Kerry under pressure as leak energizes war critics

[Forkboy]

WASHINGTON — The leak of classified documents that suggest the American-backed Pakistani government has been secretly helping the Taliban has intensified scrutiny of the policy of Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, who has pushed for billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan as part of the Afghanistan war strategy.

Kerry, who first rose to prominence as a Vietnam veteran who protested that war, now finds himself increasingly under pressure from antiwar protesters who say his policy on Afghanistan is duplicating some of the same mistakes that led to US disasters in Vietnam.

The Massachusetts Democrat was instrumental in developing the Afghan war policy and in securing a $7.5 billion, five-year developmental aid package to Pakistan. The civilian aid was for such things as roads, hospitals, and electric plants.

In recent months, Kerry has said he wants safeguards in how the Pakistan aid money was doled out, and warned that some of the parallels to the Vietnam War “are almost eerie.’’ On Sunday night, shortly after the Af ghan war documents were posted on websites, he said they raise “serious questions’’ about the policy.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/07/27/kerry_under_pressure_as_leak_energizes_war_critics/

[Octafish]

1. Wake up, John. You know the Afghan war is ''a mistake.''

One started and prolonged by lies.

Thank-a-you for the heads-up on JK's "turning," Forkhombre.

[slay]

3. +1

We need to leave NOW. This war has been bullshit from day one!

[Carolina]

6. Wake up? Kerry likes to have it both ways

Remember his IWR vote 2002 and then his words as 2004 presidential candidate that the mamnagement of the war was the problem... parsing words, still bullshit!

[BootinUp]

2. Good article. nt

[joeybee12]

4. KNR!

[Canuckistanian]

5. K&R