The Opinionated Bastard

Outdated military equipment may please defense contractors, but it won’t win tomorrow’s battles. A modern military means smarter, more versatile equipment; better intelligence; advanced communications; long-range air power; and highly mobile ground forces. Predictably, the Bush administration has talked about improvements but so far has failed to enact meaningful change.

Liar. Rumsfeld, for all his faults, has been really kicking butt at the Pentagon getting them to stop planning for the Cold War. Read Woodward's book for instance.

As both a soldier and a senator, I learned that when it comes to war, our goal must not be just regime change but a lasting peace.

Yeah, we're at peace with Vietnam, but we had to sacrifice 2 million boat people to do it, and Vietnam is impoverished now. What would it take to get you to say the D word? Democracy in Iraq That's the only true way to lasting peace.

American leadership means we must listen to the cultures and histories of other countries and work harder to build coalitions and partnerships.

Interesting. He's agreeing with Bush that partnerships and coalitions make more sense then alliances?

We can and must engage thoughtfully, strategically, and firmly. Nowhere is the need more clear or urgent than in North Korea.

But the Bush administration has offered only a merry-go-round policy: Bush and his advisers got up on their high horse, whooped and hollered, rode around in circles, and ended up right back where they’d started. By suspending the talks initiated by the Clinton administration, asking for talks but with new conditions, refusing to talk under the threat of nuclear blackmail, and then reversing that refusal as North Korea’s master of brinkmanship upped the ante, the administration sowed confusion and put the despot Kim Jong Il in the driver’s seat. By publicly taking military force, negotiations, and sanctions off the table, the administration tied its own hands behind its back.

Bush was brilliant in that he got China and Russia involved. But Kerry thinks we should have invaded? That's just weird.

Now, finally, the Bush administration is rightly working with allies in the region—acting multilaterally—to pressure Pyongyang.

Finally? That was Bush's policy from the get go.

You know, one of the reasons I hate Kerry on foreign policy is that he's unable to commit to spreading democracy in the Middle East. Bush is, and that's why I'm going to vote for him.