Posted on 10/26/2004 11:59:23 PM PDT by nunya bidness
When Americans go to the polls this November it won’t just be to place a vote for or against a candidate, it will be a vote for America’s future and its place in history. Few elections in the past can compare with this one for one simple reason: on September 11, 2001 we were attacked on our soil by terrorists in an attempt to affect America’s foreign policy and our choice of leaders. And in that respect the choices couldn’t be clearer: We can choose the President who has taken the fight to the terrorists and their nation state supporters, or we can choose a candidate that has all but given them every assurance of victory this time much like he did after he returned home the last time we were embroiled in armed conflict in Vietnam.
Voters will be faced with an audacious task but if they take a peek at history they’ll be prepared to make an informed decision. Radical Islam has been knocking on America’s door for some time and it wasn’t until 9/11 that we had a President and an administration willing, able, and duty-bound to face this emerging threat in a dynamic and devastating fashion. Here’s a list of terrorist attacks on America:
September 5, 1972: Eight Palestinian "Black September" terrorists seized 11 Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village in Munich, West Germany. In a bungled rescue attempt by West German authorities, nine of the hostages and five terrorists were killed.
March 2, 1973: U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Cleo A. Noel and other diplomats were assassinated at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum by members of the Black September organization.
June 27, 1976: Members of the Baader-Meinhof Group and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine seized an Air France airliner and its 258 passengers. They forced the plane to land in Uganda, where on July 3 Israeli commandos successfully rescued the passengers.
November 4, 1979: After President Carter agreed to admit the Shah of Iran into the U.S., Iranian radicals seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 66 American diplomats hostage. Thirteen hostages were soon released, but the remaining 53 were held until their release on January 20, 1981.
October 6, 1981: Soldiers who were secretly members of the Takfir Wal-Hajira sect attacked and killed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat during a troop review. September 14, 1982: Lebanese Prime Minister Bashir Gemayel was assassinated by a car bomb parked outside his party's Beirut headquarters.
April 18, 1983: Sixty-three people, including the CIA's Middle East director, were killed, and 120 were injured in a 400-pound suicide truck-bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
October 23, 1983: Simultaneous suicide truck-bomb attacks were made on American and French compounds in Beirut, Lebanon. A 12,000-pound bomb destroyed the U.S. compound, killing 242 Americans, while 58 French troops were killed when a 400-pound device destroyed a French base. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
March 16, 1984: The Islamic Jihad kidnapped and later murdered Political Officer William Buckley in Beirut, Lebanon. Other U.S. citizens not connected to the U.S. Government were seized over a succeeding 2-year period.
June 14, 1985: A Trans-World Airlines flight was hijacked en route to Rome from Athens by two Lebanese Hizballah terrorists and forced to fly to Beirut. The eight crew members and 145 passengers were held for 17 days, during which one American hostage, a U.S. Navy sailor, was murdered. After being flown twice to Algiers, the aircraft was returned to Beirut after Israel released 435 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners.
October 7, 1985: Four Palestinian Liberation Front terrorists seized the Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, taking more than 700 hostages. One U.S. passenger was murdered before the Egyptian Government offered the terrorists safe haven in return for the hostages' freedom. Years later the leader of the hijackers would be discovered in Baghdad following the liberation of Iraq.
November 23, 1985: An EgyptAir airplane bound from Athens to Malta and carrying several U.S. citizens was hijacked by the Abu Nidal Group.
March 30, 1986: A Palestinian splinter group detonated a bomb as TWA Flight 840 approached Athens Airport, killing four U.S. citizens.
April 5, 1986: Two U.S. soldiers were killed, and 79 American servicemen were injured in a Libyan bomb attack on a nightclub in West Berlin, Germany. In retaliation, U.S. military jets bombed targets in and around Tripoli and Benghazi.
February 17, 1988: U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. W. Higgins was kidnapped and murdered by the Iranian-backed Hizballah group while serving with the United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization in southern Lebanon.
December 21, 1988: Pan American Airlines Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, by a bomb believed to have been placed on the aircraft in Frankfurt, West Germany, by Libyan terrorists. All 259 people on board were killed.
