Romney, Kerry spar over fight on terror - Governor raps senator for criticizing Iraq war

Boston Glob ^ | August 12, 2006 | Rick Klein

[Wings-n-Wind]

Concur with your analysis... Well said...

Perhaps you should stop soft-peddling and tell us how you really feel.... ---->[/weak humor = off]

Have a great day

[NeoCaveman]

Kerry got PWNED by the governor.

[nathanbedford]

The real truth is we don't know whether Iraq was a good or a bad decision. We do know, however, that it is a public-relations disaster. In the end of the day "public-relations" is what will ultimately win or lose this war. We either gain allies across the world who will root out these crazed islamists because they know them and live with them, or these potential allies will turn their faces from us and we will sustain nuclear disaster at home.

Talking about "geographical wedges" in an asymmetrical war waged by terrorists is akin to talking about the next "big push" on the Western front in World War I.

Rather than worrying about an enervated Saddam on our flanks, we might consider that we have few allies today, that our policy in Iraq is regarded by virtually the whole world abroad at home by at least half the country as a disaster, that we may have taken a Sunni buffer to a Shi'ite hegemony and converted it into a mid East power that runs from the mountains on the border with Pakistan to the shores of the Mediterranean.

Iraq may not have been a, "brilliant victory" if one truly understands the nature of the asymmetrical world war in which we are now enmeshed. In fact, Iraq may have been just exactly the sort of trap which the Shi'ites were hoping to spring. American soldiers die to effect a democracy that can never be but we indeed have positioned the Shi'ites in a place from which they can launch asymmetrical warfare at will. And by "a place" I do not mean a geographical venue, for that is irrelevant in an asymmetrical world war. I was deceived about this before we invaded Iraq and even posted that we will have acquired a geographical base akin to an aircraft carrier from which to exert power and influence in furtherance of the "Bush doctrine." How wrong I was. Geography has nothing to do with it. It is all psychology, momentum, intelligence, and allies. We cannot sweep an area clean of terrorists. The Israelis are learning this hard lesson right now in Lebanon.

In the war against terrorism, nothing could be more intellectually "limited" -to use your word- than fighting World War I.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"``Mitt Romney's command of national security is about as real as the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Wade said."

So Kerry is stil contending there were no WMD? hehe...

[Democratshavenobrains]

Romney is doing more to combat the Democrat's anti-Republican propaganda than the so-called social conservative Republicans in Congress. But I guess since he doesn't bring up abortion being evil every 10 seconds, he is disliked by some Freepers.

[jackv]

``Mitt Romney's command of national security is about as real as the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Wade said.


How stupid are they that continue to use that old line!!!

We KNOW how real those weapons are/were.

DOPE!!!

[jackv]

Yes, I am curious why folks on hear don't like Romney. I rather like him!

[MNJohnnie]

spring. American soldiers die to effect a democracy that can never be

Well nice you have feelings, too bad for you you are all ready prove wrong. Iraq has all ready been effected a Democracy so give your primary assumption is false, the rest of your proposition is prove equally false.

I guess I am a lot more concerned with wining the real war then the PR war. If you are hoping that some how the Leftist Junk Media will suddenly come to love the Conservatives make peace right NOW with being unhappy the rest of your life. Iraq has neither been a military nor a PR disaster. It is time the Neo isolationists get a grip on reality. This hide out in Fortress Amerkia and wish the baddies away died on 09-11-01 as a viable policy. History has passed you by. As 09-11-01 showed us, try to hide from evil and it merely follows you home. Iraq is about killing the Jihadies THERE so we do not have to kill them here. Your name sake would of understood the military logic of it. Such a pity his descendent's refuse to learn from his example.

Never stand and take a charge...charge them too."

--- General Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA

[prion]

I'm starting to think Romney is going to be a much stronger candidate than I thought at first. Maybe strong enough to overcome his "special underwear" problem.

The guy is very sharp and thinks well on his feet.

[JCEccles]

We do know, however, that it is a public-relations disaster.

It was never destined to be a public relations success. Not with the liberal MSM using every manipulative and deceptive workd and image in its armament to wage all-out war against a Republican administration. Not with the Democrats determined to play Quisling to the scourge of Islamofascism and gain a perch of temporary and hopeless power.

The same vile forces worked night and day to undermine Reagan in his efforts to topple the Soviet Empire, too. Critics like you were ten dozen for a dime, eager to see him fail by declaring the game over or moving the goal posts daily if necessary.

But Reagan won by sticking to it and doing the right thing despite the cacaphony of the magpie critics accusing him of undermining world security and declaring the war won by the communists.

Bush is following Reagan's lead and ignoring crooked and cooked world opinion. God bless him for doing that.

[JCEccles]

We do know, however, that it is a public-relations disaster.

