Kerry Says Bush Troop Plan Impairs U.S. Security, War on Terror
Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said President George W. Bush's plan to bring home as many as a third of U.S. troops stationed abroad may impair U.S. security by hampering the war on terror and undermining efforts to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Bush said Monday he wants to pull about 70,000 U.S. troops out of Europe and Asia in the biggest military redeployment since the Korean War. Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said the threats to America have changed and the shift in military priorities is a response to new challenges.
Kerry's plan is to add 40,000 active duty troops, double the U.S. Army Special Forces and integrate the National Guard into the Department of Homeland Security. Kerry, a four-term U.S. senator from Massachusetts, also said he will ``engage our allies'' in defending against international threats, according to a campaign statement ahead of Kerry's speech today at a convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
``Long term success demands the use of all elements of national power: diplomacy, intelligence, covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, public diplomacy and homeland defense,'' Kerry said in remarks prepared for the Cincinnati convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the same group to whom Bush made his announcement on the troop redeployments.
Some 230,000 U.S. forces are spread among in 120 countries, according to the Department of Defense. The reorganization would cut by almost half the U.S. presence in Germany, withdrawing or repositioning two divisions -- or more than 30,000 troops.
Kerry, who received three purple hearts for being wounded in Vietnam and the Silver and Bronze Stars for valor, also will pledge to improve government services for veterans, including health care and transition assistance for those returning from war, according to the campaign statement. |
