Silent Brouhaha

Passing the Global Test

In the first presidential debate of the 2004 campaign season between the Democratic challenger John F. Kerry and the incumbent candidate George W. Bush, Senator Kerry made the comment that “if and when you have to preemptively strike a nation, you do it in a way that passes the test, that passes the global test where your countrymen, your people understand fully why you're doing what you're doing and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons.” President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney seized the quote as a sign of weakness by John Kerry, and if he were to be elected it would signal a return to a pre-9/11 mentality of defensive posturing and indecision. This is a complete distortion of not only what Senator Kerry’s comments truly meant, but a political tactic of playing on American fears. Running around the country telling the American people that voting for Kerry/Edwards is voting for another terrorist attack is a perfect example of the standard philosophical ploy of toying with individual emotions to control the masses that Karl Rove has become an expert at doing. John Kerry’s statement deals with legitimacy when it comes to utilizing military power to exert influence across the globe. If war is the only option available, then you must not only justify and marshal full support for your actions to your allies and your citizens, but you do not mislead them, and you provide a blueprint of the plan of action to win the war and the peace. None of these objectives were met in taking the United States of America to war in Iraq.

I believe there was a litmus test created between October 18th and 29th in the fall of 1962. Another senator from Massachusetts was the sitting president of the United States. Like Senator Kerry, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a war hero who understood that morality, strong alliances, and overall leadership by example was the diplomatic way to deal with international crisis. No other president in our nation’s history felt such a daunting task as Kennedy did in October of ’62, with Cuba installing nuclear weapons on the United States’ doorstep. The choices Kennedy faced were to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike on Cuba as advised by the majority of his generals, or to exercise patience with strong diplomacy and rhetoric directed at Russian Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev. President Kennedy faced a global test during this time period. If he were to launch a nuclear strike against Cuba, a retaliatory nuclear strike was certain by the U.S.S.R. against major U.S. cities. Had George W. Bush been President in 1962, there would have been no negotiation, no litmus test, no exercising of patience, and no diplomacy. Nuclear war would have taken place based on the actions President Bush made in the buildup to the war in Iraq. History would have been completely different. Kennedy exercised patience while evidence was built to show the world exactly what the communists were doing. By providing justification to the United Nations and working the diplomatic back channels, coupled with a strong naval blockade of Cuba and incredibly strong rhetoric by the U.S. Commander-in-Chief directed toward the Soviet Republic, World War III was averted.

A global test is nothing to make fun of. Instead, it is something to be proud of. As the lone remaining super power in the world we have a moral obligation to not only lead
by example, but as we hold other nations accountable for their action, we too must be held accountable. We cannot disband alliances that were held together for generations to act militarily on hunches and gut feelings against other sovereign nations. Alliances are the key to defeating terrorism. We cannot go it alone or arm twist nations to join an alliance under the pretext that we know what is best for the world. No one, not even Senator Kerry, disagrees that Saddam was a horrible dictator that deserved his own personal place in hell. But it does not dismiss the fact that the Iraq war was a diversion from the real war on terror and the campaign to capture or destroy members of Al-Qaeda, including Osama bin Laden himself. There is something to be said for a president who asks the right questions, creates thought provoking debate, exercises patience, and pounds his chest as if to dare a country to test the will of the American people. This constitutes passing a global test. This particular test served one former senator from Massachusetts well and saved the world from a catastrophic disaster. If given the opportunity, John F. Kerry can restore the faith the world has lost in American leadership and morality. Had George W. Bush been the Commander-in-Chief in 1962, history would have told a completely different story.

posted by Corey @ 10:08 AM