January 18-19, 1991: Iraqi agents planted bombs at the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia's home residence and at the USIS library in Manila.
February 26, 1993: The World Trade Center in New York City was badly damaged when a car bomb planted by Islamic terrorists explodes in an underground garage. The bomb left six people dead and 1,000 injured. The men carrying out the attack were followers of Umar Abd al-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric who preached in the New York City area.
April 14, 1993: The Iraqi intelligence service attempted to assassinate former U.S. President George Bush during a visit to Kuwait. In retaliation, the U.S. launched a cruise missile attack 2 months later on the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
March 8, 1995: Two unidentified gunmen killed two U.S. diplomats and wounded a third in Karachi, Pakistan.
November 13, 1995: The Islamic Movement of Change planted a bomb in a Riyadh military compound that killed one U.S. citizen, several foreign national employees of the U.S. Government, and more than 40 others.
June 25, 1996: A fuel truck carrying a bomb exploded outside the U.S. military's Khobar Towers housing facility in Dhahran, killing 19 U.S. military personnel and wounding 515 persons, including 240 U.S. personnel. Several groups claimed responsibility for the attack.
February 23, 1997: A Palestinian gunman opened fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claimed this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine."
August 7, 1998: A bomb exploded at the rear entrance of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 12 U.S. citizens, 32 Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs), and 247 Kenyan citizens. About 5,000 Kenyans, six U.S. citizens, and 13 FSNs were injured. The U.S. embassy building sustained extensive structural damage. Almost simultaneously, a bomb detonated outside the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing seven FSNs and three Tanzanian citizens, and injuring one U.S. citizen and 76 Tanzanians. The explosion caused major structural damage to the U.S. embassy facility. The U.S. Government held Usama Bin Ladin responsible.
October 12, 2000: In Aden, Yemen, a small dingy carrying explosives rammed the destroyer U.S.S. Cole, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 others. Supporters of Usama Bin Ladin were suspected.
September 11, 2001: Two hijacked airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Soon thereafter, the Pentagon was struck by a third hijacked plane. A fourth hijacked plane, suspected to be bound for a high-profile target in Washington, crashed into a field in southern Pennsylvania. More than 5,000 U.S. citizens and other nationals were killed as a result of these acts.
Aftermath
No one who witnessed 9/11 will ever forget for as long as they live the deeply shocking and gut-wrenching images of the WTC buildings as they burned and collapsed while TV commentators rattled off possible casualty numbers. For the first time in our country’s history we were attacked by our own airplanes hijacked by determined butchers who took control of the planes with box cutters. It wasn’t an attack on a military base in some foreign land it was an attack on two of America’s greatest symbols of greatness and the people who died there weren’t soldiers they were civilians and the brave firemen who went up to save them facing certain death to save them.
The jihadists have been knocking on our door for over thirty years and with rare exceptions our response has been to deal with the problem like it was an episode of Law & Order. In fact, it was the discovery phase of the ’93 WTC bombing trial that probably provided the 9/11 attackers details on the vulnerabilities they eventually exploited. It wasn’t until President Bush had “greatness thrust upon him” that the fight became a military matter. And if it weren’t for the brilliant planning of Tommy Franks the country would be a less safe place.
Enduring Freedom
In response to the attacks Franks put together a strategy for attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan that would be both dynamic and streamlined. He understood that sending in division after division of armor would yield the same results the Soviets had seen for over ten years. So he came up with a new plan: he would send in light infantry and teams of special operators from a variety of services; the campaign would be called Operation Enduring Freedom. The A Teams linked up with the Northern Alliance and using laser designators and predator drones they rained precision guided iron down on the Taliban time after time. Meanwhile, conventional forces augmented the campaign in the south and crushed the Taliban in due course scattering the remnants to the mountains of the border with Pakistan. They were later soundly defeated in Operation Anaconda. Boots were on the ground on October 17th 2001 and Franks met with local leaders in country on December 22, 2001. Due to his tactical strategy the casualties in Afghanistan were light and the victory was swift. Despite what the press said at the time the campaign did not become another Vietnam.
