John Kerry
After Super Tuesday earlier this week, it has become obvious that John Kerry will become the Democratic candidate for the US Presidential election this coming November. Until recently, I have known very little about Kerry, as he has been pretty much unknown in Europe, understandably. He does appear to have more charisma that Gore did four years ago, which will help the Democratic cause no doubt.
I am trying to take as much interest in the US Presidential elections as I can. The sad fact of the matter is that the US President has as much influence and power over me as our own Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), Bertie Ahern. The US holds such economic and political power in the world, what happens in the States affects us all. For example, the current weakness of the US economy means my personal shareholdings are worth much less than they could be, particularly with the current Euro/Dollar exchange rate. In political terms, the US welds massive power throughout the world, by dictating what actions are carried out by the likes of the UN and the World Bank, effectively having a veto on everything that is carried out there. Thus, it is in my best interest to know who the biggest challenger to that dog of war, Bush, will be.
Overall however, I am quite disappointed with the record of Kerry to date.
For a start, he supported the war on Iraq, although he has spoken out about Bush’s handling of it. He is also a staunch supporter of the military, and military expenditure. I don’t think you can get elected in the US without proving you are an advocate of military power! He does, however, advocate a closer relationship with the other large "Western" powers such as France and Germany, and did not agree with Bush’s unilateral approach.
I have also read that Kerry is pro-Israeli, but I am not sure to what extent, and the source I read this from was Al Jazeera, which didn’t go into details. His Anti-Vietnam stance has been well documented in the media, and I was quite impressed to read that he was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he headed the subcommittee on narcotics and terrorism. The body exposed the role of President Ronald Reagan's aide Colonel Oliver North in smuggling guns to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Also according to Al Jazeera "Kerry has criticised the White House for eroding civil liberties through its domestic security clampdown. He says the Justice Department has stigmatised "innocent Muslims and Arabs who pose no danger"."
According to the BBC, Kerry was against Bush senior's action to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991 but he was in favour of military intervention in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Somalia, Haiti and Panama. I need to do some more reading to understand the significance of the Panama and Haiti actions, but the US army’s complicity with the barbarians that are the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in 2001 is just plain wrong (also from what I have read, despite the removal of the Taliban, women are still treated disgracefully in Afghanistan), and the killings carried out by the US in Somalia are highly questionable.
Worryingly, John Pilger (a writer with whom I have a large amount of respect for) this week writes in the New Statesman that Kerry supports "the administration's plans to return Latin America to American leadership by subverting democracy in Venezuela". I wrote in this journal some time ago about Hugo Chavez (who seems for once to be a real man of the people and champion of the poor), and the attempted coup in Venezuela, orchestrated by wealthy capitalists in the country, and supported by the US Republican administration. If Pilger is correct and Kerry supports the removal of Chavez from power he will be no different from Bush.
Pilger also writes that Kerry has advocated the expansion of the death penalty, something I vigorously oppose.
I have until I read up on Kerry been very much of the "anyone but Bush" school of thought, but now I must reconsider, but I am beginning to become more and more pessimistic, and frankly think that regardless of who gets elected in November, the world certainly will not be a better place. Nothing Kerry has said or done has convinced me otherwise.
I am trying to take as much interest in the US Presidential elections as I can. The sad fact of the matter is that the US President has as much influence and power over me as our own Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), Bertie Ahern. The US holds such economic and political power in the world, what happens in the States affects us all. For example, the current weakness of the US economy means my personal shareholdings are worth much less than they could be, particularly with the current Euro/Dollar exchange rate. In political terms, the US welds massive power throughout the world, by dictating what actions are carried out by the likes of the UN and the World Bank, effectively having a veto on everything that is carried out there. Thus, it is in my best interest to know who the biggest challenger to that dog of war, Bush, will be.
Overall however, I am quite disappointed with the record of Kerry to date.
For a start, he supported the war on Iraq, although he has spoken out about Bush’s handling of it. He is also a staunch supporter of the military, and military expenditure. I don’t think you can get elected in the US without proving you are an advocate of military power! He does, however, advocate a closer relationship with the other large "Western" powers such as France and Germany, and did not agree with Bush’s unilateral approach.
I have also read that Kerry is pro-Israeli, but I am not sure to what extent, and the source I read this from was Al Jazeera, which didn’t go into details. His Anti-Vietnam stance has been well documented in the media, and I was quite impressed to read that he was on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he headed the subcommittee on narcotics and terrorism. The body exposed the role of President Ronald Reagan's aide Colonel Oliver North in smuggling guns to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Also according to Al Jazeera "Kerry has criticised the White House for eroding civil liberties through its domestic security clampdown. He says the Justice Department has stigmatised "innocent Muslims and Arabs who pose no danger"."
According to the BBC, Kerry was against Bush senior's action to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991 but he was in favour of military intervention in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Somalia, Haiti and Panama. I need to do some more reading to understand the significance of the Panama and Haiti actions, but the US army’s complicity with the barbarians that are the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in 2001 is just plain wrong (also from what I have read, despite the removal of the Taliban, women are still treated disgracefully in Afghanistan), and the killings carried out by the US in Somalia are highly questionable.
Worryingly, John Pilger (a writer with whom I have a large amount of respect for) this week writes in the New Statesman that Kerry supports "the administration's plans to return Latin America to American leadership by subverting democracy in Venezuela". I wrote in this journal some time ago about Hugo Chavez (who seems for once to be a real man of the people and champion of the poor), and the attempted coup in Venezuela, orchestrated by wealthy capitalists in the country, and supported by the US Republican administration. If Pilger is correct and Kerry supports the removal of Chavez from power he will be no different from Bush.
Pilger also writes that Kerry has advocated the expansion of the death penalty, something I vigorously oppose.
I have until I read up on Kerry been very much of the "anyone but Bush" school of thought, but now I must reconsider, but I am beginning to become more and more pessimistic, and frankly think that regardless of who gets elected in November, the world certainly will not be a better place. Nothing Kerry has said or done has convinced me otherwise.