Posted on 03/03/2004 1:45:51 PM PST by 11th_VA
The following appeared in the Durham, N.C., local paper as a letter to the editor on Feb. 15, 2004.
Liberals claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war. They complain about his prosecution of it. One liberal recently claimed Bush was the worst president in U.S. history. Let's clear up one point: We didn't start the war on terror. Try to remember, it was started by terrorists BEFORE 9/11!
Let's look at the "worst" president and mismanagement claims:
FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.
Truman finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,333 per year.
John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5800 per year.
Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.
In the two years since terrorists attacked us, President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled Al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Lybia, Iran and North Korea without firing a shot and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people. We lost 600 soldiers, an average of 300 a year. Bush did all this abroad while not allowing another terrorist attack at home.
Worst president in history? Think about it!
Submitted by Ethel Bontrager
Badly said This is one of the most poorly thought out articles I've ever read. Her choices of examples are puzzling to say the least.
FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us:
Is she nuts? Germany declared WAR on the US after Pearl Harbor. Does she really blame Roosevelt for fighting back against an evil dictatorship that declared war on America.
As for Truman and Kennedy, I guess that it's too much to hope that she would blame the communists who actually started the wars. And she calls it liberation when Pres Bush acted preemptively against terrorism, but 2 democrats do the same thing against communism forces and it's wrong.
The remarks about Clinton and Bosnia simply misses the mark. We never declared war on Bosnia, I believe all Bosnia every saw of us were a few peacekeepers. Kosavo(sp?) is where we had Clinton's famous air war.
The only one she got half right was Pres. Johnson, whose micromanagement of the military, destroyed the war effort.
If she was to give examples of Bad Presidents then she should start with President Wilson, who won by smearing his opponent with accusations that he would get the US fighting in WW1. Something Wilson promptly did upon entering office.
There is not enough space to list all the harmful effects of the Clinton presidency. But Bosnia?, that's such small potatos. It's like critizing hitler for his mustache.
I imagine it would be extremely small if any, after somelia. Clinton went out of his way to avoid putting us troops in danger. That's why his air war in kosavo(sp?) was such a joke. He had the planes flying too high (to avoid AAA)to be effective in their mission.
Yup.
1. I'm not comforable calling our illegal alien problem "the Latin American threat," I call it an illegal alien problem.
2. Reagan invaded Grenada, much to his credit (and allowed defenseless members of our armed forces to be murdered in Lebanon, in a bad case of UN cooperation). Bush 43, well you know about what he's been doing militarily, and it's been more of an investment than going to the Berlin wall with a microphone.
3. Bush and Senate Republicans have had their hands significantly and constitutionally tied, in overcomming unprecedented and atrocious Democrat obstruction. (Wish I could remember the FR article about this, but it didn't read like an ephemeral opposition, to me.)
I think Reagan was a critically important and great president, who along with his Republican predecessors and one successor, committed grave error in Supreme Court nomination --though fewer of these mistakes I think than Eisenhower or Bush 41 --a tie with Nixon, if I recall.
Make that two different millennia.
Why, yes it was. As a matter of fact, it was started when Cain slew Abel. Saying we are in a War on Terror is like saying we are in a War on Evil. There is no clear enemy, no clear objective, and definitely no end to the war. The principle effect is to pump up the government with war powers and provide a pretext to label anyone who objects as unpatriotic, subversive, pro-terrorist, or enemy combatant.
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.