Iraqi Freedom
When President Bush had General Franks set his sights on Iraq it made perfect sense if you paid attention to President’s statement during a joint session of Congress on September 19, 2001, where he said, “and we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism.” There’s no bigger and more armed to the teeth country in the region that has an open door policy to jihadists than Iraq. Saddam had built a massive armed camp for over 12 years funded by European countries through the Oil-for-food scam. While the President did well by attempting to convince the UN to actually enforce numerous useless resolutions, including 1441 that called for “serious consequences” the hidden agendas of France, Germany, Russia, and corrupt officials at the UN (including Kofi Annan’s son) were entrenched. The money was just too tempting. The debate over Iraq grew to a fever pitch but what was lost to the likes of Michael Moore and the rabid left is that there already was a casus belli for Iraq. That happened way back in 1990 (a lifetime ago for the forgetful press) and the cease-fire was still in effect and each concurrent resolution had been triggered time and time again by Saddam with no response. When President Bush decided to go it alone with 48 coalition partners on March 19, 2003 the “rush to war” was finally over.
The “plan that wasn’t a plan” had a name (actually a number): OPLAN 1003 and it had been around since the Gulf War. Tommy Franks dusted it off and gutted it over the time he was commanding Operation Enduring Freedom and beyond; and what he came up with was a revolution in warfare. He would attack Iraq with less than a third of the force that was used in 1991 and he would use every trick he learned in his experience as a soldier as well as “lessons learned” in Afghanistan; including allowing the press to participate in the campaign on the ground with individual units. He planned a four phase operation with the final phase being “reconstruction”. Initially, there would be an air phase followed by a ground assault but events dictated that the contingency of simultaneous initiation was decided on.
So on March 19, 2001 Special Operations Forces systematically destroyed observation towers and moved to disable “Scud baskets” in the west and southwest to deprive the enemy of the ability to widen the conflict by targeting Israel. Two days later the Army’s V Corps and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force as well as British troops crossed the berms and made their runs north. While the Marines and Brits isolated the southern oil fields and turned north the 3rd ID made a speed run to Baghdad that would shame Patton and the whole thing was live on TV. Eventually, the northern progression was “stalled” (as reported by the press) in a sandstorm but in reality the supply line was tightening and General Franks in another inspired move let the “operational pause” story get out. The Iraqi armor relaxed and condensed their vehicles. After a failed helicopter gunship assault on the Iraqis the air component put together a massive air assault and wiped out the Iraqi armor while it was standing still in zero visibility. The literally never saw it coming.
The press was quick to overshadow the success and point ominously at the potential “Fortress Baghdad” and the dire predictions of urban warfare but Franks had another gamble. He didn’t think the rest of the Iraqi armor was in Baghdad, he thought they were north of the city waiting for the 4th Infantry Division that was “scheduled” to sweep south from Turkey (but was never allowed egress). He was right and the proof was a courageous “Thunder Run” in to the heart of Baghdad by the 3rd ID. Reporters showed American armor flying down palm lined streets in to the city meeting little resistance. The run ended with reporters holed up in hotels gasping as American troops rolled in to Firdos Square where they eventually pulled down Saddam’s statue to the cheering of the Iraqi people. It was April 9, 2003. The media declared the war over but, as usual, they were wrong. Major combat operations lasted until May 2, 2003.
Phase IV Reconstruction
Phase IV of Operation Iraqi Freedom has become grist for the mill of the 4th Estate (which acts more like a 5th Column) and reconstruction has been presented as the quagmire the press was salivating for during the campaign. The press settled on the word “insurgency” to describe the daily attacks on Coalition forces and Iraqi civilians but that word implies a revolution against an established authority and fails to describe the variety of players in Iraq now. There are common criminals, foreign fighters seeking glory, former regime soldiers, terrorists, AQ types beheading the innocent, and others all seeking to fill the void left when Saddam was pulled out of a rathole and his two brutal sons were cut down hiding. No matter how much the media, European appeasers, Massachusetts candidates, and screaming leftists are dreaming of a day when they can control the fate of the Iraqi people (by abandoning them) they’ll never get a chance (or take the risk) to do what any one soldier did when he put his life before the life of an Iraqi and gave the jihadists the first shot; there’s a word for that and it’s called courage.
