Outstanding.
"Today, probably 50 or more states have schools..."
I must have missed something.
I do not believe that we are in a religious war. I believe that we are in a war with individuals that hate our country, our people, and our way of life, and that these individuals are using their interpretation of the Islamic faith, among other things, to rally support.
ping
Rare truth bump.
And their Anti-American Democrat Liberal Politicians and their friends in the Elite American Media!
For emphasis.
Huh? I don't recall anybody in national security saying anything like that.
Duh! Does Lehman think we are all stupid? Of course it is Islamic fundamentalism/extremism. But for PR purposes, we are labeling it terrorism, so all the Muslims don't hate us even more.
I think I've seen some of this said before, maybe in an earlier speech by Lehman. But it's certainly right on the mark. That one comment deserves to be repeated:
"Our enemy is not terrorism. Our enemy is violent, Islamic fundamentalism."
Understandably, Bush didn't want to anger a billion Muslims. But we have to state where the threat lies: With Islamic fundamentalism. We can disagree about how widespread that fundamentalism is within Islam--much wider than it was, after the Saudis funded their Madrassas around the world, as Lehman points out--but we need to name it and focus on it.
I think maybe he goes a bit astray in seeming to deprecate the Saddam connection. It's not only state-sponsored terrorism, but state sponsorship gives it an extra strength it wouldn't otherwise have. Bush was quite correct to go after the regimes that provided shelter, funding, and support. And I think he was right to go after Iraq first, before tackling the root of this evil, Saudi Arabia.
Very true.
A perfect example of our lack of ability to prepare for this are the creatures presently detained at Guantanamo Bay.
What exactly ARE they??
Are they Prisoners of War? Hardly. Prisoners of War are captured in uniform, fighting other soldiers in open combat and representing a recognized government or nascient government which adheres to the rules of civilized warfare, i.e. the Geneva Convention.
Are they criminals? The Supreme Court would have us believe they are with their recent totally flawed, defective and unconstitutional decision stating these creatures are entitled to the same legal protections as any Ameican citizen accused of crime. Crimnals are individuals involved in breaking the laws of the United States or other governmental jurisdictions. They are NOT involved in an international conspiracy to subvert our government, western society and our entire way of life. These creatures are.
So, just what ARE they???
We need a NEW category and description of malefactor to describe these creatures. The closest we can come in history is pirate, but even pirate isn't accurate. Pirates were not bent on the goal of world domination. These people are.
Since they are the agents of an illegal paramilitary operation against the United States and its allies and are
not American Citizens, they are clearly not entitled to the same protections under American law as American citizens and should be subject to military justice under the authority of the President of the United States, and not objects of concern of the Federal Courts. Waging war is the constitutional responsibility of the President, not the Supreme Court.
The judgement of the Supreme Court in this matter should be declared null and void and ignored.
This entire situation is analgous to many others in the recent past where the Federal Courts have distorted the Constitution. Judge Roy Moore comes to mind. The Federal Government is constitutionally barred from establishing a religion. What the individual states choose to do or not to do on this issue is their own concern.
IMPEACH the SUPREME COURT!
BTW, been meaning to ask you...why the F-16?
Also, thanks for your "special" contribution. I was TDY at Coronado for a while and observed some of your training up close. I would have been ringing the bell after the first day.
My Tagline may have some interest for you.
Very good, but what the article fails to point out is that the Islamic Fundamentalists are following the Koran to the letter. The fundies are the real Muslims. Islam, according to the Koran, is at war with all non Muslims.
ISLAM IS THE PROBLEM!
So we left ourselves completely vulnerable to a concerted attack.
We left ourselves completely vulnerable to a concerted attack because we let the government deny us the right to keep and bear arms. Now, this same government is asking for our support in their effort to fight a Fourth Generation war with a Second Generation military.
And in the meantime, not one federal gun law has been repealed.
We have not ignored them. I'll repost what someone did some time ago.
------------
The list below presents specific incidents of U.S. policy.
It minimizes the grievances against the U.S. because it excludes long-standing policies, such as U.S. backing for authoritarian regimes (arming Saudi Arabia, training the secret police in Iran under the Shah, providing arms and aid to Turkey as it attacked Kurdish villages, etc.).
The list also excludes actions of Israel in which the U.S. is indirectly implicated because Israel has been the leading or second ranking recipient of U.S. aid for many years and has received U.S. weapons and benefited from U.S. veto in the Security Council.
1949:
CIA backs military coup deposing elected government of Syria.
1953:
CIA helps overthrow the democratically elected Mossadeq government in
Iran (which had nationalized the British oil company) leading to a
quarter-century of dictatorial rule by the Shah, Mohammed Reza
Pahlevi.
1956:
U.S. cuts off promised funding for Aswan Dam in Egypt after Egypt
receives Eastern bloc arms.
1956:
Israel, Britain, and France invade Egypt.
U.S. does not support invasion, but the involvement of NATO allies
severely diminishes Washington's reputation in the region.
1958:
U.S. troops land in Lebanon to preserve "stability."
1960s (early):
U.S. unsuccessfully attempts assassination of Iraqi leader, Abdul Karim Qassim.
1963:
U.S. reported to give Iraqi Ba'ath party (soon to be headed by Saddam
Hussein) names of communists to murder, which they do with vigor.
1967:
U.S. blocks any effort in the Security Council to enforce SC
Resolution 244, calling for Israeli withdrawal from territories
occupied in the 1967 war.
