Pay Attention to the Consequences
JK maintains his focus on the Middle East and the scope of activities that various agencies of our government are engaged in that affect the peace and security of the region. After reviewing an AP report about Iranian and Chinese acquisitions from the Defense Department via third party buyers, the senator called for an investigation by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
<!The surplus sales include parts for F-14 “Tomcat” fighter jets, a plane retired last year by the United States and now flown only by Iran. Iran bought the jets in the 1970s before the U.S. government banned most exports, including defense-related sales, to the Mideast country.
“There is no way that Iran should be getting these sensitive military parts, especially with the situation in the Mideast so turbulent,” Kerry said.
Federal investigators say that in at least one instance, gear purchased from Pentagon surplus got to Iran. A Pakistani arms broker bought Chinook helicopter engine parts for Iran from a U.S. company that had bought them in a Pentagon surplus sale, and those parts made it to Iran, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Sensitive surplus is supposed to be rendered useless for military purposes or, if sold, then only to buyers who promise to obey U.S. arms embargoes and other laws.
Defense Department official Fred Baillie said the Pentagon did nothing wrong in selling the surplus and that it was not the agency’s fault the items wound up in the wrong hands.
[...]
Customs and GAO officials worry about security problems with the program, however, and are seeking assurances the Pentagon will not sell surplus parts from the recently retired F-14 fleet.
exchange with a older child who protests that he can’t help it if a younger sibling got hold of the dangerous plaything he left laying around, and then shared it with the neighbor kids. Someone needs to step in as an adult and say “think about the consequences of your actions—you are responsible for securing your playthings”. The senator has it right.
14 Comments
New comments for this entry are closed.
Thank you, Senator Kerry for once again speaking out against poorly thought out US actions that make our soldiers less safe. What on earth were they thinking when they didn’t very carefully investigate to whom and where the materials were ultimately going.
The response of the Defense department employee sounds like an excuse that would be made by a fourth grader. That program shouldn’t be run by people who define their jobs so narrowly that they don’t care where dangerous weapons are going.
What is sad is that this brings back the memory of when you asked why the Bush administration did not guard known ammo dumps that became the source of the IEDs that have injured and killed so many soldiers. Your words made it crystal clear how thoughtless they were and how it made Iraq more dangerous - as this can make Iran more dangerous.
Beyond these examples where they carelessly made the world more dangerous, these same people in earlier administrations officially did the same thing. I admire the fact that you fought the Reagan administration to stop them from violating the Boland amendment that forebade them from arming the Contras in Central America. I wonder how many of those weapons that Reagan et al delivered were responsible for the nightmares in Central America afterwards.
We need you as President to change the way America interacts in the world.
Wow, that’s a heck of a response: “the Pentagon did nothing wrong…”
Have they been able to track down the missing U.S. weapons in Iraq, the ones they forget to register?
This administration refuses to take ownership for security breaches on its watch. The gist of the current excuse: We sold ‘em, but it’s not our fault they ended up in Iran. Roh oh!
Feel safe yet?
Run John, Run!
We need a president who can offer the U.S. real security and an intelligent response to looming threats.
That IS a very, very lame response—“the Pentagon did nothing wrong…”—in fact, it’s so lame, I’m embarassed for whoever said it! For crying out loud, where’s the freaking accountability factor?!?!
Well, what can you expect when the Current Occupant of the White House (who is not MY president) won’t take ownership for his actions?
Oh PLEASE, run JK, run!! America needs a Commander-in-Chief who’s got courage, honor, integrity, intelligence—everything that Duhh-bya lacks…
The incompetence of this administration is simply stunning, isn’t it?
I agree with the folks who posted before me - we need a competent President who can work intelligently with other nations, and Senator Kerry is the best person I know of for that job.
On the domestic front, I hope we’ll see something posted here about the Small Business Expo Senator Kerry hosted today.
A too short news video clip is posted here:
http://www.boston.com/partners/worldnow/necn.html?catID=80778&clipid=1183550&autoStart=true&mute=false&continuous=true
I wonder what Senator Kerry’s view on the recently added test of anti-missile defense systems on commercial aircraft. Does it not make these a target of a military grade? Does it not put the power of the military in that of the corporations; that is, the power of those who should not control that power?
While everyone’s bickering about the exchanges on the Black Market, there’s trouble brewing in our own backyard. Last time I checked, civilians weren’t supposed to have military-grade weaponry of that power.
I certainly don’t want some corporation with military power. Leave that to the military and militia(s).
Senator, When are you going to declare your candidacy? Please do it quickly. We are waiting!
I’m with you, kerrycrat. Recently, I’ve heard from various sources that he’ll announce ‘before spring training’ and ‘by the end of the month’, but yesterday’s quote from the Senator is what I’m going with:
“I will be letting you know,” he said. When asked for a time, he replied, “At the appropriate time.”
I think it’s wise to get Hillary’s announcement and Obamarama out of the way first. The media is obsessed with these two for some reason that escapes me. Neither shows me much. Hillary’s position is to wait for the polls before she says anything and Obama doesn’t have much of a record to run on. Also, neither voted for Kerry/Feingold, which to me is the measure of a candidates opposition to Bush’s war.
Hopefully, “at the appropriate time” is soon.
Run, John, Run!
GV, I’m absolutely with you. I have been a staunch Kerry supporter for over 4 years now. Senator Kerry is the best hope we have. The more the punditry denounces the better it is for Kerry. In 1972 Nixon did the same. Kerry bounced back. In 1997 every notable pundit said Kerry would lose to Bill Weld. Today, Weld runs law practice in New York. In 2002, no one took Kerry seriously; in 2004, the very same people were desperately ringing Boston Globe to find out more about the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Don’t strike off Kerry! He will be back. And the pundits will realise that it is the people who matter. They want Kerry.
To the Senator: we are hungry for leadership. Sir, please, please, please declare. Everyone in NH loves you! This election is yours to lose.
Kerrycrat,
I believe you mean’t 1996 regarding Kerry and Weld.
Well, Hillary’s bid is out there now…I do admire her on many issues but I’m not very impressed with her repeated backing of the war even after it was clear that it was turning into a fiasco. It seems like she started hammering the Administration only after MANY other Dems were, as well—kinda like a “pack mentality”...
However, JK’s stuck his neck out on many occasions—IMHO, that’s one of the hallmarks of a True Leader—courage in the face of intense adversity.
Once again—run John, run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carl J R III - do you have a link describing this, it looks like I missed it.
The way you put it, yes, that is a pretty worrisome development.
Here is the news story. Even though it’s a test phase, and the use of lasers would be there, it still doesn’t rule out such technology of weaponry out of the hands of the U.S. Military. All one company would have to do is modify some hardware and software and it’s in their control.
Too late for this round up, but Liberal Values looks at two Boston newspaper accounts on Kerry running in 2008:
http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=925
Kerry supporters will also have no trouble reading between the lines in my post over the weekend on Hillary Clinton entering the race. Speaking about her health care proposal:
“he fact remains that she botched not a joke but her first major exercise in national policy, as well as (along with John Edwards) being on the wrong side of the decision to go to war.”
http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=913