Distorted Record
John Kerry’s Misleading Attempt To Distort His Intelligence Record
The Kerry campaign is misleading Americans and distorting the facts of his intelligence record. Their flailing attacks and efforts to distract from his record do not change the facts. John Kerry missed 76 percent of Senate Intelligence meetings during his time on the Committee (1993-2000). John Kerry also proposed $6 billion in across the board intelligence cuts in 1994, the year after the first bombing of the World Trade Center.
Kerry’s Poor Attendance
John Kerry skipped 38 of 49 public intelligence hearings during his time on the Senate Intelligence Committee. This count is based on records where Kerry’s name was not listed as present and where Kerry is not listed as speaking. This is an absentee rate of over 76 percent.
The Kerry campaign rightly points out that there are many more closed-door Intelligence Committee hearings, but attendance at these hearings can only be released if Kerry requests it of the Committee, which he has yet to do.
Kerry’s Proposed Intelligence Cuts
In 1994, one year after the first bombing of the World Trade Center, John Kerry proposed $6 billion in across the board intelligence cuts. These were cuts that would have been beyond anything already approved by Congress. Kerry’s amendment was defeated by a lopsided vote of 75 to 20. Sen. Kennedy voted against it, and Kerry’s fellow Democrats took the floor to criticize the bill. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) warned at the time that Kerry’s cut “would severely hamper” intelligence efforts and ignored threats of North Korean nuclear weapons and terrorism.
The Kerry campaign claims in its release, “Intelligence funding was ripe for cuts at the time.” But then-Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) said previous cuts were “as deep as the intelligence community can withstand,” and also noted Kerry’s proposal ignored terrorism and imperiled national security.
The Kerry campaign is also claiming that Kerry’s cuts did not total $6 billion. Again, Sen. DeConcini disagreed, saying, “Mr. President, the Kerry amendment includes a $1 billion cut in fiscal year 1994 and $5 billion over the next five years from intelligence activities.”
Kerry’s Misleading Claims About His Book On “Global Terrorism”
In its release, the Kerry campaign cites Kerry’s 1997 book as proof of his leadership on terrorism, writing, “Additionally, Kerry is the author of the 1997 book ‘The New War’ which addressed the challenges of global terrorism �” But the fact is that Kerry’s 1997 book contains zero references to Osama Bin Laden or Al Qaeda and just one mention of the Taliban in the context of drug dealing, despite Bin Laden’s previous attacks. This is the same book where Kerry refers to Yasser Arafat as a “statesman” and “role model.”
The reality is that Kerry’s book focuses on global crime networks as the threat of the future – not terrorism. The New Republic said Kerry’s book “missed the mark.” After being criticized for citing the book in its New Mexico test ad, the Kerry campaign released the same ad nationwide, with the section on his book removed.
ohn Kerry’s Misleading Attempt To Distort His Intelligence Record
