John Kerry's position on

War Powers: Instability in North Korea and Iran as well as the continuing war on terror will pose tremendous challenges for the next President. The President must fulfill his role as Commander in Chief by deciding when military action is necessary to solve problems.

Description of the candidate's position: Kerry will seek multilateral solutions to international conflicts and utilize diplomacy before taking military action (unless the U.S. is directly attacked). Kerry will not wait for permission from a foreign power to defend the country, but he will work hard to build powerful international coalitions if war is necessary. Kerry will not go to war without a plan to win the peace. Link.

Quotation from the candidate: "And as President, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to; we only go to war because we have to." Link. 

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: Retired NATO General Wesley Clark endorsed John Kerry. During his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he stated that, "John Kerry will lead America with strength and wisdom. He has the will to fight. He has the moral courage born in battle to pursue and secure a strong peace." He advocated Kerry's multilateral approach to the use of war powers because "the safety of our country demands cooperation with our allies. The safety of our country demands making more friends and fewer enemies." Link. 

Negative: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is "a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States." Link. http://www.carnegieendowment.org/about/ In regards to Kerry's quotation, Robert Kagan, a CEIP fellow, accused Kerry of "invoking an American 'tradition' that does not exist." Kagan asserted that Kerry's doctrine "would entail a pacifism and an isolationism more thorough than any attempted by a U.S. government since the 1930s." Link.

Comparison: Generally speaking, Kerry favors multilateral actions while Bush is more of a unilateralist. Contrary to popular belief, Kerry reserves the right to preemption, but he would only use it as a very last resort. Bush is willing to preemptively attack countries who may pose a threat, and this is a stark contrast between his position and Kerry's.

Link to Bush's issue page