Opinion: Bush attack on Kerry intelligence votes unfounded
Erica Harbatkin
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President Bush recently told a by-invitation-only crowd that "Senator Kerry has a record of trying to weaken intelligence." He called Mr. Kerry "the senator who voted against vital weapons systems during his Senate career."
Sen. Kerry, the president said, is content to sit back with his "liberal allies in the Senate" and wait around for the terrorists.
Once again, the president seems to be so full of misdirection that he's got lies and embellishments leaking out of his ears.
He's also conveniently omitting some key facts.
In criticizing the senator's voting record, President Bush said Mr. Kerry tried to cancel the Patriot missile, and opposed the B-1 bomber, the B-2 stealth bomber and the Apache helicopter.
But Mr. Bush forgot to mention that Vice President Dick Cheney - who was Bush 41's defense secretary during the first Gulf War - also proposed canceling the Apache helicopter program. Later, Mr. Cheney's pentagon budget targeted 81 programs for termination including the F-14, F-16 and the Bradley fighting vehicle.
"Cheney decided the military already has enough of these weapons," The Boston Globe reported at the time.
Moreover, Mr. Cheney voted for and supported many of the same bills as Sen. Kerry. Even recently-appointed CIA Director Porter Goss co-sponsored a deficit-elimination bill in 1995 that would have cut the number of CIA employees by 20 percent or more.
When reporters questioned Mr. Goss during his confirmation hearing in September, Mr. Goss responded, "The record speaks for the record."
In reality, Sen. Kerry was supporting regular increases in intelligence spending for several years prior to 9/11. He voted for Pentagon authorization bills in 16 of his 19 years in the Senate. In fact, the Associated Press reported that Senator Kerry has voted for some of the largest intelligence and defense boosts in history.
Hardly sounds like that crazy liberal was "trying to weaken intelligence."
If the president wants to criticize intelligence votes, maybe he should look at his own administration first.