Lets talk about Kerry bringing back into play a Wat from 30 years ago.
Kerry has also exploited the war on terror for his own political gain within the campaign.
I for one will choose a candidate to vote for who has taken America through the toughest times we've faced in fifty years, and through diligence and perseverance has made the world a safer place. I also look at my own personal finances and what my business has done in the last few years and I must say that I am better off today than I was four and five years ago in spite of the recession and 9/11.
I would also like to point out the noticable increase in providers and hobbiests on this and other boards; the economy is doing well and we are all benefitting from it.
Just my right wing nut job .02 cents worth.
Addicted to 9/11
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
New York Times
Published: October 14, 2004
... The president has exploited the terrorism issue for political ends - trying to make it into another wedge issue like abortion, guns or gay rights - to rally the Republican base and push his own political agenda. But it is precisely this exploitation of 9/11 that has gotten him and the country off-track, because it has not only created a wedge between Republicans and Democrats, it's also created a wedge between America and the rest of the world, between America and its own historical identity, and between the president and common sense.
By exploiting the emotions around 9/11, Mr. Bush took a far-right agenda on taxes, the environment and social issues - for which he had no electoral mandate - and drove it into a 9/12 world. In doing so, Mr. Bush made himself the most divisive and polarizing president in modern history.
By using 9/11 to justify launching a war in Iraq without U.N. support, Mr. Bush also created a huge wedge between America and the rest of the world. I sympathize with the president when he says he would never have gotten a U.N. consensus for a strategy of trying to get at the roots of terrorism by reshaping the Arab-Muslim regimes that foster it - starting with Iraq.
But in politicizing 9/11, Mr. Bush drove a wedge between himself and common sense when it came to implementing his Iraq strategy. After failing to find any W.M.D. in Iraq, he became so dependent on justifying the Iraq war as the response to 9/11 - a campaign to bring freedom and democracy to the Arab-Muslim world - that he refused to see reality in Iraq. The president seemed to be saying to himself, "Something so good and right as getting rid of Saddam can't possibly be going so wrong." Long after it was obvious to anyone who visited Iraq that we never had enough troops there to establish order, Mr. Bush simply ignored reality. When pressed on Iraq, he sought cover behind 9/11 and how it required "tough decisions" - as if the tough decision to go to war in Iraq, in the name of 9/11, should make him immune to criticism over how he conducted the war.
... Because ultimately Sept. 11th is about them - the bad guys - not about us. We're about the Fourth of July.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/opinion/14friedman.html?hp
-- Modified on 10/14/2004 6:30:42 PM
Most of the NY Times editorial material is liberal tripe, this is no exception. We were attacked by Islamic terroists and Bush is taking the war to them. Iraq was a hot bed for terroists, a place for training, and government funding. It was also a place that torchered, raped and mass murdered it own population. We liberated them and brought freedom. You know what? That's a good thing!
This is the naive party line that the republicans would like to sell america.
---We were attacked by Islamic terroists and Bush is taking the war to them.
Yes, and the last time I checked, Saddam was not an Islamist. He was a brutal despot (to whom we sold arms and supported throughout the 80s and was chummy with Rumsfeld) but then the world is full of brutal dictators. Heard of North Korea? Everyone (9/11 commission, CIA, Rummy, journalists) admit that there is NO EVIDENCE of an Iraq -Al Qaeda alliance. This was a LIE by perpetrated by Cheney and Bush to rush America into a war that the right wing nuts (Perle, Feith, etc) have written about wanting to fight since the 90’s. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. In fact, anyone who has studied the Middle East and Arab history knows that Osama despised Saddam because of his secular government and his oppression of Islamic ayatollahs in Iraq. The truth is we are losing the war in Iraq because Bush rushed to war, did not plan for peace, and was naive enough to think that the Iraqis would welcome us with open arms. Well, instead they are welcoming us with big knives. If Bush had read a book or two in his life, perhaps he would have learned that the British had the same experience in Iraq less than a century ago.