The sacrifice and courage of Americans doesn’t only extend to the field of battle, there are also civilians who are facing danger to rebuild these two weary countries, including 41 employees of the evil plundering Halliburton who gave their lives in Iraq. Many good things have happened in Iraq and Afghanistan while the media was busy running through the daily body count. Here’s a list of results in reconstruction in both countries:
Afghanistan:
- Today the Coalition has shifted to a broader-based approach that focuses on creating conditions in Afghanistan to reject terrorists and their activities outright.
- More than 10 million Afghans have registered to vote.
- More than 40 percent of the registered voters are women.
- Next spring Afghans will elect members of a new Parliament.
- The economy is growing at the rate of 20 percent a year.
- More than 5 million children are in school this year compared to just 1 million last year.
- The portion of the “Ring Road” that links Kabul to Kandahar is completed (300 miles) and construction is continuing from Kandahar to Herat.
- Hundreds of miles of secondary roads are being repaired and paved.
- Completed over 6,100 water-related projects, including wells, irrigation canals, dams, reservoirs, and potable water systems.
- Thousands of smaller construction projects completed and underway including district centers, schools, and clinics, providing jobs for thousands of Afghans. More than 3 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan since 2002.
- There are 19 provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan (14 U.S. and five NATO). A year ago there were four.
- About 15,000 soldiers serve in the Afghan National Army. The ANA is a highly professional, multi-ethnic force, which is rapidly becoming a pillar of the country’s security.
- Approximately 25,000 police have been trained.
- Millions of girls barred from school by the Taliban since 1995 have returned to their classes. Today, 40% of all students are female.
- Enrollment in all schools, from primary to college jumped from 900,000 in 2001 to 5 million.
- 15 million textbooks were printed and distributed for the fall 2002 school year.
- 1,800 schools were built by Afghan and foreign aid agencies.
- 50,000 teachers were trained.
- Funded via UNICEF treatment of 700,000 cases of malaria.
- Vaccinated 4.26 million children against measles polio, preventing some 20,000 deaths.
- Surveyed health facilities and services throughout country, helping Ministry of Health expand basic services for 16.5 million women and children and rebuild 550 rural health centers.
- And last but not least, Afghanistan held free and open elections for the first time ever and elected Hamid Karzai President despite the media’s attempts to incite violence at the polls.
In Iraq:
Restoring Essential Infrastructure:
- Electricity generated 4,518 MW on October 6, surpassing the pre-war level of 4,400 MW.
- USAID is working to add 827 MW of capacity through new generation and rehabilitation projects.
- Conducting water and sanitation projects worth $183 million that will benefit 14.5 million people.
- Rehabilitating three key bridges (Khazir, Tikrit, and Al Mat) critical to the flow of passengers and goods throughout Iraq. Al Mat Bridge was the first to be completed and reopened March 3.
- Reopened Umm Qasr seaport on June 17. Approximately 40 ships offload cargo per month.
- Completed emergency work to prepare Baghdad and Basrah airports for operations. More than 5,000 flights have arrived and departed Baghdad International Airport since July, which now averages more than 20 non-military movements per day.
- Restored international calling service and activated more than 140,000 subscriber lines in Baghdad.
Supporting Essential Health and Education Services:
- Vaccinated 3 million children through monthly national immunization days.
- Equipping 600 facilities in seven target governorates to provide essential primary healthcare services.
- Trained 750 people who are training more than 2,000 primary healthcare providers in maternal and child health services.
- Distributed high-protein biscuits to more than 240,000 children and pregnant and nursing mothers.
- Renovated 2,356 schools nationwide.
- Distributed 1.5 million secondary school student kits, 808,000 primary school student kits, and 81,735 primary school teacher kits.
- Printed and distributed 8.7 million revised math and science textbooks to governorates throughout Iraq.
- Trained 860 secondary school master trainers, who trained 31,772 secondary school educators nationwide.
