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John Kerry: Middle East Needs 'Alternatives'
United States Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., appearing Thursday on MSNBC's "Imus in the Morning,” still maintains that life in the Middle East would be much more peaceful had he been elected president in 2004.
Kerry’s original comment - "If I was president, this wouldn't have happened" – was made July 23, ironically, at Honest John's bar and grill in Detroit during a fund-raising event for Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The comment has been roundly criticized by media outlets and pundits. Imus offered Kerry a chance to explain his statements in the light of such criticism.
"I know it stuns some people because half the country can’t imagine that there will ever be peace in the Middle East, and the other half can’t imagine there will ever be a Democratic president again,” Kerry said.
The failed 2004 presidential candidate said he would have worked with other nations throughout his administration to boost United States credibility in the world. Without that credibility, he maintained, the United States does not have the "moral authority” to lead when crises appear across the globe.
Story Continues Below "For three-and-a-half years we [the United States] weren’t even involved in getting our allies to help us stop Iran from getting nuclear power,” Kerry said. As for the prospects of peace among Israel and it’s neighbors in the Middle East, Kerry said: "I don’t think this administration has done anything near what Republican and Democratic presidents, historically, have done to address these kinds of issues.”
Kerry acknowledged that Hezbollah is "a surrogate for Iran” in the effort to destroy Israel, but he disagrees with the methods used by the Bush administration to deal with the conflict there.
"Hezbollah needs to be stopped, but there are different ways of doing it,” the senator said. "I’m all for special forces and special operations, but we also need to be pursuing an alternative track that provides alternatives for people and there has been an absence of that.” Kerry offered no alternative ideas.
Kerry also took time to address the Senate race in Connecticut, which presently shows incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., trailing by double-digits less than one week from the Democratic primary. Kerry, a colleague of Lieberman for two decades in the Senate, fell short of offering Lieberman an endorsement.
"I haven’t been to Connecticut,” Kerry said. "I haven’t been asked to go to Connecticut . . . I’ve known Joe a long time. He’s a good man and I like him. But whatever happens, if Joe wins it, he’ll be a much better candidate and a much better senator.”
Pressed to support Lieberman in advance of the primary – as Imus said he has and would do heading into the general election – Kerry avoided a direct answer.
"The Democratic nominee will go on. We want to win . . . I’ll support the Democratic nominee.”
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2006 Elections Inside Cover Stories
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