page A04
MILWAUKEE, April 8 -- Sen. John F. Kerry criticized President Bush's foreign policy Thursday, questioning why the United States is virtually alone in Iraq and pledging that as president he would work closer with the international community.
"Why is the United States of America almost alone in carrying this burden and the risks which the world has a stake in?" the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee asked a packed town hall gathering here.
On a day when the economy was his main message, Kerry used the opening minutes of his town hall meeting to challenge Bush's credentials as commander in chief at a time when events in Iraq have put the administration on the defensive.
"There is no Arab country that is advanced by a failed Iraq. There is no European country that is safer by a failed Iraq. Yet, those countries are distinctly absent from risk-bearing. . . . This is essentially an American occupation," the Massachusetts Democrat said.
"We ought to be engaged in a bold, clear, startlingly honest appeal to the world to see their interests," he said. <?b>
Kerry declined to comment on the testimony of Condoleezza Rice, saying he wanted to read the entire transcript first. But he said that he hopes her appearance before the Sept. 11 commission contributes to "our finding out what we need to do to protect the security" of the country.
Instead of the stature of the United States in the world community being enhanced, Kerry said that "every poll shows that the United States is held in lower regard than it ever has been. I pledge that when and if you elect me president . . . I will return to the United Nations, and we will rejoin the community of nations in a proper way."
Kerry demanded an explanation for the administration's insistence on sticking to its deadline for exiting Iraq. "The president needs to explain to who are we turning over power to on the 30th of June. What will we be protecting on the 30th of June?" Kerry said.
At one point, Susan McGovern, daughter of 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern and a member of the audience, told Kerry that Wisconsin voters want to hear strong statements against Bush's foreign policy and environmental record.
"You tell me if this is strong enough," Kerry replied. "George Bush and the Republicans in Washington today have run the most arrogant, inept, reckless and ideological foreign policy in the modern history of this country."
Kerry eventually segued into his intended goal of the day: bringing his new economic message to this significant Midwest battleground state, and pledging to restore to Americans the prosperity of the 1990s.
Speaking at a downtown YMCA center one day after his major economic address in Washington, Kerry reiterated his intention to reduce the federal budget deficit by cutting spending and raising taxes on the wealthy. He said he would create ample tax incentives for companies to maintain manufacturing plants in the United States rather than outsourcing their work overseas -- a practice that continues to cause significant job losses domestically. Kerry also said he would review all the free trade agreements if elected to ensure that other nations abide by labor and environmental standards.
Wisconsin, which has 10 electoral votes, is viewed as a key battleground. In 2000, Vice President Al Gore prevailed in the state by a hair. Bush has already visited Wisconsin at least 10 times since the past election, and strategists for his campaign have said the state is a high priority in its electoral plan. In February, Kerry won a narrower than expected primary victory here over Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.). "In order for John Kerry to become the next president the United States, he must carry Wisconsin, " said Gov. Jim Doyle (D), who appeared with Kerry at the town meeting.
Kerry was greeted at the Milwaukee airport by a group of Hmong veterans, originally from a tribe in southeast Laos and Vietnam. An enthusiastic and diverse crowd of several hundred chanted Kerry's name at the local YMCA. The candidate seemed relaxed and happy, shaking hands despite his doctors' orders to hold off for a few weeks after recent shoulder surgery.
Kerry, who embarked this month on a major fundraising effort across the county, collected $2 million Thursday night in Chicago at a dinner attended by 1,500 prominent Democratic supporters. A similar event in Washington on Wednesday night brought in $3 million.
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