John Kerry Endorsements: Foreign Leaders and Osama bin Laden

George C. Landrith

More than once, John Kerry has told voters that a few unnamed foreign leaders prefer him to George W. Bush as the President of the United States. Even John Edwards has repeated the foreign endorsement theme. Recently, Democratic Senators Joseph Biden and Carl Levin returned from Europe telling America that unnamed European leaders (presumably the French and Germans) stand ready to put their full weight behind our efforts in Iraq only if John Kerry resides in the White House.

It is puzzling that Democrats think Americans should be impressed that anti-American foreign leaders support Kerry. As dubious as Kerry’s claims of foreign endorsements may be, there is at least one foreign leader who hopes for a Kerry-Edwards win in November. However, even the two Johns are smart enough not to brag about having this foreign leader’s support. Of whom am I speaking? Osama bin Laden.

If Osama bin Laden could vote in November and had to choose between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, how would Osama vote? The answer couldn’t be easier or clearer.

The last thing bin Laden and al Qaeda terrorists want is four more years of President George W. Bush’s unyielding pounding. Thanks to Bush’s leadership, Osama and his terrorists have been pursued relentlessly for almost three years – thousands driven and killed and captured as they hide in remote mountain caves. Al Qaeda’s leadership has been decimated. Their network has been weakened and their plans disrupted. It’s not hard to understand why Osama is pulling for a change on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Kerry has been highly critical of President Bush’s uncompromising pursuit of terrorism and said that he would do things differently. That is precisely why Osama is hoping for a Kerry victory in November. Kerry has repeatedly said that terrorism should be dealt with as a “law enforcement” issue. Simply put, Kerry wants to arrest terrorists and have attorneys prosecute them. Little wonder Osama is pulling for Kerry.

For the record, President Bill Clinton tried the law enforcement approach the first time the World Trade Center was bombed by terrorists more than a decade ago. Ramzi Yousef now sits in prison for bombing the World Trade Center in 1993 – killing 6 and wounding hundreds. We now know the “law enforcement” reactionary approach did nothing to protect America on September 11, 2001.

Kerry has repeatedly criticized Bush for preemptively fighting terrorism. Kerry says that he will react swiftly after the fact. In his convention speech, Kerry promised, “Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response.” Simply stated, his own words make it clear that John Kerry will not preemptively fight terrorism. He will wait and react. We are supposed to take comfort that after another attack, Kerry will respond swiftly and certainly. I doubt the thought of a Commander in Chief who waits to respond to attacks rather than preempting them provides much comfort to most Americans. But Osama is certainly comforted.

Al Qaeda has stated that it would like to “influence” America’s election as it did earlier this year in Spain. In March, the Spanish party in power, who supported America’s war on terror, lost a very close election due to a terrorist attack just days before the election. Al Qaeda is reportedly planning a similar attack in America in hopes of defeating George Bush in November.

Al Qaeda does not want four more years of George Bush’s relentless pursuit. To survive, the terrorists need a breather. Bush’s doctrine of preemption will provide no respite. On the other hand, John Kerry will provide a much-needed breather by shifting from Bush’s preemptive approach to a passive reactionary approach.

So next time Kerry or his surrogates boast that Kerry has support from foreign leaders, you can be sure that there is at least one foreign leader pulling for Kerry. This should comfort no one.

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Mr. Landrith is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He had a successful law practice in business and litigation. In 1994 and 1996, Mr. Landrith was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. He served on the Albemarle County School Board. Mr. Landrith is an adjunct professor at the George Mason School of Law. He is recognized as an authority on constitutional law and jurisprudence, federalism, global warming, and property rights.

george@ff.org