Editing WtHQM:JTF Van Helsing (section)

==US Military Operations Abroad==

President George W. Bush refused to authorize draw-down of forces in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, but his successor President John Kerry withdrew from combat operations abroad within the first 100 days after taking office, citing the urgent need to protect America and its treaty partners against "a threat more insidious and dangerous than any human terrorists." In 2009, Kerry requested that the US Senate pass a resolution ending treaty ties with Europe rather than ratifying the so-called "Monster Codicil" to the North Atlantic Treaty that would have required the US Armed Forces to treat teratoid threats to treaty partners on a par with threats at home. The ensuing international furor and economic crisis are considered to be the largest factors in Kerry's defeat in the 2012 presidential election by John McCain; however, President McCain has so far not responded to NATO entreaties for military assistance against the monsters.