Kerry the Diplomat

John Kerry has long touted an advantage over Bush because he would "play well" with America's allies. Another Kerry fantasy. On Thursday, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi addressed Congress, saying,

we are succeeding in Iraq. It's a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding. . . . We are fighting for freedom and democracy, ours and yours. Every day, we strengthen the institutions that will protect our new democracy, and every day, we grow in strength and determination to defeat the terrorists and their barbarism. [My] message is quite simple and one that I would like to deliver directly from my people to yours: Thank you, America.

Kerry responded by attacking Allawi:

The prime minister and the president are here obviously to put their best face on the policy, but the fact is that the CIA estimates, the reporting, the ground operations and the troops all tell a different story. The United States and the Iraqis have retreated from whole areas of Iraq.

This comes less than a week after the candidate's sister and spokesperson attacked U.S. ally Australia:

Diana Kerry, younger sister of the Democrat presidential candidate, told The Weekend Australian that the Bali bombing and the recent attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta clearly showed the danger to Australians had increased. "Australia has kept faith with the US and we are endangering the Australians now by this wanton disregard for international law and multilateral channels," she said, referring to the invasion of Iraq.

This is the "nice" John Kerry? I guess it depends on what the meaning of "is" is.

More:

Kerry's new consultants--Clinton's leftovers--apparently aren't diplomats either:

"The last thing you want to be seen as is a puppet of the United States, and you can almost see the hand underneath the shirt today moving the lips," said Joe Lockhart, a senior Kerry adviser.

Blogger Gregory Djerejian is appalled:

Remember, Kerry may need to work with this so-called "puppet" in the future. Regardless, this is astonishingly irresponsible campaign rhetoric from a key member of the challenger's campaign team. To malign the serving PM of Iraq as appearing a "puppet" plays right into the handbook of insurgents operating in Iraq. I'm truly shocked Kerry would ostensibly authorize such an inflammatory statement.

(via Instapundit)