- Awarded five grants worth $20.7 million to establish partnerships between American and Iraqi universities.
- Giving more than 600 out-of-school students a second chance through the Accelerated Learning Program.
Expanding Economic Opportunity:
- Implementing 17 high-priority activities with the CPA to reform Iraq's currency, state-owned enterprises, small businesses, banking system, taxation system, budgeting, and utility administration.
- Began facilitating the Central Bank program to exchange new dinars for old on October 15, 2003, and completed the program January 15, 2004. There are currently 4.62 trillion new Iraqi dinars in circulation.
- Created more than 77,000 public works jobs through the National Employment Program.
- Developed a bank-to-bank payment system that allowed 80 banks to resume business by late October.
- Supporting the Iraqi initiative to revitalize agricultural production, stimulate income, and employment generation through the Agriculture Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq.
- Coordinating the Marshlands Initiative to rejuvenate the marshlands ecologically, socially, and economically.
Improving Government Efficiency and Accountability:
- Local governance teams are working in all 18 governorates as part of CPA Governance Teams.
- Facilitated an interim structure of government, the Governorate Council, to represent the population of 18 governorates, including Baghdad.
- Established 16 governorate councils, 78 district councils, 192 city or sub-district councils, and 392 neighborhood councils, allowing more than 19 million people to engage in local policy discourse.
- Committed $2.4 million for the implementation of the CPA's nationwide Civic Education Program to introduce Iraqis to democratic principles and ideas in preparation for the upcoming transition to sovereignty.
- Awarded rapid-response grants worth $13.4 million to allow local governments to deliver essential services.
- Rehabilitated nine key central government ministries, Baghdad mayoral buildings, headquarters of nine Baghdad municipalities, and urban water and electric authorities, while providing 40 directorates and agencies with enough furniture, equipment, and basic office supplies to enable them to return to service.
- Assisting local governments in budget formulation.
- Established more than 660 community associations in 16 governorates as part of a campaign targeting grassroots democracy.
Humanitarian Assistance:
- Immediately after the conflict, provided 516,800 metric tons of food worth over $389 million through the World Food Program.
- Deployed one of the largest ever Disaster Assistance Response Teams, including doctors, public health professionals, water and sanitation experts, food distribution and agricultural specialists, and other experts.
- Pre-positioned substantial amounts of food and supplies before the war: water, hygiene and health kits, blankets, and plastic sheeting.
- Awarded grants to staff and prepare U.N. agencies and NGOs for response.
- Repaired water and sanitation facilities quickly and furnished emergency healthcare assistance.
- Distributed medical kits containing enough medicine and supplies for 10,000 people for three months.
If all these good things happened in two war-torn countries how would you know? You wouldn’t if you relied on the main-stream media. Even though “if it bleeds it leads” holds true in most domestic news stories the opposite holds true in war-zones. When there’s nothing but blood and death it would stand to reason that the news would be good news, but of course that wouldn’t remove Bush from office and advance the media’s snobbish vision of America’s and the world’s future. The humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq is almost as important as killing bad guys but we may never see any network coverage of it because it would mean that reporters would have to leave their hotel rooms.
The Bush administration has made it clear to the American people, the civilians of Afghanistan and Iraq, and most importantly the bad guys that they’ve had over 30 years to get away with their barbarism but those days are over. We went after them in those two countries and made the lives of the peaceful people there better for the sacrifice. And those people are responding by becoming democratic and they will eventually repel the advances of the jihadists on their own in the future. It’s called victory against terrorism.
Election 2004
Much has been said about how this election compares to previous elections but most of the comparison is using the 2000 election as a model. That will prove to be a flawed analogy. 9/11 happened and the American people will not forget it no matter how much the press shoves poll after poll down their throats in an attempt to paint the race as “very close”. It’s not going to be close. The Democrats have picked a candidate with a wartime past because they know the War on Terrorism is the only issue the voters care about this time. What they didn’t count on is that their candidate’s war experience is largely fabricated, and the parts that are corroborated don’t show him fit to command. John Kerry would be a disaster for the War on Terror and the only folks cheering him on are the jihadists, the brain-dead up-to-their-eyeballs in massive Muslim slums of Europeans, and equally brain-dead Americans who would gladly roll over if confronted with jihadists in their midst. Thankfully, the Americans are the only ones we have to worry about and they’re not going to carry Kerry.
