Former Secretary of State John Kerry Needs to Have a Word With 2004 Presidential Candidate John Kerry

John Kerry on his and Joe Biden's interpretation of the Iraq War:

“I think Bernie is regrettably distorting Joe’s record,” Kerry, a Biden campaign surrogate, said Sunday on CBS “Face the Nation.”  

He added that Sanders “doesn’t have what Joe Biden has,” in terms of eight years on the national security council.  

Kerry continued that he knows “very well what Joe’s position” since he answered the same questions in 2003 and 2004, when he was running for president.  

“It was very clear that what we were doing was listening to a president that made a pledge, that he was going to do diplomacy, he was going to exhaust diplomacy build a coalition, and ultimately we learned, as Joe did and I did, that the intelligence was distorted,” Kerry said.  

“So Joe spoke out and criticized, Joe was against what they were doing,” he added.
Kerry added that  the vote “was not a vote especially to go to war it was a vote for the president to have leverage with respect to getting Saddam Hussein back to the … inspections.”  

“I think we were let down, and Joe has said many times it was a mistake, obviously, to trust the words of the administration who didn't follow through on what they said they were going to do,” Kerry said. 

John Kerry's acceptance speech in 2004, referencing the Bush Administration's approach to the Iraq War:

I am proud that after September 11th all our people rallied to President Bush's call for unity to meet the danger. There were no Democrats. There were no Republicans. There were only Americans. How we wish it had stayed that way. 

Now I know there are those who criticize me for seeing complexities – and I do – because some issues just aren't all that simple. Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so. Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn't make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn't make it so. 

As President, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system – so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And as President, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to. 

I know what kids go through when they are carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place and they can't tell friend from foe. I know what they go through when they're out on patrol at night and they don't know what's coming around the next bend. I know what it's like to write letters home telling your family that everything's all right when you're not sure that's true. 

As President, I will wage this war with the lessons I learned in war. Before you go to battle, you have to be able to look a parent in the eye and truthfully say: "I tried everything possible to avoid sending your son or daughter into harm's way. But we had no choice. We had to protect the American people, fundamental American values from a threat that was real and imminent." So lesson one, this is the only justification for going to war. 

And on my first day in office, I will send a message to every man and woman in our armed forces: You will never be asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace. 

I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a President who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden, reduce the cost to American taxpayers, and reduce the risk to American soldiers. That's the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home. 

Here is the reality: that won't happen until we have a president who restores America's respect and leadership -- so we don't have to go it alone in the world. 

And we need to rebuild our alliances, so we can get the terrorists before they get us. 

I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger American military. 

We will add 40,000 active duty troops – not in Iraq, but to strengthen American forces that are now overstretched, overextended, and under pressure. We will double our special forces to conduct anti-terrorist operations. We will provide our troops with the newest weapons and technology to save their lives – and win the battle. And we will end the backdoor draft of National Guard and reservists. 

To all who serve in our armed forces today, I say, help is on the way. 

As President, I will fight a smarter, more effective war on terror. We will deploy every tool in our arsenal: our economic as well as our military might; our principles as well as our firepower.

Does that match up? Does Candidate Kerry sound like a guy who knew Bush wanted, "to do diplomacy?" Does Candidate Kerry sound like he thought Bush was looking for "leverage?"

Kerry knew in 2004 that Bush used the AUMF to wage war, just like Wikipedia does. If Kerry knew, Biden most likely knew. If Biden knew, then Bernie Sander's critique is valid.