Kerry Rebuts Cheney: No Grounds To Criticize On Afghanistan (VIDEO)

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is the latest Democrat to push back against an attack from former Vice President Dick Cheney on the White House's Afghanistan decision-making.

"After eight years of neglecting Afghanistan as vice president, Dick Cheney is coming out of retirement to criticize President Obama ... This from the man who in 2002 told America, 'The Taliban regime is out of business permanently.' I think this is one time I wish Dick Cheney had been right, but tragically he wasn't, and he isn't today, and that's why we have to make the tough choices about Afghanistan now," Kerry told the Council on Foreign Relations.

"Make no mistake, because of the gross mishandling of this war by past civilian leadership, there are no great options for its handling today."

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) made a similar argument on Sunday, saying it was "outrageous."

"To listen to Dick Cheney, who was the mastermind of the most failed decade of foreign policy that this country's had at least in my political lifetime, perhaps my whole lifetime, perhaps my parents' lifetime too, to listen to him when they talk about dithering... when their mistake was to attack Iraq and lose sight of Afghanistan... eight years of failure of [Hamid] Karzai, implicitly is eight years of failure and dithering by that administration," Brown told CNN.

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Comments

[Manchesterian]

11:58 AM on 10/28/2009

It is a refreshing change to have a Republican who puts country first and party politics second. George Will could teach those "Blue Dog" democrats a thing or two.

[MARNIE2]

08:29 AM on 10/28/2009

...what is the message being sent... ? Kerry is liken to... a Bugle ....blow -ing ...Obama's ...retreat ??

[Whitley2009]

08:14 AM on 10/28/2009

This is one time I wholeheartedly agree with Kerry. His analysis of the Afghanistan situation is spot on.

And, I am happy his did not allow "The Dick" to get away with his mindless drivel and demands that we engage in a reactive thought process over handling the Afghanistan situation. The Dick seems to be a one-act pony, and his daughter is following in his narrow and feeble footsteps.

President Obama does need to make a careful decision which will leave him with great flexibility in handling the conflict in that region. It is terribly complex, and the addition of troops alone is not the answer.

[Probus]

01:06 AM on 10/28/2009

Kerry was great. He is a great advisor to Obama. He would have made a great president. He's right there are no great options in Afghanistan. Sending more troops is not the answer. The President needs to start thinking about withdrawing from this country.

[JaCar]

12:17 AM on 10/28/2009

Is there anybody with a more appropriate first name than Mr. Cheney?

[MDfromMD]

11:46 PM on 10/27/2009

Eloquent, succinct, coherent, deliberate, informed, diplomatic . . .

I still can’t believe, he didn’t become my president back in 2004.

Senator Kerry, thanks for serving our country.

[ExxonMcBushCo]

09:56 PM on 10/27/2009

NYTimes reporting that Karzai's brother has been on CIA payroll for the past 8 years...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28intel.html

[khriva]

07:39 PM on 10/27/2009

Thanks for your voice, Senator Kerry. Thank you.

[flower power]

07:18 PM on 10/27/2009

Lets see.....John Kerry tried to subvert his country's mission in Viet Nam and Iraq for political purposes.....Now he is doing it in Afghanistan?....nothing new here from the Viet Cong's favorite senator.....Is he now trying to be the favorite senator of the Taliban?.......maybe they will build a statue of him out of goat manure in Tora Bora.

[Gould123]

07:34 PM on 10/27/2009

At least he served his country in war time! Swift boat was proven liers! Get the trueth before post.

[flower power]

07:44 PM on 10/27/2009

So did Benedict Arnold.

[johnfoirdfw]

10:31 PM on 10/27/2009

While the Cheney had "other priorties", Kerry went to war and saw that it sucked. Cheney is nothing but a chicken hawk. He has no credibility.

[HST]

06:46 PM on 10/27/2009

"Make no mistake, because of the gross mishandling of this war by past civilian leadership, there are no great options for its handling today."


The only way that statement could've been improved is if Kerry added, "Cheney -you buffoon!"

[writewingnut]

04:51 PM on 10/27/2009

General John Kerry also just announced that President Obama’s Commanding General in Afghanistan is moving too far and too fast in regards to his plea for additional troops. In the Same breath Kerry warned that the United States cannot risk a shift in strategy that would narrowly focus on hunting terrorists. Well if McChystal dosn’t get the troops he needs don’t we need to downsize the mission?

[flower power]

07:26 PM on 10/27/2009

He was for the troops before he was against them.

[Gould123]

07:37 PM on 10/27/2009

Ya, stay in war in ignorance of a better way or a way to save lifes! Gotcha, Betcha,wink etc

[TimtheEnchanted]

01:23 PM on 10/28/2009

go away!

[jsgaetano]

04:17 PM on 10/27/2009

If conservatives would have been in charge during WW2, we'd all be speaking German right now. Or still fighting.

Which isn't surprising, because conservatives were actually financing America's enemies during WW2.

[Jannsmoor]

04:41 PM on 10/27/2009

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the Republicans would have invaded Canada. Fight them up there before they invade America!!!

[bluntobject]

03:27 PM on 10/27/2009

Perfectly put. It's about time someone in the Democratic Party grew a pair. Kerry should have also added in the terms, draft dodger and war criminal, but I suppose for Kerry, that would have been saying too much. Even if it happens to be true. Cheney and his ilk, including that equally dishonest daughter who pops up on every talking head show around, need to be consistently, and publically, put in their place. Especially since our current President shows no interest in prosecuting them for crimes against humanity.

[babyboomerorig]

03:06 PM on 10/27/2009

Kerry hit the nail on the head with this speech.

The Republicans keep saying that all we need to do is put more troops into Afghanistan like McChrystal says to do. That was President Bush's problem...do what the Generals say, don't pay any attention to any other voice. Although, when troops were requested within the ranks in Iraq, the requests just sat with no response.

There has been so much accomplished over the past few months on the world stage and the Republicans still think talking to our enemies is the wrong thing to do. Send in the AF....create another war.....divide countries within themselves and create insurgents....that's the way to do it....screw talking.....it doesn't get you anywhere.

It's always seemed that those who have never seen war, want it.

[THREEXMOM]

03:04 PM on 10/27/2009

Surprise...Surprise...Surprise Gomer Pyle doesn't like VP Cheney. Didn't he also say the Iraq surge wasn't going to work. If people had faith in his views on foreign policy and keeping America safe, he would have been elected in 2004 and we all know he wasn't...and we all know why.

[whitegayrepublican]

03:21 PM on 10/27/2009

Of course we do, the then President Bush ordered the threat levels raised the day before a general election which scared the living s%^t out of us all and thereby cost Kerry the Presidency.

Let's use both historical and factual context when seeking to disparage please.

[THREEXMOM]

03:59 PM on 10/27/2009

I'm going to have to disagree with you. Kerry's problem was that he couldn't make up his mind...he voted to authorize the invasion then he criticized Bush for going into Iraq but then said he would have done the same thing even if he knew there were no WMD's. We all know about the $87 billion. Then he called for higher taxes on wealthy Americans and then went wind sailing. Talk about dithering.

[BuzzingAlong]

03:33 PM on 10/27/2009

Only in an alternate reality did the Iraq surge work.

Paying the people who were building IEDs $300.00 a month to NOT to fight us could be described as the surge working, but only in an alternate reality.

[THREEXMOM]

04:08 PM on 10/27/2009

C'mon now...even President Obama admitted the surge worked.

[Gould123]

07:39 PM on 10/27/2009

Are you saying we won in Iraq? Like mission accomplished? Go figure why they still killing.