Oh. My. God. If you thought Kerry’s Iraq speech on Monday was badass, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet :

President Bush was right to invade Afghanistan and overthrow the Taliban. I supported that decision. So did our country and our allies. So did the world.

But since then, again and again, the President has made the wrong choices in the war on terror? around the world and here at home.

Instead of using U.S. forces to capture Osama bin Laden? the President outsourced the job to Afghan warlords, who let bin Laden slip away. That was the wrong choice.

Instead of finishing the job in Afghanistan? the President rushed to a new war in Iraq. That was the wrong choice.

Instead of listening to the uniformed military, his own State Department, senate and Republican leaders in Congress, and outside experts about how to win the peace in Iraq? the President hitched his wagon to the ideologues who told him our troops would be welcomed as liberators. That was the wrong choice.

Instead of responding to the greatest intelligence failure in our history with a rapid overhaul of our intelligence system ? the President dragged his feet and actually resisted reform. After opposing the 9/11 Commission, after trying to block its extension, after finally agreeing to testify, but only with Vice President Cheney at his side, he still refuses to fully implement the Commission?s recommendations. Those were the wrong choices.

Instead of proposing a Department of Homeland Security ? the President actually opposed it ? and then exploited it for political purposes. That was the wrong choice.
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At our seaports we?re physically inspecting only 5% of the cargo coming into America. The Bush Administration is spending more in Iraq in four days than they?ve spent protecting our ports for all of the last three years.

At our airports, there has been some progress, but there is far more to do. According to news accounts, the terrorist aviation list only includes those who are a danger to aviation. This is ridiculous. It should include every suspected terrorist who is a danger to anything, anywhere in our country.

Terrorists used explosives to bring down two planes in Russia. Yet here in America, the system for detecting explosives carried by passengers fails to pass our own government?s tests. And here?s something that makes no sense at all: your luggage is x-rayed when it?s put on the plane, but the cargo on the hold underneath seldom is.

This has to change. In a Kerry-Edwards Administration, we?ll give inspectors at our borders access to the terrorist watch lists. At our ports, we will provide a 600 percent increase in support for the most promising cargo inspection programs. In our airports, we?ll install the equipment to check passengers for explosives to screen cargo just like we screen baggage. And across the country, we will make sure our police, firefighters, and ambulance drivers have the latest radios, hazmat suits, decontamination facilities, and emergency operation centers they need to respond effectively in a crisis.

This is all common sense; but none of it is a priority for the Bush Administration. Here?s what?s on their agenda. Costly new nuclear weapons we don?t need that risk fueling a new arms race. And committing to a missile defense system that could eventually cost $100 billion doesn?t yet work and won?t stop likely threats to our security.

Near here, in the Philadelphia region, there are eight chemical plants where a terrorist attack could endanger a million people. But this President allowed the chemical industry to derail commonsense measures for chemical plant security. As president, I will protect them.

At a time when police officers are more critical than ever to our homeland security, this President gutted the program to put 100,000 new police on our streets. I will restore that funding and make sure the money reaches our first responders.

This President has failed to provide even a nickel in his budget to safeguard our railroads and subways ? leaving millions of people every day more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. We will invest more than $2 billion in new funding to protect our transit systems, so that what happened in Madrid doesn?t happen here.
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For al Qaeda, this war is a struggle for the heart and soul of the Muslim world. We will win this war only if the terrorists lose that struggle. We will win when ordinary people from Nigeria to Egypt to Pakistan to Indonesia know they have more to live for than to die for. We will win when they once again see America as the champion, not the enemy, of their legitimate yearning to live in just and peaceful societies. We will win when we stop isolating ourselves and start isolating our enemies. The world knows the difference between empty promises and genuine commitment.

So we will win when we show that America uses its economic power for the common good, doing our share to defeat the abject poverty, hunger, and disease that destroy lives and create failed states in every part of the world. The world?s poorest countries, suffering under crushing debt burdens, need particular attention. As president, I will lead the international community to cancel the debt of the most vulnerable nations in return for them living up to goals of social and economic progress.

Every sentence of today’s speech is awesome, so I strongly suggest watching or reading the whole thing.

Combined with Monday’s speech, Kerry has outlined strong strategies for the wars in Iraq and against terrorism. Not only are his attacks difficult to refute, but they stand in stark contrast to the misinformation and incompetence that characterize Bush’s record. There’s a major disconnect between Bush’s actions and his words. Next Thursday night, John Kerry will let the rest of the world know why we’ve been so pissed for the last few years.