The world is more dangerous-- not less. The entire Muslim world hates us, and guess what, there are one billion of them. What are we going to do? Bomb them all? North Korea has nukes, and Iran is well on the road to getting theirs as well. Iraq is on the verge of a civil war. Complex situations require sophisticated, analytically sound solutions. Not sloganeering like “hunt ‘em down and freedom is on the march.” What are we? 4th graders?
Man, what are you smoking?
Lets talk about Kerry bringing back into play a Wat from 30 years ago.
Kerry has also exploited the war on terror for his own political gain within the campaign.
I for one will choose a candidate to vote for who has taken America through the toughest times we've faced in fifty years, and through diligence and perseverance has made the world a safer place. I also look at my own personal finances and what my business has done in the last few years and I must say that I am better off today than I was four and five years ago in spite of the recession and 9/11.
I would also like to point out the noticable increase in providers and hobbiests on this and other boards; the economy is doing well and we are all benefitting from it.
Just my right wing nut job .02 cents worth.
He has not taken us through the toughest times, he has brought us the toughest times.
Are you all forgetting? In Jan 2001 during Bush's cabinet meeting he had plans drawn up for Foreign Suitors For Iraqi Oil Fields. 9/11 helped and hurt Bush. It hurt Bush because it sidetracked him and forced him to deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan. It also helped Bush because he was able to use it to sell the American people the invasion of Iraq.
Even Pat Buchanan was on MSNBC stating that this war was planned by the Isrealis and Neo-Conservatives in the mid 90's and sold to Bush when he became President. It has nothing to do with terrorism. Mr. Buchanan criticized Bush for buying into it and said he should distance himself from these Neo-Concervatives who sold him this quagmire.
Isreali intelligence just came out with a report last week claiming that the US invasion of Iraq did not achieve its goals and infact generated more terrorists.
Saddam had no WMDs and no links to terrorists. Sure, there may have been a few terrorists in Iraq but there are terrorists in all Arab countries, and all these countries have people in their government who sympathise and support the terrorists, why not invade them all? Remember most of the 9/11 hi-jackers were from Saudi Arabia, why not invade them? Wake the Fuck Up People! This is a bullshit war!!!!!! Last year I thought this was just about Bush trying to finish the job his father didn't and rejected the idea this war was about oil. Now, I know this war is about oil from reports of the Jan 2001 cabinet meeting and the first building guarded in Bagdad by US Forces was the Oil Ministry.
They say if Gore had been elected, or Kerry had his way, Saddam would still be in power. So what? He was contained and had no WMDs. If they had their way over 1,000 Americans would still have their lives. Hundreds if not thousands would still have their arms and legs.
If the Iraqis truely want freedom and democracy they can fight for it them fucking selves, just like our forefathers did!
Voting for Bush is like running in the Special Olympics - even if you win, you are still a retard.
Laxay, you are truly an idiot. People that participate in special olympics are born that way, but obviously have more pride and respect than you will ever have.
If I thought you were smart enough to understand I would take the time to explain it to you. But your not , so I won't. For you it is a good thing breathing is an involuntary action, because I don't think you are smart enough to do it on your own.
You should know that Friedman supported going to war against Iraq. He is not necessarily a democrat. He is a critic of the way Bush has managed the war in Iraq (something all rationale minded, intellectually honest people should agree with) and his politics of fear mongering. He often has an insightful take on issues although, personally, I don't always agree with him. But on the subject of Bush, his logic and eloquence are right on target.
It just struck me that all of this discussion reflects the extreme division that exists in this nation today. We have a great many chasms in our society that need to be bridged before we can call ourselves "One Nation, under god, indivisible and united forever"
"One Nation, under god, indivisible and..." united forever
It was very early in the morning!!
LOL
Okay, but leave out the "under God" bit. I pledge allegence to my country and the Consitution. God can take care of him?her?its?self........
This is the version I like, the orignal one.
'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
No god in this one.