Are you saying that we should pull out of the middle east totally? If so, how do you propose that we work against the "real" terrorists? Our methods are revealed by the NY Times and the ACLU and the democrats want to take away the Patriot Act (except, of course, when it comes time to vote. Then it's not politically convenient for them to stand by their convictions.)Originally Posted by SmokinDVM
You have told me in your last couple of postings that I am not aware of the democratic "plan(s)" for exiting Iraq. You have said that all I have to do is look for them and I will see them, and have implied that once I see them it will be obvious to me how wonderful they are. In a sense, you have accused me of being a mindless zombie who listens to the FOX news network 24 hours a day and doesn't have the ability or the desire to think for myself. Did it occur to you that perhaps I had seen these "plans" and I don't think they are 1) better than what we are doing now or 2) viable? I am familiar with John Murtha's "plan" and also Kerry's "plan." You forgot to mention Al Gore, Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton and Bob Graham. I have seen their proposals. I don't think they are any better than the Republican plan, and, in fact, I believe them to be less productive. It is all rethoric and political posturing.
I have heard basically 3 plans from various democrats, and rather than point to their articles, I will tell you in my own words what I heard them say. One involves withdrawing from Iraq immediately, Another involves setting a date for withdrawal or troop redeployment concentrate on training the Iraqi's to defend themselves (basically Bush's plan with a deadline) and the third is to redeploy troops into other areas where terrorists are. Well, in my mind, immediate withdrawal of all of our troops from the middle east will simply empower the terrorists who have vowed on their God to kill us. Setting a time line for a withdrawal will cause the terrorists to lay low until we leave, then there will be a blood bath since the Iraqi military is not yet ready to defend themselves against terrorists. Of course, Joe Biden would like to leave a single brigade in Iraq to take care of the "hot spots" that arise here and there after we leave. Again, the enemy (and rest assured, they are our "enemy") would just lay low until we leave then make short work of the Iraqi forces as well as our "hung out" brigade. In the third plan, which seems to be the one repeated by most democrats, we should not bring our troops home, but instead redeploy them to wherever the terrorists are. Well, quite frankly, that would be just about every other country in the middle east except Israel. Do we invade southern Lebanon to wipe out the Hezbollas or invade Northern Pakistan where there are Al Queda strongholds? Do we send troops to Iran, jordon and Syria? And what about Korea. What about terrorist cells in Europe? Do we redeploy our troops there too? In my mind, the democratic "plans" are not viable.
I have asked why I should vote democratic. One reason I don't think I can is because they are not unified. The other reason is because I believe they are simply politicizing the situation. We are an impatient people. We watch too many movies and think the world can be saved in 90 minutes, and if it isn't there must be a flaw in the plan. Our enemies are extremely patient and will wait years before they launch devistating and horriffic attacks on us and our way of life. Three years? Five Years? A hundred years? They are patient and relentless, and anyone who can't see that had better get their head out of the sand. This is going to be a long war, and we can't afford to let our enemy outwait us. Terrorism isn't going to go away because we grow impatient and decide to simply drop it. Say what you will about Bush, and say what you will about me for what I am about to say, but we have not been attacked since 2001, and I believe it is because of the job the current administration is doing. Could they do better? Sure. Are they failing? No.
I used to work in computer and network security and the problem with it was as long as we were doing a great job everybody thought we were a waste of money. Does anyone remember the huge AT&T nationwide phone outage several years ago? As long as we were doing our job no one saw any problems, so they assumed they weren't there. They didn't know, nor did they care, how difficult it was to keep the networks from being attacked and how many attacks were kept out. It's one of those things where the best result is seeing nothing. But because they saw nothing, they decided to cut funding. Within 3 months the networks were hacked and the consequences were devistating. The war on terror is like that. We don't see any threats so we forget that they are there. Well, they are there, and they will continue to be there for a very long time. The democratic plans are not solutions, they are a necessary part of a political chess game being played against the current administration (it's called politics.) It's designed to exasperate the public and gain strength for the next election, not by improving their own stature but by lowering public opinion of their political opponent. And there is firm evidence that they lack conviction in their "plans" in that every time one comes up for a vote they can't even get a party line concensus. I watched John Murtha attack Bush for 3 months and become the point man for the democratic attack on Bush's handling of Iraq. He was so forceful, and all the democrats were behind him. When the Republicans finally forced a vote on this "plan" he had been ranting about, his own party gave him 6 votes. Of course they faulted the Republicans because the plan "wasn't ready." Huh? And when Kerry introduced his plan for redeployment, the democrats couldn't get a full party vote on that either. They couldn't even come to an agreement among themselves. This doesn't give me any warm fuzzy feelings that they have a very good plan.
I have spent time composing my posts so that my position can be made clear to you and you would have an opportunity to respond, not because I feel that my opinions are inferior to yours, but because I was truly interested in what you had to say. Instead you have given me the opportunity to read other people's words from left leaning publications and web sites, while at the same time accusing me of parroting FOX news. You can point me to links from the NY Times and Time magazine all day long, and I, in turn, can point you to the Wall Street Journal. That is not discussion. That is akin to parroting MSNBC vs FOX news. So if the answers to the questions in my previous posts are found in the links you gave me, then I have already heard them, considered them and respectfully disagree with them.
Something else I was taught in my years in Corporate America was how to negotiate with foreign cultures. One of the first things I learned was that I couldn't expect other cultures to think the same way I do. In order to put myself in their shoes I had to understand that I had never even seen their shoes, let alone been in them. They had not been "sensitized" to political correctness and they don't think or feel the same as we do. The American people are making a fatal mistake if they think terrorists will "talk" to us. Can you picture us negotiating with Bin Laden? Can you ever imagine a peaceful outcome to those "negotiations?" Could you ever see him and Hillary shaking hands in the rose garden? (Well, maybe you could.) We are dealing with a different culture that does not hold the same values as us. They don't think the same as us and they don't care about us. We treasure life. They use it as a weapon. This is a culture that has not changed since before Christianity and they have been at war for thousands of years. Do you think you can ever understand them? Do you think they will ever understand us? Perhaps the American people, in their high and mighty place in the world community, will give us all a chance to see this come November. I hope it doesn't happen, but it seems we have indeed forgotten and have moved on to other things.
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