[Rhodes22-list] Political: Majority rule Reply to Stan

[Philip Esteban]

Part of the trouble was the Clinton administration approach to treating
terrorists as criminals and not as an enemy.  That is what created the legal
barriers.  Regan and Bush I could probably have done more, but the real
damage came during the 90's with the Cole, the 1st Trade Tower bombing, the
Embassy bombings and Saddam flaunting the restriction with no consequences.

Philip

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org]On Behalf Of brad haslett
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 10:37 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Political: Majority rule Reply to Stan


Phillip,

You are mostly correct, I take exception to one word
-wholly. Reagan and Bush 41 allowed terrorist attacks
on their watch and did very little as well. However,
if you're searching for new ammo to buttress your
argument, read "Ghost Wars" by Steve Coll.  Clinton
knew in his gut that something needed to be done about
Osama.  The "Billary" team distrusted the CIA and the
military in general, unfortunately ignoring their
warnings. They became more and more aware that OBL
posed a serious threat to the nation in the second
term.  They had the opportunity to take him out on
many occasions but held off because of "legal issues"
and worries about "collateral damage".  The best
opportunity was during the impeachment time period but
the White House was operating at half-throttle.  Bush
43 was a bit slow on the uptake to recognize the
problem as well.  9/11 solved that.

Brad

--- Philip Esteban <3drecon at comcast.net> wrote:

> The Clinton admistration is wholly responsible for
> setting up the situation
> we have now.  By ignoring the threat and not
> responding to attacks when they
> had the opportunity, the campus intellectuals let us
> down.
>
> Philip
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org]On Behalf
> Of brad haslett
> Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 8:54 AM
> To: stan; The Rhodes 22 mail list
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Political: Majority
> rule Reply to Stan
>
>
> Stan,
>
> "The real mistake, in my opinion was when the first
> Bush encouraged the north and south to challenge the
> regime and then left  them hanging without the
> hardware support they were under the impression
> they
> would be getting."
>
> I couldn't agree more, Sir.  Unfortunately Bush 41's
> replacement did more of the same - talked a lot
> about
> how much Saddam needed to go but did nothing.
>
> Here is a "short" article about the progress made by
> that "idiot" W.
>
>
>
>
>
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0505200305may20,0,2959235.sto
> ry?coll=chi-newsopinioncommentary-hed
>
>
>
>
> The caricature and reality of George Bush
>
>
>
> Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow and historian at
> the Hoover Institution at Stanford University:
> Tribune
> Media Services
>
> May 20, 2005
>
> Moveon.org, "Fahrenheit 9/11," Anonymous, Richard
> Clark and now the Newsweek story about alleged
> desecration of the Koran--all these sensations of
> the
> day have been used to proclaim the supposed sins of
> the American administration in the Middle East. Even
> when Americans consider that the president's foreign
> policy might just be working, he is still
> caricatured
> by critics and the media, here and abroad, as a
> clueless Inspector Clouseau who trips around and
> only
> stumbles into his good luck.
>
> How accurate is that cartoon?
>
> Just imagine if George Bush had predicted to us on
> the
> morning after Sept. 11, 2001, what actually ended up
> happening. He might have delivered the following
> speech:
>
> "Ours is not a war on Muslims or the Arab world.
> Rather, we are in a struggle against a new fascism
> that resorts to terror. Osama bin Laden must distort
> Islam and deflect blame onto the United States for
> the
> self-inflicted miseries of the Middle East, created
> by
> its own illiberal dictatorships.
>
> "Therefore, American strategy is three-pronged:
>
> "We will hunt down terrorist cells in the United
> States that due to our laxity have already
> infiltrated
> the West.
>
> "America will remove rogue regimes abroad that have
> funded and supported these killers.
>
> "In their places, the United States will support
> consensual governments to ensure a third choice
> other
> than just Islamic theocracy or brutal dictatorship.
>
> "First, we must go on the offensive. In less than a
> month, our forces will go to faraway Afghanistan and
> remove the Taliban within six weeks upon arrival.
> From
> that victory, democracy will follow for all Afghans,
> regardless of tribe or gender.
>
> "Some regimes openly sanction terrorists. Others
> have
> entered into secretive alliances with them. Saddam
> Hussein has violated all his past international
> agreements and murdered thousands of his own and
> others across his borders. The Senate no doubt will
> sanction his removal because he is an enemy of the
> United States, subsidizing anti-democratic
> terrorists
> from the West Bank to Kurdistan.
>
> "In the space of three week's time, we can liberate
> Iraq from Saddam's Baathist nightmare and stay on to
> help the long-suffering Iraqi people secure their
> freedom under a new democracy.
>
> "Pakistan has been hostile, but its cooperation is
> vital to dismantle Al Qaeda. We must win President
> Musharraf over to the side of civilization and prod
> him to reform. Such cooperation is fraught with
> danger. It demands the exposure of the nuclear
> proliferator Dr. A.Q. Khan and the cessation of his
> efforts to spread nuclear weapons worldwide. If we
> are
> successful, in the next four years most of the
> leadership of Al Qaeda will be scattered into
> hiding,
> apprehended or killed.
>
> "Democracy is a human aspiration and thus
> contagious.
> After our successes in Afghanistan and Iraq, America
> may well see democratic awakenings in Lebanon, Egypt
> and the Gulf states.
>
> "Such reform could serve as an inspiration to
> peoples
> even as far distant as the former Soviet republics
> and
> Ethiopia. Syria must and will leave Lebanon to the
> Lebanese. It is also past time for Col. Gadhafi in
> Libya to come clean about his dangerous arsenal.
> Europeans should join us in stopping the nuclear
> plans
> of theocratic Iran.
>
> "Yasser Arafat corrupted elections in Palestine. He
> embezzled billions from his own citizens, subverting
> all his commitments to peace. Arafat must be shunned
> and his subsidies cut off. Only that way can fair
> elections return to the West Bank. The American
> government certainly will no longer see him as a
> representative of the Palestinian people.
>
> "Despite our historic relationship with Saudi
> Arabia,
> American troops will leave the kingdom. Saddam soon
> will no longer pose a threat, and we must distance
> ourselves from a Saudi monarchy whose rogue princes
> have funded terrorists.
>
> "None of this will be easy, given our past
> appeasement
> of terrorists, the world's dependence on Middle
> Eastern oil and the global distrust of American
> force.
>
> "Congress will debate this agenda. We must await its
> vote of approval before moving against both the
> Taliban and Saddam Hussein. This administration
> shall
> stand for election in three years--and so the wisdom
> or folly of these risky policies will be determined
> by
> the American voter.
>
> "The Taliban ruler Mullah Omar and Saddam Hussein
> are
> formidable. Their removal halfway around the world
> may
> cost hundreds of American lives. Yet if we act
> forcefully now, we can fight the suicide bombers and
> autocrats on their own turf. That way, in the days
> ahead we will lose far fewer Americans in this war
> abroad than we have yesterday in peace at home. Only
> this difficult road ensures that in four years we
> will
> not witness a repeat of yesterday's mass murder on
> American soil."
>
> Had the president promised or even predicted such
>
=== message truncated ===




__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/
__________________________________________________
Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list