On Friday, ABC’s television program “Nightline” devoted its airtime to showing the names and faces of 721 American soldiers killed in Iraq. The conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group censored the program on its seven ABC stations, claiming that Ted Koppel had “a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States.”
Republican Sen. John McCain disagreed, calling the censorship “unpatriotic.” But other conservatives blasted “Nightline” — and Democrats in general — for using the war dead as a political tool. Like taking photos of flag-draped coffins, any reporting on the terrible human cost of war is considered partisan journalism.
Now, as of May 4, the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq has grown to 760. By the time you read this article, who knows how many more will be dead.
The last two months in Iraq have been particularly horrific. Nearly 30 percent of U.S. soldiers killed in the war have been killed in the past two months. Nearly 40 percent of those killed in hostile action in Iraq have been killed in the past two months. In April alone we lost 139 soldiers, more than any other month. And so far in May, we are on track to break that record.
Some might see these numbers as proof that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating. Some might see it as proof that the president has botched the war and is not doing all that he can to win the peace and protect American lives.
But Mark Alexander, executive editor and publisher of The Federalist, an online conservative journal, sees things differently. In a May 1 column, he suggests that John Kerry, not George W. Bush, is to blame for the increasing death rate in Iraq.
“The danger, of course, is that (Kerry’s) protests today have emboldened Iraqi
insurgents in places like Fallujah and Najaf — just as his protests more than 30 years ago emboldened the Viet Cong in places like Dong Ap Bia. The cost of Kerry’s political folly is tallied not only in Demo-campaign donations, but in flag-draped caskets …
“In the 15 months since the coalition’s invasion of Iraq, 736 American service personnel have been killed. But more than a fourth of those troops have been killed in just the last two months — a period coinciding with the end of the Democrat presidential primary. What, you ask, is our point? Merely that this is precisely the moment when John Kerry’s dissenting views on our mission in Iraq became the central focus of his political campaign — as broadcast around the world.”
I know what you are thinking. I also thought Alexander was just another right-wing lunatic, but then I did some research. What I found is nothing short of astounding. It is even worse than Alexander imagined. There exists a direct connection between John Kerry’s criticism of the war and U.S. casualties in Iraq, suggesting that, like Osama Bin Laden, his speeches are designed to aid the terrorists.
For example, on April 17 we lost 11 American soldiers, one of the bloodiest days in the war. It just so happens that was also the day that John Kerry delivered the democratic response to the president’s weekly radio address. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
During the radio address, Kerry made audacious attacks that were clearly meant to provide comfort to our enemies. For instance, he said, “In order to complete our mission, we must review our tactics and change where it is practicable and makes sense.”
And: “We must supply our military commanders with the additional troops they have requested.”
And this treasonous bit: “By sharing responsibilities with our friends and allies, we can get others to share the burdens and the risks.”
Do you still doubt that Kerry is responsible for the increasing deaths of our soldiers in Iraq?
Okay, then how do you explain this: On April 8, Kerry gave a speech in Wisconsin where he said all sorts of anti-American things like, “No matter what our feelings about the war, we support the troops.” Then the next day we lost 15 soldiers.
And on April 3 Kerry delivers a radio address; the next day 12 soldiers are killed. The examples go on and on. It is impossible to come to any other conclusion than to say that if it weren’t for Kerry and those damn Democrats with their constant pessimism we would have won the War on Terrorism by now.
Oh, and please think of Mark Alexander the next time you hear a conservative accuse the Democrats of playing politics with the lives of our soldiers in Iraq.