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John Kerry Then: Kerry's Historic 1971 Speech Against the
Vietnam War
John Kerry Now: Kerry Backs Iraq Invasion & U.S. Militarism
Malcolm X: May 19, 1925 - Feb. 21, 1965
John Kerry Then: Kerry's Historic 1971 Speech Against
the Vietnam War
INTRO: After returning from the Vietnam War, John Kerry
became a prominent critic of the war. He testified before
the Senate in 1971 and told of atrocities being committed
by U.S. troops. He called for the immediate withdrawal of
U.S. troops. And he asked: "How do you ask a man to be
the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be
the last man to die for a mistake?" We broadcast a rare
recording of this historic address from the Pacifica Radio
Archives.
On October 9, 2002, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry stood
on the Senate floor and spoke in favor of the invasion of
Iraq. The next day he voted to authorize President Bush to
go to war.
Thirty years earlier, Kerry became a leading voice against
the war in Vietnam.
Kerry returned from Vietnam in April 1969, having won early
transfer out of the conflict because of his three Purple Hearts.
He had also won a Silver Star.
When Kerry returned home, over 540,000 U.S. troops were
deployed in Vietnam. Some 33,400 had been killed, and the
number of protests in the U.S. was surging.
Kerry gradually became active in the antiwar movement. After
working behind the scenes and making a few little-noticed
appearances at rallies, he joined a group called Vietnam Veterans
Against the War.
In January 1971, the organization held a series of hearings
in Detroit called the "Winter Soldier Investigation."
Kerry did not speak at the event, which received only modest
press coverage. This is an excerpt of a veteran testifying
at the hearings. He describes what it was like in Vietnam.
- Winter Soldier Investigation documentary
John Kerry declined to speak at the “Winter Soldier
Investigation” hearings, but a bigger stage awaited
him.
Three months after the hearings, Kerry took his case to
congress and spoke before a jammed Senate Foreign Relations
Committee. Television cameras lined the walls, and veterans
packed the seats.
Kerry was 27 years old and dressed in his green fatigues
and Silver Star and Purple Heart ribbons. On April 22, 1971,
he sat at a witness table and delivered the most famous speech
of his life. It was to become the speech that defined him
and make possible his political career. Overnight, he emerged
as one of the most recognized veterans in America.
Pacifica Radio played his speech on the air. Today, we will
play a rare broadcast of that speech. From the Pacifica Radio
Archives, this is John Kerry in 1971.
- John Kerry, testifying on April 22, 1971
John Kerry Now: Kerry Backs Iraq Invasion & U.S.
Militarism
INTRO: On October 9, 2002 Senator John Kerry voted in favor
of the invasion of Iraq. His friend and fellow Vietnam veteran
Brian Willson soon penned an open letter to Kerry to express
his disappointment that Kerry went from an ardent opponent
of the Vietnam War to a support of a preemptive attack on
Iraq. We speak to Willson.
Just over 30 years after he passionately advocated against
the Vietnam War, John Kerry took one of his most controversial
votes: giving President Bush the authorization to invade Iraq.
On October 9, 2002, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry stood
on the Senate floor and spent 45 minutes outlining his support
for the war. On October 10 he placed his vote.
The next week his friend and fellow Vietnam War veteran
Brian Willson wrote an open letter to Kerry protesting his
decision.
Willson wrote:
Link: brianwillson.com/awolkerry.html
It has been a long time since we have had contact. As you
might remember, our very first meeting was at VVAW's Dewey
Canyon III, "A Limited Incursion Into the Country of
Congress," April 19-23, 1971, in Washington, D.C. I'm
sure you remember asking the Senate that week in an impassioned
speech, "How do you ask a man to die for a mistake?"
You also stressed the importance of being "totally nonviolent"...
With your vote for essentially agreeing with the selected
resident of the White House's request for incredible authority
in advance to wage wars against whomever he wants, you have
contributed to finalizing the last of the world's empires,
and the likely consequent doom of international law, peaceful
existence, and hope for the future possibilities of Homo sapiens.
Of course, it also means that searching for the motivations
of other people's rage and desperate acts of revenge will
be overlooked, dooming us to far more threats and instability
then if we had seriously pursued a single-standard in the
application of international law equally with all nations
in the first place. We are too much of a bully to do that,
and have stated over and over again that the American Way
Of Life is not negotiable. Can you understand that this means
species suicide?
I'm sorry and terribly fearful for this state we are in.
Your vote is terribly misguided, John. Now that veterans have
reorganized throughout the nation as once again an important
part of the growing movement, know that we shall work hard
for your defeat, whether as a Presidential candidate or for
another Senate term.
We talk to veteran Brian Willson and hear a clip of John
Kerry's 2002 speech supporting the Iraq invasion.
- Brian Willson, a former U.S. Air Force captain who served
in Vietnam, first met Kerry in 1971 during protests on Capitol
Hill. In the 1980s, Willson was one of "Kerry's Commandos"
or "the dog hunters"; and then-Lt.-Gov. Kerry
appointed Willson to his Vietnam Veteran's Advisory Committee.
Malcolm X: May 19, 1925 - Feb. 21, 1965
We hear the words of Malcolm X, 39 years after he was assassinated
in New York City on Feb. 21, 1965. We'll hear an excerpt of
his speech "The Ballot or the Bullet.”
On February 21, 1965, he was shot to death as he spoke before
a packed audience in Harlem's Audubon Ballroom. He was just
39 years old.
We turn now to a speech Malcolm X gave in Detroit just a
year before he was gunned down. It is known as 'The Ballot
or the Bullet.'
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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