In recent days CBS News revealed 30-year old documents regarding
President Bush's service in the Air National Guard. Those documents now
appear to be forgeries.
But what has been lost in the Bush National Guard memo affair was the
release of another old document that appears to be much more relevant
to the presidential election.
Powerline Blog published a 1984 press release from John Kerry's senate
campaign [Page 1 / Page 2] in which Kerry's stance on defense is clear.
This press release is especially interesting because (a) Kerry is
running on building a "stronger America" and (b) the Kerry campaign has
denied that he opposed many of the weapon systems he has been accused
of opposing but rather opposed only entire defense appropriations bills.
In that document, candidate Kerry calls for reducing the Reagan defense
buildup by some $50 billion by making cuts to specific weapons systems.
Let's analyze the list of weapons that John Kerry wanted to cancel back
in 1984:
¥ MX ICBM . This modern ballistic missile served as one of the backbones
of the U.S. nuclear deterrent triad during the Cold War--a strategic
force that eventually played a large roll in the defeat of the Soviet
Union.
¥ B-1 Bomber . Also a major system in the nuclear triad, the B-1 went on
to play a key role as a long-range, all-weather, heavy, precision
bomber in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The B-1's
range and huge payload capacity were especially important given the
lack of basing rights in the region for both campaigns.
¥ Anti-Satellite System (ASAT) . This system was a missile designed to
be carried by an F-15 interceptor to a very high altitude and then
launched into the atmosphere to shoot down enemy satellites.
Unfortunately, the ASAT was indeed shelved due to budget constraints.
Now we are learning more every day that Red China is working on systems
to shoot down satellites and rogue nations, such as Iran and North
Korea, have satellite programs. The ASAT capability would be quite
useful.
¥ Star Wars . Probably no weapon system had greater impact on the Cold
War's outcome in the 1980s than Star Wars, or SDI, the Strategic
Defense Initiative. It was designed to provide America with a defense
against incoming ballistic missiles. Leftist opposition to the program
just about killed the whole concept, but its heart kept beating ever so
feintly and now we are close to deploying national missile defense. Of
course, had the left not opposed the program from its outset, we would
surely already have a defense against incoming ballistic missiles from
countries like Iran and North Korea. As we stand now, we are completely
defenseless against missile attack.
¥ Tomahawk missile . I guess Kerry should get partial credit here. He
only advocated cutting funding for the Tomahawk by 50%. That may have
been very damaging though since the Tomahawk is probably the most
widely used weapon against terrorists and rogue nations over the past
dozen years or so. The Tomahawk played a key role in Desert Storm,
Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as a few other military
operations in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East.
¥ AH-64 Apache attack helicopter . The Apache is the most modern attack
helicopter in the world. Apaches fired the first shots in Operation
Desert Storm and have played key roles in Enduring Freedom and Iraqi
Freedom. John Kerry wanted to cancel the Apache program.
¥ DIVAD system . The DIVAD air defense system was designed to protect
U.S. ground forces from the Soviet Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter, which
was much feared and widely used by communist forces in 1984. The DIVAD
was basically a radar-directed twin 40mm turret mounted on an old M-48
Patton tank chassis. The system was cancelled after performing poorly
in numerous tests and experiencing cost overruns. Kerry may have
actually been right about this one...pure dumb luck.
¥ Patriot Air Defense Missile . No weapon system symbolizes John Kerry's
horrible record on national defense more than the Patriot, which he
sought to cancel in 1984. Seven years later, Patriots were saving lives
in Desert Storm by shooting down Iraqi SCUD ballistic missiles. They
repeated that role in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Today the Patriot is the
most modern air defense system in the world and in use in South Korea,
Japan, several parts of Europe, Israel, and other places in the Middle
East. No thanks to John Kerry.
¥ AEGIS guided missile cruiser . The AEGIS air defense system-equipped
guided missile cruisers form the backbone of the U.S. fleet. They have
proven instrumental in everything from air and missile defense to drug
interdiction. They have also played a key role in operational
evolutions in launching cruise missile attacks on rogue nations and
terrorist bases.
¥ Iowa-class Battleship Reactivations . Seldom in the history of warfare
has a naval fleet gotten so much bang for the buck as the U.S. Navy got
for the modernization and reactivation of the USS New Jersey, USS Iowa,
USS Wisconsin and USS Missouri. For the cost of a frigate, the U.S.
Navy got a magnificent capital ship able to dominate the seas and land
for hundreds of miles around. These vessels played a key role in the
Cold War and also in operations from Beirut in 1983-84 to Operation
Desert Storm in 1991. On what basis John Kerry opposed the reactivation
of the Iowa-class battleships truly pro-U.S. security people may never
know.
¥ AV-8B Harrier . The Harrier is the world's only operational V/TOL
(vertical take off and landing) combat jet. It is the key player in
Marine aviation and close air support and played a major role in
support of our troops in Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi
Freedom, saving the lives of Americans on the front lines.
¥ F-15 Eagle . The F-15 has been the world's foremost fighter aircraft
since it entered service in the late 1970s. It guarded the skies as
part of NORAD in the Cold War and did so again after 9-11. In between
the F-15 ensured air superiority in virtually every major military
operation in which the U.S. was involved.
¥ F-14A/D Tomcat . The F-14, only now being replaced by the new
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, is the world's premier naval fighter. It was
essential to the protection of the U.S. fleet during the Cold War from
the mid-1970s on. F-14s twice shot down Libyan interceptors over
international waters during the 1980s and later versions became
outstanding all weather precision attack aircraft. In fact, for much of
Operation Enduring Freedom, the F-14 provided the entire precision
guided attack capability of the U.S. military as basing rights were
hard to come by for land based aircraft and the F/A-18C/D Hornet lacked
the range and endurance necessary to perform the mission over
Afghanistan. Another great airplane that John Kerry wanted to shoot
down on Capitol hill.
¥ AIM-54 Phoenix air to air missile . This long range missile was
carried exclusively by the F-14 and could bring down targets as far as
110 nautical miles away flying just above sea level or as high as
60,000 feet. Of course, since John Kerry sought to kill the F-14, it
only made sense that he should seek to rid our military of its key
weapon as well.
¥ AIM-7 Sparrow air to air missile . The Sparrow was the chief radar
guided air to air missile in the U.S. inventory from the 1950s until
the relatively recent introduction of the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The Sparrow
was the main armament of the F-15, F-16 and F-18 and the secondary
armament of the F-14. One wonders what Kerry thought we would have
armed our fighter aircraft with had he gotten his way and the Sparrow
was cancelled?
This list shows that no area of our national defense was safe from John
Kerry. He has fought equally hard on Capitol Hill against the Army,
Navy, Air Force and Marines over the course of his entire career. We
can only shudder to think what would have happened had he won the day
and all of these key weapons had been cancelled.
Next time you see a sign that says, "Kerry for a stronger America," you
may want to stop and think about all these tools in the hands of our
servicemen and women that would not have been procured and deployed had
John Kerry gotten his way.
Christopher Holton is the Editor of www.WorldTechTribune.com and serves on the World Tribune Board of Advisers. He has been writing about national security, defense issues and economics for more than a dozen years. He is a full-time direct response marketing consultant and lives in New Orleans with his wife and five children. He can be reached at cholton@worldtechtribune.com.