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hap0206

06/04/03 10:57 AM

#19163 RE: sarai #19158

sarai -- it seems to me that the problem is in the eye(s) of the Bush Bashers
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We've got some serious problems in DC, and with our "war on terror". And you don't send 150,000 troops into combat, risking their lives on a "mistake" of this magnitude. You don't initiate a policy that will kill many people by "mistake". And you certainly don't thumb your nose at (and alienate!) the global community over a "mistake" - like this one, especially when the global community continually questioned the "info" and motives - because they are wrong, or liars, or etc, & We are right.
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Following is a statement by GWB to a joint session of congress and to the american people -- it is a great comfort to me to hear and read his thinking on his responsibility to protect and defend this nation.
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...Our war against terror is a contest of will in which perseverance is power. In the ruins of two towers, at the western wall of the Pentagon, on a field in Pennsylvania, this nation made a pledge, and we renew that pledge tonight: Whatever the duration of this struggle, and whatever the difficulties, we will not permit the triumph of violence in the affairs of men -- free people will set the course of history. (Applause.)

Today, the gravest danger in the war on terror, the gravest danger facing America and the world, is outlaw regimes that seek and possess nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. These regimes could use such weapons for blackmail, terror, and mass murder. They could also give or sell those weapons to terrorist allies, who would use them without the least hesitation.

This threat is new; America's duty is familiar. Throughout the 20th century, small groups of men seized control of great nations, built armies and arsenals, and set out to dominate the weak and intimidate the world. In each case, their ambitions of cruelty and murder had no limit. In each case, the ambitions of Hitlerism, militarism, and communism were defeated by the will of free peoples, by the strength of great alliances, and by the might of the United States of America. (Applause.)

Now, in this century, the ideology of power and domination has appeared again, and seeks to gain the ultimate weapons of terror. Once again, this nation and all our friends are all that stand between a world at peace, and a world of chaos and constant alarm. Once again, we are called to defend the safety of our people, and the hopes of all mankind. And we accept this responsibility. (Applause.)

America is making a broad and determined effort to confront these dangers. We have called on the United Nations to fulfill its charter and stand by its demand that Iraq disarm. We're strongly supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency in its mission to track and control nuclear materials around the world. We're working with other governments to secure nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union, and to strengthen global treaties banning the production and shipment of missile technologies and weapons of mass destruction.

In all these efforts, however, America's purpose is more than to follow a process -- it is to achieve a result: the end of terrible threats to the civilized world. All free nations have a stake in preventing sudden and catastrophic attacks. And we're asking them to join us, and many are doing so. Yet the course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others. (Applause.) Whatever action is required, whenever action is necessary, I will defend the freedom and security of the American people.
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mlsoft

06/04/03 6:23 PM

#19228 RE: sarai #19158

sarai...

I have already addressed the intelligence issues in the previous post. I just want to reiterate that I do not believe the intelligence was any where near as bad and faulty as the lefties suggest, and I suspect that at the time, much of it was probably accurate.

Intelligence is not a cut and dried thing - it never has been and it never will be. You gather data from pictures, human sources, intercepts, and whatever else you have available and then you try to put it all together and draw a conclusion. Were they entirely correct?? No, they never will be. Was the gist of what they said correct?? Yes, I believe it was. So did willie and algore when the intelligence community supplied them with their best estimates at that time. So did most of the world leaders, and I believe even hans blix believed it - he certainly was not convinced otherwise.

Intelligence is always going to be imperfect, but overall, they probably had it right.

mlsoft