WhatFinger


He wasn't a senator at the time. Oh, and here's what he actually said about it. Oops.

Kerry claims he backed the Grenada invasion as a senator, but there’s a problem or two



One of the things liars tend to do is respond with overwrought indignation when you call them out as liars. And usually you can detect a pattern. Like, say, a guy claims to be a war hero but a bunch of his contemporaries emerge to say they were there and his claims are without merit. Stop the smears, demands the liar. Or, the president of Russia calls him a liar and he sniffs, why I'm a decorated combat veteran!
Just a couple of completely hypothetical examples. With this in mind, I present to you, America, your Secretary of State - a man who came horrifyingly close to being president of the United States. John Kerry has always had a little problem with chronology, which would explain his claim that Richard Nixon sent him into Cambodia in December 1968. And now, as the Wall Street Journal's James Taranto points out, Kerry is inventing an alternate 1985 that would make Biff Tannen proud.

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Under tough questioning from U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-South Carolina) concerning Syria, Kerry first made the obligatory reference to his military service, but it didn't stop there for a man who loves to tout his own personal credentials, even if it requires him to cite complete fiction. Taranto quotes the Boston Globe:
Duncan also challenged Kerry's own professional history, saying Kerry has never "advocated for anything other than caution when involving U.S. forces in past conflicts," and accused the power of the executive branch as being "so intoxicating" that Kerry has abandoned "past caution in favor for pulling the trigger on a military response so quickly."
Kerry immediately disputed the question, telling Duncan that he "volunteered to fight" for his country, "and that wasn't a cautious thing to do when I did it." When Duncan tried to interrupt the secretary, citing time constraints, Kerry cut him off.
"I'm going to finish, Congressman. I am going to finish," said Kerry. "When I was in the United States Senate, I supported military action in any number of occasions, including Grenada, Panama--I can run a list of them. And I am not going to sit here and be told by you that I don't have a sense of what the judgment is with respect to this," he said angrily.
Ah, so Kerry supported the Grenada invasion when he was in the United States Senate, did he? Well, if John Kerry tells you your mother loves you, check it out. The Grenada invasion occurred in 1983. Kerry became a senator in 1985. OK, but maybe he just got confused about the timing of events, but recalls very clearly that he felt in his heart a sincere appreciation for President Reagan's actions. Except for . . . this:
"The invasion of Grenada represents the Reagan policy of substituting public relations for diplomatic relations . . . no substantial threat to US interests existed and American lives were not endangered . . . The invasion represented a bully's show of force against a weak Third World nation. The invasion only served to heighten world tensions and further strain brittle US/Soviet and North/South relations."
That's what he told the Cape Codder at the time, and even the liberal Globe couldn't help but point out Kerry was trying to "rewrite that history." So at the same time Kerry is still tossing out the phony claim that he supported the Grenada invasion, we find ourselves considering the claim of Vladimir Putin that Kerry flatly lied about the presence of Al Qaeda in Syria. Now of course, this is Vladimir Putin, no friend of ours, no friend of freedom, no nice guy. So you can't help but be skeptical when he says:
"They lie beautifully, of course. I saw debates in Congress. A congressman asks Mr Kerry: 'Is al Qaeda there?' He says: 'No, I am telling you responsibly that it is not. Al Qaeda units are the main military echelon, and they know this. It was unpleasant and surprising for me - we talk to them, we proceed from the assumption that they are decent people. But he is lying and knows he is lying. It's sad."
Like I said, hey, it's Vladimir Putin. Bad guy. Can't believe him, right? Then again, check out the response of Kerry spokeswoman Jen Psaki:
"Secretary Kerry is, as you all know, a decorated combat veteran. He's had ... more than words aimed at him."
Huh. Someone says Kerry is a liar. Kerry responds (this time through his spokeswoman), essentially, How dare you! I served in Vietnam! It's the type of overwrought indignation that usually accompanies Kerry lies.


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Dan Calabrese -- Bio and Archives

Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

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