1970:
Civil war between Jordan and PLO. Israel and U.S. prepare to
intervene on side of Jordan if Syria backs PLO.
1972:
U.S. blocks Sadats efforts to reach a peace agreement with Egypt.
1973:
U.S. military aid enables Israel to turn the tide in war with Syria and Egypt.
1973-75:
U.S. supports Kurdish rebels in Iraq.
When Iran reaches an agreement with Iraq in 1975 and seals the
border, Iraq slaughters Kurds and U.S. denies them refuge.
Kissinger secretly explains that "covert action should not be
confused with missionary work."
1978-79:
Iranians begin demonstrations against the Shah.
U.S. tells Shah it supports him "without reservation" and urges him
to act forcefully.
Until the last minute, U.S. tries to organize military coup to save
the Shah, but to no avail.
1979-88:
U.S. begins covert aid to Mujahideen in Afghanistan six months before
Soviet invasion.
Over the next decade U.S. provides more than $3 billion in arms and aid.
1980-88:
Iran-Iraq war.
When Iraq invades Iran, the U.S. opposes any Security Council action
to condemn the invasion.
U.S. removes Iraq from its list of nations supporting terrorism and
allows U.S. arms to be transferred to Iraq.
U.S. lets Israel provide arms to Iran and in 1985 U.S. provides arms
directly (though secretly) to Iran.
U.S. provides intelligence information to Iraq.
1984:
Iraq uses chemical weapons.
U.S. restores diplomatic relations with Iraq.
1987:
U.S. sends its navy into the Persian Gulf, taking Iraq's side.
1984:
An aggressive U.S. ship shoots down an Iranian civilian airliner, killing 290.
1981-1986:
U.S. holds military maneuvers off the coast of Libya with the clear
purpose of provoking Qaddafi.
1981:
A Libyan plane fires a missile and two Libyan planes were
subsequently shot down.
1986:
Libya fires missiles that land far from any target and U.S. attacks
Libyan patrol boats, killing 72, and shore installations.
When a bomb goes off in a Berlin nightclub, killing two, the U.S.
charges that Qaddafi was behind it (possibly true) and conducts major
bombing raids in Libya, killing dozens of civilians, including
Qaddafi's adopted daughter. (Give me a break!)
1982:
U.S. gives "green light" to Israeli invasion of Lebanon, where more
than 10,000 civilians were killed.
U.S. chooses not to invoke its laws prohibiting Israeli use of U.S.
weapons except in self-defense.
1983:
U.S. troops sent to Lebanon as part of a multinational peacekeeping
force; intervene on one side of a civil war.
Withdraw after suicide bombing of Marine barracks.
1984:
U.S.-backed rebels in Afghanistan fire on civilian airliner.
1988:
Saddam Hussein kills many thousands of his own Kurdish population and
uses chemical weapons against them.
The U.S. increases its economic ties to Iraq.
1990-91:
U.S. rejects diplomatic settlement of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
(Rebuffing any attempt to link the two regional occupations, of
Kuwait and Palestine).
U.S. leads international coalition in war against Iraq.
Civilian infrastructure targeted.
To promote "stability" U.S. refuses to aid uprisings by Shi'ites in
the south and Kurds in the north, denying the rebels access to
captured Iraqi weapons and refusing to prohibit Iraqi helicopter
flights.
1991:
Devastating economic sanctions are imposed on Iraq.
U.S. and Britain block all attempts to lift them.
Hundreds of thousands die.
Though Security Council stated sanctions were to be lifted once
Hussein's programs to develop weapons of mass destruction were ended,
Washington makes it known that the sanctions would remain as long as
Saddam remains in power.
Sanctions strengthen Saddam's position.
1993:
U.S. launches missile attack on Iraq, claiming self defense against
an alleged assassination attempt on former president Bush two months
earlier.
1998:
U.S. and U.K. bomb Iraq over weapons inspections, even though
Security Council is just then meeting to discuss the matter.
1998:
U.S. destroys factory producing half of Sudan's pharmaceutical
supply, claiming retaliation for attacks on U.S. embassies in
Tanzania and Kenya and that factory was involved in chemical warfare.
U.S. later acknowledges there is no evidence for the chemical warfare charge.
bump
John had a great speech.
Thanks for posting it.
I have a new tagline for awhile, and it will be recycled
It is times like this that I miss my days in Bancroft most...
Interesting article!
This guy must have read Ann Coulter's columns' of late.
He hasn't stated anything new that Ann hasn't repeated over and over. And even tho common sense and a little peaking under the covers couldn't help but bring anyone not drinking the lib kool-aid to the same conclusions, Ann is rebuffed on pure partisanship.
Granted his previous title and the audience he gave this speech to hold more political clout then Ann's column'S', but none the less, the sustance is identical.
How much more screaming can we do about imposing a religious profile aimed at militant islam? Which one of our gutless politicians will finally put his or her neck out to fight this insane denial of common sense? How easy is it for an entire civilian clad jihadist sect to board a plane en force when only 4 are allowed scrutiny at any given time on any 'one' plane?
The answer - When "feel good" politics is finally eradicated, we might be able once again to live without fear, with defined dignity and with something we haven't had in centuries - common sense!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, i know the corruption factor, intimidation factor, bigotry factor and cronyism factor could sky rocket because of it, but better minds then mine need to be put to solving those problems concurrently.