Kerry postures as a war hero. (The Last Word).(military past and pacifist activities of presidential candidate Senator John Kerry)(Column)

Senator John Kerry wants to be president. His membership in the Council on Foreign Relations guarantees that the world government crowd will accept him. He can tap into his wife's millions to overcome any fundraising shortfall. And his connection to Yale's eerily secretive Skull & Bones Society opens doors to many of its movers and shakers--though veteran Bones critic Ron Rosenbaum notes the possibility of a "Bones versus Bones smack-down" should Bonesmen Bush and Keny face off in 2004.

Kerry does not want the voting public made aware of his CFR and Bones credentials. Nor does he want to be likened to Ted Kennedy and Michael Dukakis, Massachusetts archliberals out of step with the nation at large. So when he presents himself to voters, he or his handlers insist that he is a foreign policy expert who benefits from past military service.

After an appearance at a New Hampshire campaign stop on April 2nd, an exceptional need for Kerry to trot out his military service occurred. He told a small group of future primary voters that "regime change" was needed not just in Iraq but "in the United States." Reacting to Kerry's statement, Republicans pounced on him like wolves on a wounded lamb, claiming that by using the term "reaime" he had likened the Bush administration to Saddam Hussein's tyranny. So the senator and his aides played their military card. "I don't need any lessons in patriotism or in caring about America from the likes of the right wing," Kerry told a Georgia audience. And he speedily supplied each of his campaign spokesmen with a statement that said in part: "Unlike many of his Republican critics, Senator Kerry has worn the uniform, served his country, seen combat, so he'd just as soon skip their lectures about supporting our troops."

Kerry did serve as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. And he did win a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts. So far, so good. But when he returned home, he became a war protester. In America, of course, everybody is free to agree or disagree with a government policy. But Kerry did not just disagree; he became a leader of groups that championed our nation's foes while our forces were still fighting and dying.

In 1971, the Communist Daily World delightedly published photos of him speaking to demonstrators as a leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). The April 23, 1971 Daily World boasted that the marchers displayed a banner depicting a portrait of Communist Party leader Angela Davis, who was on record stating: "I am dedicated to the overthrow of your system of government and your society."

By frequently participating in VVAW's ...