Posted on 09/19/2006 3:29:42 AM PDT by John Carey
For some politicians, it is tough under the best of circumstances to do the right thing when it comes to national security. Posturing about "peace dividends" chronically results in defense budgets and end-strengths insufficient to deter future acts of aggression -- and fight the ensuing wars. Intelligence programs are compromised by self-serving leaks and press-driven legislative responses. Pentagon leaders are savaged in public by legislators who thereby underscore their lack of understanding of the threats besetting our country, and the fact they have no better answers to the challenges thus posed. Unfortunately, a congressional byelection season in the second term of a presidency confronting widespread public misunderstanding of, and fatigue with, a global war is far from the best of circumstances. It is in such a season that President Bush confronts the determination of several members of his party in the Senate to do the politically popular -- rather than the necessary -- thing with respect to legislation that would govern the detention, interrogation and judicial review of captured al Qaeda terrorists and other unlawful enemy combatants. Worse yet, these senators -- John McCain, John Warner and Lindsey Graham -- are not only encouraging fellow Republicans to join them in breaking with President Bush. They are giving political cover to Democrats gleeful at the chance to conceal their readiness to do the wrong thing on national security by lining up behind McCain and Company, whose number includes former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The latter supports the McCain legislation that offers enemy detainees more rights and more sharply circumscribes their interrogation than the Bush administration believes is consistent with the national security since, says Mr. Powell, the world is less persuaded of the moral legitimacy of our actions.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
I'm not sure why this argument wouldn't persuade a number of Democrats to side with Bush-- Nelson, Salazar, Carper, Lieberman don't have a lot to gain by flattering the NYT editorialists do they?
...By the same token, those on the other side of these issues do not have an exclusive claim to morality's high-ground. If, thanks to the absence of interrogation techniques that make detainees uncomfortable but fall well short of already prohibited torture, Americans are condemned to death (perhaps, ironically, in the course of a successful terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol), those responsible for denying our government such tools will bear a heavy moral burden.
...let us hold the senator from Arizona and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle accountable. For all of our sakes, they should err on the side of protecting the national security. Congress should swiftly enact legislation that actually protects America by establishing sensible, practicable guidelines for: use of aggressive, nontorture interrogation methods where absolutely necessary; legal protections for those charged with performing such interrogations; and the limitation, if essential to protect sources and methods of intelligence, of evidence shared with detainees in the course of their prosecution
Nailed It!
Moral Clarity BUMP !
This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for the perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author all 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of the good stuff that is worthy of attention. You can see the list of articles I pinged to lately on my page.
You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about). Besides this one, I keep 2 separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson and Orson Scott Card.
You're right, this NAILS it! Leave it to McCain, Graham, Warner and I guess now Hagel and the Maine babes to go to the mushy middle -- if there is ever another 9/11 sequel, these bums will have to answer for a very great deal.
Not only will those type of Pubs be blamed by right thinking voters, but so will the MSM, the NYTimes especially, the DNC and its flackers. It is amazing that so called independent voters cannot see this truth today just before the Nov. elections. It seems that when the MSM protects its faves like St. John, the fawning MTV type public goes along with its lies or agendas and yet those dunces get to vote too. Boy, freedom is grand, ain't it? What happened to the Founder's view that the electorate should be educated, literate and discerning voters?
"You're right, this NAILS it! Leave it to McCain, Graham, Warner and I guess now Hagel and the Maine babes to go to the mushy middle -- if there is ever another 9/11 sequel, these bums will have to answer for a very great deal."
Wrong...they will pretend they were misunderstood and the mdeia will carry their water.
The only silver lining I see is that they spend a good bit of their time in DC and that is ground zero for terror attacks. Maybe, for once, those who allowed the attack will be victims of it. Maybe.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.