It was never destined to be a public relations success. Not with the liberal MSM using every manipulative and deceptive word and image in its armament to wage all-out war against a Republican administration. Not with the Democrats determined to play Quisling to the scourge of Islamofascism and gain a perch of temporary and hopeless power.

The same vile forces worked night and day to undermine Reagan in his efforts to topple the Soviet Empire, too. Critics like you were ten dozen for a dime, eager to see him fail by declaring the game over or moving the goal posts daily if necessary.

But Reagan won by sticking to it and doing the right thing despite the cacaphony of the magpie critics accusing him of undermining world security and declaring the war won by the communists.

Bush is following Reagan's lead and ignoring crooked and cooked world opinion. God bless him for doing that.

[ChicagoConservative27]

Amen to that Johnnie. Another great post my friend.

[gaspar]

Kerry is a fool. The highpoint of Al Qaeda "membership" was probably some time around 1991. By then approximately 20,000 Afghan-Arabs had been trained in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Many of those trained were killed in the wars in Afghanistan. Some were killed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A very large number were killed in Algeria, and others lost their lives in Chechnya, Tajikistan and Kashmir. The number of highly trained and indoctrinated Al Qaeda likely do not exceed a thousand, and their numbers continue to diminish.

The problem with Kerry and other Democrats is that they know nothing of the Islamist movement or the Salafist tendency that drives the jihadists. Egyptian and Palestine Islamic Jihad although not Al Qaeda may as well be, because their aims are the same. The various Jamaa Islamiya, ditto. The task ahead is not simply to kill Al Qaeda, but to kill the Islamist terrorists -- regardless of where they are or the organization they call home.

[jennyjenny]

Is this David Wade dope the same Kerry spokesperson who, during the 2004 campaign, said that if Sinclair Broadcasting aired the Stolen Honor film, they better hope Kerry doesn't get elected because he'd have the FCC revoke their license, or something like that?

[nathanbedford]

Democracy is not a matter of elections, it is a matter of elections plus the rule of law, a civil society, rule by the majority but rights to the minority. It is about the observance of basic human rights. A democracy is not murder in the streets, sectarian warfare, and especially not civil war if that is what we have or are about to have in Iraq. Finally, democracy is not tribalism, sectarianism, corruption, or terrorism. Yes we have had elections in Iraq but, alas, we also had all the rest. Whatever we have in Iraq, it is not democracy.

I quite agree with you, Iraq has not been a "military" disaster-unless you define a pyricch victory to be a military disaster because it does not effectively wage war. In many ways in Iraq has been a military triumph: the whole country overrun and subdued with a few hundred casualties. But it does not matter whether this is an objective victory in it matters only whether it is a "public-relations" victory-and it has clearly not been.

Iraq is about killing the Jihadies THERE so we do not have to kill them here.

This can only be described as the strategy of shoveling flies. With less than 3000 dead, after a miraculous military campaign, we have lost half the country. How how many more flies can you shovel and still hope to hold even a quarter of the country? These flies are spawned by a population of 1.2 billion Muslims and hundreds of millions of the Arabs, there are simply too many flies for us to shovel without breaking utterly our Western democracy.

Do not draw the wrong conclusions, I do not advocate withdrawal, surrender or isolationism. Such a course would be disastrous. But equally, I cannot countenance a policy of shoveling flies because a continuation of that policy would bring an even worse calamity. It grieves me terribly that the Bush doctrine of preemption is moribund and cannot be revived absent a new strike on the homeland-God grant that it be without weapons of mass destruction. What we are doing is not working. We are about to lose the oncoming by-election and we are about to lose whole chunks of public support. We must change what we are doing.

You're quite right, Nathan Bedford Forrest certainly knew how to wage asymmetrical warfare. He certainly would not play the enemy's game. In the event, he managed to help undo the entire "occupation"-as he would've called it-and which we would today call "Reconstruction" by 1876. This is certainly not the proudest chapter in his history, but it does demonstrate the fecklessness of an occupation force, even in a noble and good cause, upon a recalcitrant population. The clan was clearly a terrorist organization, which achieved its goal, the withdrawal of Yankee forces of occupation and the restoration to the south of home rule.

Forrest always let the Yankees draw the wrong conclusions about him.

[Always Independent]

Don't forget to thank Hilary Clinton for her support in the war on terror!

[BonnieJ]

It appears Kerry has given up the botox and hair dye.

Doesn't he know about the WMD's, are they ALL still pretending they never existed??

[Fenris6]

The captured terrorists are all native to Britain. I guess Kerry thinks we should pivot out of Iraq Okinawa and attack London? Idiot.

[bitt]

excellent pic. he is picking pockets of the un-dead...

[bitt]

'David Wade dope said that if Sinclair Broadcasting aired the Stolen Honor film, they'd fix him good.

you are right, sir/madam.