GSTamral
09-21-2004, 02:11 PM
The simplicity of Iraq:
1) The Bush administration was misled from just about every viable source regarding the presence and capabilities of weapons of mass destruction.
2) The Bush administration saw an opportunity to remove and uproot a major source of tension from the region, and in doing so, win some levels of support from the other hard line administrations in the region that despised the fact that Iraq had religious freedom and was not ruled by strict religious Shi'ites.
3) The Bush administration vastly underestimated the effects and aftermaths of the invasion, instead choosing only to focus on how the war could be won easily, without regard for how difficult the rebuilding process would be with such a large volume of insurgents and religious fanatics.
4) The Bush administration failed to enforce enough policies to close off Iraqi borders during the rebuilding process, something that has allowed a lot of influential foreign terrorists to bring death and destruction to the Iraqi people and US soldiers.
5) The Bush administration chose not to get support from other nations in the rebuilding process, and chose to leave much of the UN out of the reconstruction.
6) The Bush administration has no short term plan for the current violent outbreaks in Iraq. Nobody does, because terrorism isn't predictable, it doesn't go according to schedule, and it doesn't stop and wait for budgeting meetings and UN resolutions that may take years to move.
That being said, Kerry's plan in utter bullshit as well, It is exactly what Bush is doing currently. It also gives absolutely no specifics on how our troops can be pulled out. I do and still do believe that in the long run, the invasion and the neutralization of Saddam makes the region more stable. However we did go in without a sufficient plan, we did go in there without acknowledging the quagmire we'd be in, and the Bush administration plays a major part of the blame in that action.
Yes, the Bush administration made some mistakes. so did CBS. so did Bill Clinton in Somalia, Yemen, and in supporting a mass murderer in Janet Reno. I've never said Iraq wasn't a mistake. But until Ravenstorm, Wezas, and others are willing to make those same admissions, that this is in fact the same mistakes that the Clintons and such have made, their arguments are all politics and no substance, none.
We have made more progress in the fight against terrorism in the Bush administration than ever before. Is it complete? is it even sufficient yet? No, absolutely not. Naysayers always love to criticize the people who take the initiative because they fail to understand the level of time and effort needed to accomplish the goal. To actually think that Bush can accomplish the overall goals against terrorism in the next 4 years is ludicrous. He will simply do a much better job than Kerry will towards the end goal.
Does the Patriot act restrict our freedoms? Sure it does, if only in the fact of the perception of the overwhelming authority placed in government. But if it stops just one attack, I'll personally find it to be worthwhile. I don't know about you, but we've been living under the Patriot act for quite some time now, and it hasn't affected anything I've done at all.
Kerry would have you believe he has a magic plan to fix everything. And some people are stupid enough to believe it. Just like some people believe Bush will fix everything. Not everything has a set in stone solution, not in a world in which you have limited resources for a growing number of people. Can you trust a man who's state ranks 43rd in the nation in quality of public education over a man who's policies have caused the national SAT score to rise over his 4 year term? I don't think so. But similarly, to place the blame of the fact that Massachusetts sucks at education is not all Kerry's fault, just like the rise in national median SAT scores is not all Bush's praise.
What made Clinton a successful president? It was the fact that a lot of people were confident in his ability to lead. Raised confidence leads to raised investments, raised spending, and a more positive outlook for people. The same qualities that Reagan had, except without the same policies. Yes, Clinton left us with a recession in place, and yes, that recession took a major turn for the worse after Sep. 11, but here we are again. Profits are up, employment is rising again, and spending and investments are going up.
not everyone has confidence in Bush. He is hated by liberals with the same fervor that conservatives hated Clinton. But many people do. putting a president into office, in which the majority of the constituents of his vote did not vote out of confidence in him, but rather in anger at the opponent will do nothing but put americans into another slump. His corporate tax plans will not restore manufacturing to this country, and if the confidence is not there, god knows where we'll end up.
1) The Bush administration was misled from just about every viable source regarding the presence and capabilities of weapons of mass destruction.
2) The Bush administration saw an opportunity to remove and uproot a major source of tension from the region, and in doing so, win some levels of support from the other hard line administrations in the region that despised the fact that Iraq had religious freedom and was not ruled by strict religious Shi'ites.
3) The Bush administration vastly underestimated the effects and aftermaths of the invasion, instead choosing only to focus on how the war could be won easily, without regard for how difficult the rebuilding process would be with such a large volume of insurgents and religious fanatics.
4) The Bush administration failed to enforce enough policies to close off Iraqi borders during the rebuilding process, something that has allowed a lot of influential foreign terrorists to bring death and destruction to the Iraqi people and US soldiers.
5) The Bush administration chose not to get support from other nations in the rebuilding process, and chose to leave much of the UN out of the reconstruction.
6) The Bush administration has no short term plan for the current violent outbreaks in Iraq. Nobody does, because terrorism isn't predictable, it doesn't go according to schedule, and it doesn't stop and wait for budgeting meetings and UN resolutions that may take years to move.
That being said, Kerry's plan in utter bullshit as well, It is exactly what Bush is doing currently. It also gives absolutely no specifics on how our troops can be pulled out. I do and still do believe that in the long run, the invasion and the neutralization of Saddam makes the region more stable. However we did go in without a sufficient plan, we did go in there without acknowledging the quagmire we'd be in, and the Bush administration plays a major part of the blame in that action.
Yes, the Bush administration made some mistakes. so did CBS. so did Bill Clinton in Somalia, Yemen, and in supporting a mass murderer in Janet Reno. I've never said Iraq wasn't a mistake. But until Ravenstorm, Wezas, and others are willing to make those same admissions, that this is in fact the same mistakes that the Clintons and such have made, their arguments are all politics and no substance, none.
We have made more progress in the fight against terrorism in the Bush administration than ever before. Is it complete? is it even sufficient yet? No, absolutely not. Naysayers always love to criticize the people who take the initiative because they fail to understand the level of time and effort needed to accomplish the goal. To actually think that Bush can accomplish the overall goals against terrorism in the next 4 years is ludicrous. He will simply do a much better job than Kerry will towards the end goal.
Does the Patriot act restrict our freedoms? Sure it does, if only in the fact of the perception of the overwhelming authority placed in government. But if it stops just one attack, I'll personally find it to be worthwhile. I don't know about you, but we've been living under the Patriot act for quite some time now, and it hasn't affected anything I've done at all.
Kerry would have you believe he has a magic plan to fix everything. And some people are stupid enough to believe it. Just like some people believe Bush will fix everything. Not everything has a set in stone solution, not in a world in which you have limited resources for a growing number of people. Can you trust a man who's state ranks 43rd in the nation in quality of public education over a man who's policies have caused the national SAT score to rise over his 4 year term? I don't think so. But similarly, to place the blame of the fact that Massachusetts sucks at education is not all Kerry's fault, just like the rise in national median SAT scores is not all Bush's praise.
What made Clinton a successful president? It was the fact that a lot of people were confident in his ability to lead. Raised confidence leads to raised investments, raised spending, and a more positive outlook for people. The same qualities that Reagan had, except without the same policies. Yes, Clinton left us with a recession in place, and yes, that recession took a major turn for the worse after Sep. 11, but here we are again. Profits are up, employment is rising again, and spending and investments are going up.
not everyone has confidence in Bush. He is hated by liberals with the same fervor that conservatives hated Clinton. But many people do. putting a president into office, in which the majority of the constituents of his vote did not vote out of confidence in him, but rather in anger at the opponent will do nothing but put americans into another slump. His corporate tax plans will not restore manufacturing to this country, and if the confidence is not there, god knows where we'll end up.