Kerry defends missile defense stance

The Kerry campaign responds to Bush's jab on missile defense.

WHO DOESN'T "UNDERSTAND THE THREATS OF THE 21st CENTURY"?

May 2001 -- Bush Said "Most Urgent Threat" Was Ballistic Missiles.

Bush: "Most troubling of all, the list of these countries includes some of the World's least responsible states. Unlike the Cold War, today's most urgent threat stems not from thousands of ballistic missiles in the Soviet hands, but from a small number of missiles in the hands of these states, states for whom terror and blackmail are a way of life. They seek weapons of mass destruction to intimidate their neighbors, and to keep the United States and other responsible nations from helping allies and friends in strategic parts of the world." [Bush, Address at the National Defense University, 5/1/01]

May 2001 - Kerry Said "Immediate Threat" was From Terrorists and "Non-State Actors."

Kerry: "But let me underscore that missile defense will do nothing to address what the Pentagon itself considers a much more likely and immediate threat to the American homeland from terrorists and from nonstate actors, who can quietly slip explosives into a building, unleash chemical weapons into a crowded subway, or send a crude nuclear weapon into a busy harbor." [Kerry, Speech on Senate Floor, 5/2/01]

Before 9-11, Bush Administration Didn't Focus on Terrorist Threat, Highlighted Missile Defense

Bush's Pre-9/11 Focus on Missile Defense Over Terrorism is Widely Recognized. A Washington Post editorial noted that "By now it's common knowledge that before Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration's attention was focused not on terrorism but on other national security priorities -- most notably missile defense." [Washington Post, 4/26/04]

And finally, is Kerry actually against a missile defense plan? Not entirely:

"Yes, we must invest in missile defense. But not at the cost of other pressing priorities. We cannot afford to spend billions to deploy an unproven missile defense system. Not only is it not ready, but it's the wrong priority for a war on terror where the enemy strikes with a bomb in the back of a truck, or a vial of anthrax in a briefcase." [Remarks at the Truman Presidential Library, Independence, MO; AP, 6/3/04]