[sauropod]

My political beliefs come closest to the CP also. Its sad this year that Peroutka is taking what is (in my view) an idiotic position on the war in Iraq.

[xrp]

I can agree with that.

[xrp]

I can agree with that.

[Eastbound]

Agree. He's got a blind side and he will never see the numbers waiting just beyond the party's threshhold who won't step over. Being a constitutionalist does not necessarily equate with being a patriot or having the courage or presence of mind to retaliate against terrorism in the most effective and most immediate way -- the way a Sovereign nation should when attacked without provocation.

I give Bush credit for having great discipline. I would have bombed every terrorist and terrorist-protecting country back to the stone age on the evening of 9/11.

[Ahban]

Hold on fellas. In retrospect I fail to see what is so idiotic about Peroutka's position. It makes a lot of sense to me to insist that Congress pass a formal declaration of war rather than an "authorization to use force" to enforce UN resolutions.

When you make Congress go on record with a formal declaration of war, for our interests and not the UNs, then it is harder for them to do just what Kerry is doing now- weaseling out of his vote. He would probably try anyway, but it would not be as crediable in the eyes of the public. Failure to get a formal, outright declaration of war simply invites disunity later on when problems start to mount.

It also undermines your position because it makes it look like a morph between a police action for the UN and a war- which is a tough cell when the UN weenies then say you DON'T act for them.

You are absolultey right about the clash of civilizations and the fact that after 9/11 we are at war. But I am afraid we spent $200 billion dollars and 500 American lives on the wrong target.

There was no doubt Afganistan was tied up with the terrorists, and I, and Peroutka apparently, were all for taking out the Taliban. I don't think Saddam was a threat to America anymore. I don't think he was tied into AQ in any significant way, not like the Taliban at least. He was a secular Arab that Bin Laden would have overthrown if he could have. Now we have done it for him and amongst those crazies democracy may mean that terrorists get elected to parliment. Saddam was a cruel tyrant, but he kept the fundamentalists in line. Now we have to.

We are the #1 military power on Earth, but we do not have so much power that we can afford to squander that power taking out the wrong targets.