Senator Kerry Apologizes for Comments on American Troops in Iraq

Under intense pressure from Republicans and some fellow Democrats, Senator Kerry of Massachusetts apologized yesterday for any offense caused by comments some viewed as insulting the intelligence of American troops serving in Iraq.“As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: My poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop,” Mr. Kerry said. “I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.”Mr. Kerry canceled his scheduled political appearances and returned to Washington in an attempt to stem the damage from his remarks Monday to a political rally at a Pasadena, Calif., community college. “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq,” he said.The senator has insisted he intended to say “get us stuck in Iraq,” alluding to President Bush’s allegedly inadequate preparation for the war.Several Democrats in close races joined Republicans and Mr. Bush in calling for an apology from Mr. Kerry, who was the Democratic nominee for president in 2004 and is considering another bid in 2008.“Whatever the intent, Senator Kerry was wrong to say what he said,” the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Tennessee, Harold Ford, said. “He needs to apologize to our troops.”The Democrats’ senatorial prospect in Montana, Jon Tester, expressed a similar view. “Senator Kerry’s remarks were poorly worded and just plain stupid,” Mr. Tester said in a statement late Tuesday. “He owes our troops and their families an apology.”Senator Clinton, who is widely favored to win re-election on Tuesday, offered a milder rebuke of her colleague from Massachusetts. “What Senator Kerry said was inappropriate,” she said during a campaign stop in Kingston, according to the Associated Press.Mrs. Clinton also expressed chagrin that Messrs. Bush and Kerry were locked in a high-profile tussle days before the midterm vote. “I think that no one wants to see the 2004 election replayed,” she said.Mr. Kerry’s apology, delivered in a written statement yesterday afternoon, seemed to be grudging. Just hours earlier, during an interview with a nationally syndicated radio program, the senator turned aside several opportunities to offer an unequivocal apology. Instead, he blamed Republicans for twisting his words.“These guys owe America an apology,” Mr. Kerry said on “Imus in the Morning.” “I’m just not going to let these guys lie.”The show’s host, Don Imus, echoed the views of many Democrats by pleading with Mr. Kerry to bring an end to a spectacle that could undermine the party on the eve of a congressional election.“Please stop it. Stop talking. Go home. Get on the bike. Go windsurfing, anything. Stop it. You’re going to ruin this,” Mr. Imus said.“Nope,” Mr. Kerry replied. “I’m not going to let these guys distort something completely out of its context.”The White House press secretary, Tony Snow, said yesterday that it was plausible that Mr. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, did intend to slur the troops because, in testimony to Congress in 1971, he accused some of his fellow veterans of atrocities.“When I came back from Southeast Asia, I told the truth and I’m proud that I stood up and told the truth then and I told the truth about Iraq every single step of the way,” the senator said on the Imus program.Mr. Snow insisted that Republicans were not highlighting Mr. Kerry’s remarks as a way to distract voters from grim news in Iraq. “The people who have been diverting attention on this is John Kerry,” the spokesman said. “John Kerry called the press conference yesterday. It was colorful. It was kind of cool. You know, he calls it. He calls Imus today. I mean, we’re not the ones who’ve been fanning the flames on this.”Nevertheless, Vice President Cheney’s office released to reporters an advance copy of remarks he planned to deliver about Mr. Kerry at a political event in Montana last night.“Aren’t we lucky he lost that election?” Mr. Cheney was to say, referring to the 2004 presidential contest. “Of course, now Senator Kerry says he was just making a joke, and he botched it up. I guess we didn’t get the nuance. He was for the joke before he was against it.”Mr. Snow’s assertion was also difficult to square with the actions of the Republican National Committee, which released a Web video attacking Mr. Kerry and sent an e-mail about the incident to donors and supporters. With a subject line that said, “Disgraceful,” the e-mail said the senator came from a “cocoon of privilege” where military personnel are viewed as lazy and unintelligent. The note did not mention his military service.While the White House accused Mr. Kerry of insulting the troops by suggesting that they are undereducated, and the senator said yesterday that “you can’t get in the military today if you’re not capable,” neither side in the controversy mentioned that the Army recently increased the number of high school dropouts it accepts. In September 2005, the Army announced that it would accept more such recruits, in part because the Iraq war has driven away more qualified applicants.One political analyst said Mr. Kerry’s handling of the episode effectively ended his chance at winning the Democratic presidential nomination for a second time. “Another presidential contender for 2008 bites the dust,” the analyst, Hank Sheinkopf, said.

Senator Kerry Apologizes for Comments on American Troops in Iraq

Senator Kerry Apologizes for Comments on American Troops in Iraq

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