BostonBarrister,
There WAS something new in Bush’s speech. When he spoke of elections, he said “no later than.” That was a big deal.
Brian Smith
It is good to read your posts again!
Curious, would you say you are very pro-Isreal? I mean more then the average Joe. Again just curious, no ill feelings if you are are aren’t.
Brian: I misunderstood you. When you said “Iraqi civilians,” I thought that you meant attacks by Iraqi civilians, not attacks against them by their own people. And I do not dispute that there are indeed terrorists in Iraq. But the war itself cannot be characterized as a war against terrorism.
It is fair to point out, though, that during our own revolutionary period, we killed many people who were loyal to the British, and they killed revolutionaries. Generally, though, I agree with you that killing innocents in that way is unconscionable.
Bush has to stick the course. He and his administration are one trick ponies that for some unknown reason are better humans than the rest of us and they never make mistakes [eyes rolling]…
They know that half the populace will simply eat up anything they say as gospel and as long as they don’t admit a mistake then it never actually happened. What a tragic world we live in.
Brian –
True. But as I said, it was mostly rehashing the previous positions. But there was nothing wrong with that. I don’t understand why people think that’s a criticism.
Boston Barrister
I don’t get CNN.
"Thank you for being an echo chamber for whatever you managed hear on CNN today. I can always count on you to regurgitate the party line with no new analysis added.
However, that said, you are correct."
Hilarious! Thanks for making my day.
I love the party line that “saying nothing new is a bold stance!”
Sure it is, buddy! Allrighty then! LOL
Elkhntr1,
I think it’s fair to say that I’m “pro-Israel” if you also allow that I’m “pro-USA” and “pro-Canada” and “pro-Britain,” etc… I seem to turn very pro-Israel when I feel that the country is being unfairly criticized or villified. I guess I’m as pro-Israel as someone like John McCain, and for similar reasons.
Nephorm,
I guess we basically agree. I’ve always thought that to call Iraq part of the “war on terrorism” really depends on a kind of abstract socio-political argument, not a concrete extensive connection between Islamist terrorists and the Baathist regime.
Although Andrew Sullivan on his blog recently made this point:
“Critics like to believe that Saddam was somehow utterly unconnected to broader terror, had no potential to enable it, and was too secular to cooperate with al Qaeda. They’re wrong on all counts. In the wake of 9/11, a Saddam-Zarqawi alliance would have been a terrible threat. Now we have a Baathist-Zarqawi insurgency. And we have had a year to defeat it.”
Although Zarqawi would have been a major international threat (ex. the attempted use of gas in Jordan), I’m not sure I buy this. It’s too easy.
Boston Barrister,
I’m not criticizing Bush for this. In fact, I think it might be a good idea that he’s too politically cautious to pursue. If we hold elections earlier, the timing of the terrorists/insurgents might be thrown off [Mickey Kaus brought this up] and moderate Iraqis will be more likely to view those attacks as against democracy.
Also on Andrew Sullivan’s blog, a quote from an AP arictle about those insurgents fighting the American imperialist invader in Fallujah:
‘On Sunday, for example, scores of masked mujahedeen, shouting “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is Great,” paraded four men stripped down to their underpants atop the back of a pickup truck that drove through the city. Their bare backs were bleeding from 80 lashes they had received as punishment for selling alcohol. They were taken to a hospital where they were treated and released. Residents said a man found intoxicated last week was flogged, held overnight and released the next day.’
You can watch Al Gore’s speech on the Iraq crisis tonight (Wednesday, May 26th) on C-Span 1 at 10 PM Eastern Time.
I watched Bush’s dumb speech, the least you Bush Nuts can do is return the gesture.