Posted on 09/30/2004 9:52:58 PM PDT by Without Barbarians
Kerry missed the big picture in the debate tonight. He looked good and spoke well, etc., but he lost the debate of ideas. To kerry, the war on terror is about bin laden and only bin laden. This article hits it on the head:
He sees the events of 9-11 as an isolated attack by a madman, rather than the culmination of attacks on the west that begin at least with the 1972 attack by Palestinian militants on Israeli athletes and proceeds with the overthrow of the Shah in Iran and the taking of US hostages, the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983, he hijacking of countless transatlantic flights in the 1980s, the bombing of discos and cafes in Europe by Libya, the bombing of Pan Am 103, to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the bombing of the African embassies, the bombing of barracks in Saudi Arabia, the attack on the USS Cole, the thwarted Millennium attack, culminating finally with the 9-11 attacks. This is the history of this war. The war did not begin on 9-11, that’s just when we decided to fight back.Kerry doesn’t realize this, or he doesn’t want to frame the war in these terms. By focusing on bin Laden, it allows him the prospect of declaring victory in the War on Terror if and when bin Laden is killed or captured. But this will not end the war any more than the death of Ayatollah Khomeni ended the theocracy in Iran. So for Kerry, Iraq is a distraction, because it widens the war to a global scale, thus setting the bar for victory much higher.
But the war is global. The Arab world and worldview needs radical change. For years, Muslim nations in the Middle East have considered themselves untouchable by the West. By invading Iraq, Bush has shattered that mindset. What we are seeing in Iraq is radical Islam trying to reinvent itself around the humiliation of capitulating to quickly and so easily to a Western power. They claim the attacks in Iraq are because of the occupation. Kerry tacitly agrees with this position, because he cites troops deaths and beheadings as signs that America is less safe as a result of the invasion. But if the terrorists are to be believed that they fight because of the occupation, then why did they fight us for decades before.
The Bush team must drive this point home in the coming weeks, and Cheney needs to hit it on Tuesday.
And this is Breaking News why????
Yes. Precisely. I noticed that also. If the RNC and conservative commentators are smart, they can spend the next month hammering AWC Kerry on this.
That, added to building up his "global test" criterion, should be enough to bury him.
Because Jim Robinson said we could all post a vanity tonight, and put it in Breaking News if it was about the debate...
Unless Jim was kidding... ;0)
We need a training session around here.
Hey, kiddo!
What are your thoughts on the debate tonight?
Good point on the evolution of the terrorist attack on the West and Israel. It took a Pearl Harbor type terrorist attack to finally wake us up when we should have nipped in its' infancy. I think 29 years of turning the other cheek was being more than patient. It almost bordered on the criminal.
Yup... I'm still having a problem with pooping on threads. But, eventually with guidance, love, support, and maybe a few whacks with a rolled-up newspaper, I'll be good to go!
Is it just me or has FR gotten slly tonight? Worthless repetitive vanities, handwringing, and fewer regulars than usual.
Tonight? You're being kind, aren't you?
Arggh. This should be in bloggers, not news. Why can't post authors edit the category? I realized it two seconds after I hit post. Grr.
Seriously, it seems worse tonight, especially given the occasion and the added scarcity of bandwidth.
Oh well I hate to play thread cop.
Well, that's why -- the debate. Not everybody here is a "friendly."
I don't think it was as bad as some people did, now that I have read some articles, seen some documented Kerry lies, and calmed down a little bit. :-)
I think it was probably a tie.
Because EVERYTHING IS BREAKING NEWS!!!
AND IT'S HUGH!!!
AND VEY SERIES!!!!
And no, I haven't been drinking.
Stop looking at me that way.
What?!
Much like Bush 41, it is really Kerry who suffers from the "vision thing". Whether he has one or not, he can't seem to communicate what it is (besides he was a soldier in Vietnam...enough already).
:::chuckle:::
What a great tag line.
May I borrow it just for tonight, if I promise not to
spill anything on it?
Heh heh heh
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