***Kerry for Senate 1984 Document: Kerry on Defense***

Anonymous source | 2/21/04 | Diotima

[mylife]

Oh the irony of it all!!

[AzJohn]

Kerry's story on this is that he has learned from his mistakes and has subsequently had a responsible record on national defense. From the Boston Globe, June 19, 2003:

In his zeal to keep pace with Shannon's leftward drift on disarmament, Kerry supported cancellation of a host of weapons systems that have become the basis of US military might -- the high-tech munitions and delivery systems on display to the world as they leveled the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein in a matter of weeks.

These weapons became conversation topics at American dinner tables during the Iraq war, but candidate Kerry in 1984 said he would have voted to cancel many of them -- the B-1 bomber, B-2 stealth bomber, AH-64 Apache helicopter, Patriot missile, the F-15, F-14A and F-14D jets, the AV-8B Harrier jet, the Aegis air-defense cruiser, and the Trident missile system.

He also advocated reductions in many other systems, such as the M1 Abrams tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Tomahawk cruise missile, and the F-16 jet.

In retrospect, Kerry said some of his positions in those days were "ill-advised, and I think some of them are stupid in the context of the world we find ourselves in right now and the things that I've learned since then."

But he defended his opposition at the time to the MX missile, the "Star Wars" strategic defense initiative, and some other programs.

"Some of this stuff was ahead of its time. Some was not as well thought out as it might be," Kerry said of his campaign posture then. "I'm not ashamed of that. I was [40] years old, running for the United States Senate for the first time . . . and I'm sure that some of it was driven at the time by the nature of the beast I was fighting politically.

Politicians do sometimes need to change their mind on issues. But Kerry was 40 years old when he took these positions, not a kid, and he also had the benefit of all the same military experience he touts as an asset today. It's also troubling, to say the least, that he would adopt such a marked anti-defense posture based on political considerations in Massachusetts.

[jslade]

bttt

[ChadGore]

"If Kerry had his way in the 80s, this boat wouldn't exist"

[Rome2000]

Hey Kerry.

You might want to reconsider that "Bring It On" approach.

Consider yourself brought on.

[mylife]

"John aircra'F't Kerryer"

[mvonfr]

It may be a good idea to send this to Drudge as well. I think he monitors FreeRepublic, but it never hurts to make sure. This way, this may appear on the show tomorrow.

[Rebelbase]

bump agan.

[Darksheare]

Land forces.
First item, second and third words are Chemical Weapons.
First word undeciferable.

[July 4th]

BTW, can you read what the first item in Land Forces was?

Binary Chemical Weapons

[kcvl]

It looks like _______ Ch


Could it be chinook helicopters?

[jackbill]

Fantastic!!!!!!! BTW, can you read what the first item in Land Forces was?

I copied it and blew it up and it looks like:

Binary Chemical Weapons.

Still can't read the dollar amount.

[July 4th]

VX Binary

O-Ethyl O-2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonite (QL) is initially located in one canister, while elemental sulfur is located in a separate canister. When the weapon is fired (or otherwise delivered), a disk between the canisters ruptures, and the two components react in flight to produce VX.

Hence, "binary." Two components mixed to create one.

[Terpfen]

"Kerry apposed the boat that Bush landed on !"

Opposed, not apposed.

Anyway, it's nice to see this stuff in an official document, but it's already been in the press that Kerry voted against all of these programs and vehicles.

[Riley]

Binary Chemical Weapons

I think you're right.

[kcvl]

I think you have it.

[mylife]

Makes sense Binary chemical weapons

[BulletBobCo]

Can anyone read the item just above the Apache helicopter entry? It's pretty faded.

I tried enhancing it with adobe and to me it looks like it could be chemical apparel with a price tag of $144 million.

[mystery-ak]

Hmmmm...looks like Kerry doesn't approve of any armament to defend the US.