[Rhodes22-list] Re: Rhodes22-list Digest, Vol 527, Issue 3

[eric.charles.newburger at census.gov]

That was very eloquent.
Thank you.

Eric


                                                                                                                                             
                      Loumoore at aol.com                                                                                                       
                      Sent by:                       To:       rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org                                                    
                      rhodes22-list-bounces at r        cc:                                                                                     
                      hodes22.org                    Subject:  [Rhodes22-list] Re: Rhodes22-list Digest, Vol 527, Issue 3                    
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             
                      09/10/2004 04:42 PM                                                                                                    
                      Please respond to The                                                                                                  
                      Rhodes 22 mail list                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                             




Ok I can't resist replying:

1. In terms of firepower, it's hard to imagine the United States hitting
Vietnam much harder.  More bombs were dropped there than the combined total
used
against Germany and Japan during World War II.  At maximum strength, the
United
States had over 550,000 troops in place--virtually the entire strength of
our
army, excluding cold war commitments in Europe.  I guess if you consider
"winning" to be the total destruction of a country the United States could
have
prevailed by using nuclear weapons but this would have destroyed the nation
we
were fighting to liberate.  In short, the issue is vastly more complicated
than
some suggest. The war was not lost because "liberals" refused to let the
military unleash American power.  Neither Democrat Johnson nor and
Republican
Nixon were able achieve success.

2. War Records: Who has the moral high ground?  Kerry, who fought for his
country, witnessed first hand the costs and futility of the Vietnam War,
and
spoke out against the war or Bush and company who supported the war but
determined
it was better to sit it out?

3. The issues: Bush's terrible judgment has placed American forces in a
terrible position in Iraq; there is an enough muscle there to keep the
insurgency
growing but not enough to end it.  The prewar critics were incredibly
accurate
in their predictions.  (It's not just retread hippies blasting Bush; so are

respected officers from all branches of service.)  Vast segments of Iraq
are
totally out of control.  It is likely that it will split into at least
three
countries and that as one of these countries will be another Islamic
Republic with
extreme anti-American sentiment--in short, another breeding ground for
terror.  Thus far Kerry has been remarkably restrained in his criticism of
Bush's
terrible judgment and leadership on Iraq. Like most responsible senators,
he
supported the commander in chief when asked for support in winder 2003.
That
does not absolve Bush of responsibility for this fiasco.

4. Fighting two wars on three tax cuts is reprehensible  His inaction to
the
loss of jobs, his indifference in regard to the misery of those without
health
insurance (many of them children), and his assault on environmental policy
dating from the Nixon administration reveal he is morally and politically
bankrupt. Bush's legacy will be a mountain of debt, a weakened economy, and
a failed
foreign policy that has increased, not lessened the risks we face.

John Kerry is a first-rate alternative to a failed, selfish, and arrogant
administration.  Stan is right.
__________________________________________________
Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list