Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Your ‘better war’ is interesting in that it does not pertain to solely Iraq or even Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraq is but one battle in a war that has been waged under different names by both the Democrats and Republicans for a long time. This is a conflict that has shaped our past and marches steadily onward to a desolate future. Rove didn't flinch, correcting the bold student. "First of all, it's the battle of Iraq, not the war." That means the war now called ‘terrorism’ will be longer than the Cold War.

The hawks have screeched into the ears of other presidents but none subscribed to the entire package until now.

What we have seen before is a partial embrace of the neocon vision by our recent past presidents. Even so dark a chapter as the war in Vietnam was unfinished and the remaining dominoes were left standing.

Only Bush, the least intelligent of the lot, is stupid enough to subscribe to the whole parcel. Iraq is just the beginning, as Kristol cheerily contended: "President Bush is committed, pretty far down the road. The logic of events says you can't go halfway. You can't liberate Iraq, then quit."
#msg-975056

Would an intelligent president be so easily manipulated by the smart fellows with their fancy concepts and Ivy League degrees who surround him? Not to the extent that Bush has been taken over, intelligence precludes a total submission.

For an example consider Operation Northwoods, the plan put to President Kennedy by his military chiefs for a phoney terrorist campaign complete with bombings, hijackings, plane crashes and dead Americans – as justification for an invasion of Cuba. Kennedy rejected it. He was assassinated a few months later. Now Rumsfeld has resurrected Northwoods, but with resources undreamt of in 1963 and Bush is buying it.
#msg-2101766

Also consider Hussein and Iraq had been on the scope of the neocon tentacles since the end of Gulf War I. They had unsuccessfully lobbied the Clinton Administration for a direct invasion of the beleaguered nation and with Bush they finally had a loyal puppet. With dilapidated, rusting and obsolete Soviet weaponry along with years of UN weapons inspections, combined with a decade of economic genocide that was UN sanctions, Saddam posed no substantial military threat in the region, much less to the US. Iraq was therefore an easy target of opportunity from which to launch the neocon vision of imperial supremacy.
#msg-1942732

A takeover whether it be by drinking, religion or neoconservatives is the signature of a wanting intellect. The more intelligent a person the more likely they will think for themselves. However, what we are looking at is a matter of degree and when faced with a world war that is to last for decades that is not comforting yet it is there. Therefore at some point and this varies the intelligent leader should turn against the agenda.

Considering the above Bush is the worst thing that could have happened to the world. A smarter man should be a step in the right direction but how big a step remains to be seen. The key word is ‘should’.

The Republicans apparently agree with what I have put forth and are gearing questions to those which they feel Bush can answer.

The event allowed fervent Bush backers to ask the president questions. But in keeping with Bush's custom, most of the event was devoted to a speech by Bush and then to testimonials from people hand-picked by the White House extolling the virtues of his policies.

The queries put to Bush in the question-and-answer session were never hard-hitting, and were often not questions at all.
Samples questions on Wednesday:

_ Can I take a picture with you?

_ Can I introduce you to my wife and mother in law?

_ I want you to know that I'm praying for you.

When several of Bush's questioners predicted he would win re-election in a landslide, Bush said he'd be happy to win narrowly. "Let's win the thing. Let's just win it," he said.
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=040811&cat=news&st=newsd84db0rg1&src=....