Old Crimson Interview Reveals A More Radical John Kerry
By ZACHARY M. SEWARD
Crimson Staff Writer
Ten months after returning home from Vietnam, a young John Kerry strolled into the offices of The Harvard Crimson on Feb. 13, 1970 as an obscure underdog in the Democratic Congressional primary.
The decorated veteran, honorably discharged after a tour of duty in the Mekong Delta, spoke in fierce terms during his daylong interview with The Crimson??™s Samuel Z. Goldhaber ??™72.
But almost 34 years later, Kerry??™s remarks on American military and intelligence operations vastly diverge from opinions expressed by the present-day Sen. John F. Kerry, D.-Mass., the leading candidate in the Democratic primary for president.
??œI??™m an internationalist,??? Kerry told The Crimson in 1970. ??œI??™d like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations.???
Kerry said he wanted ??œto almost eliminate CIA activity. The CIA is fighting its own war in Laos and nobody seems to care.???
The Kerry campaign, celebrating primary victories in Virginia and Tennessee last night, declined to comment on the senator??™s remarks.
As a candidate for president, Kerry has said he supports the autonomy of the U.S. military and has never called for a scale-back of CIA operations.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich defended Kerry??™s 1970 statements as appropriate for their time.
??œIn the context of the Vietnam War, those comments are completely understandable,??? said Reich, who has endorsed Kerry.
But a spokesperson for President Bush??™s reelection campaign said Kerry??™s 1970 remarks signaled the senator??™s weakness on defense.
??œPresident Bush will never cede the best interests of the national security of the American people to anybody but the president of the United States, along with the Congress,??? said the spokesperson, Kevin A. Madden.
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