The Democrats have pulled out every trick in the book to win this election including: trying to ban books, movies, television ads, news shows; they’ve tried to use forged documents to smear the President, they’ve written hundreds of books deriding him and blaming him for everything from hurricanes to global warming; they’ve produced propaganda movies labeled “documentaries” which include veiled references that he knew about the 9/11 attacks beforehand and that he is in league with the Saudi Royal family; and they’ve generally used every conceivable opportunity to paint the leader of the free world in a time of war as something other than that. They’ve been trying to run Bush out of office and now they’re trying to sway an election while the eyes of the world are upon us at the most critical time in our nation’s history. But what they failed to consider is that all the while this very public meltdown was occurring they were helping the so-called undecided voters make up their mind. And it’s not going to go their way.
Looking back at previous elections three stand out. In 1944, America was three years from the most vicious attack on our country at Pearl Harbor and was a nation at war when FDR won an unprecedented fourth term that eventually caused the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which prohibited the President to two terms in office. Bush like FDR is a wartime President, and like FDR he is campaigning on a “don’t change horses in midstream” approach in a time of war. And while it’s arguable that Bush is expanding entitlement like FDR that isn’t what is going to push Bush to victory. Bush will win because unlike FDR he isn’t facing war weariness and he’s not facing an opponent like Dewey who, as a Republican, was fighting federal expansion under the New Deal. John Kerry offers fiscal restraint about as effectively as McDonald’s sells healthy food. FDR won 54% of the popular vote and 432 electoral votes.
In 1964, LBJ ran in the shadow of JFK’s assassination and this is perhaps the best comparison to Bush’s election this year. Kennedy’s assassination touched every American in very personal ways and most people alive then can recall where they were when Kennedy was shot, similar to how most Americans now can recall where they were when the second plane hit the WTC. Furthermore, LBJ was well advised to continue to champion Kennedy’s Civil Rights Act which pushed him over the top but the shadow of the act has grown long in recent years and trends appear that black voters may be moving to the right (Maryland had a recent poll that put black voters 21% behind Bush) or at least support the President due to the same reasons most do in the post-9/11 world. But perhaps the most telling comparison of that election was the schism in the Republican Party created by Barry Goldwater who pulled away from the party’s east-coast blue-blood handlers. It didn’t help Goldwater that he was called an extremist when he said he would use “tactical nukes” in Vietnam and that he voted against the Civil Rights Act arguing that it was a matter for the states. Too many comparisons to the picture painted of Goldwater as an extremist matching Kerry’s truly mind-boggling flip-flops and malaprops in a very serious time; not to mention his being the candidate of choice for terrorists around the world. LBJ won 61% of the popular vote and 486 electoral votes.
In 1984, Ronald Reagan ran against Walter Mondale but in reality it was Mondale running against Reagan’s legacy and it was daunting. Reagan had humiliated Jimmy Carter, in 1980, and in so doing drove a stake in the heart of a depressed post-Vietnam era America with an abysmal economy and an ongoing hostage crisis in Iran. Furthermore, Reagan showed he could renew patriotism in America and created an optimism neglected for some time. Reagan won 50% of the popular vote and 489 electoral votes. And on the day of his inauguration the hostages were freed.
Reagan reinforced his positions in the ’84 campaign and continued to elevate his status as President who would pursue a vigorous agenda to end communism or what he called the “Evil Empire”. No President will ever come close to the commanding style of speech as Reagan but his themes resonate to this day. Bush couldn’t have called Iran, Iraq, and N. Korea the “Axis of Evil” if Reagan hadn’t called the Soviet Union the same first and then vanquished it in his second term. But the most regretful event in Reagan’s tenure was the attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. He never forgave himself for the loss of those men and his administration never came up with a plan to combat the growing threat. And in 1986 Reagan bombed Libya in response to a bombing of a disco in West Berlin where American servicemen died. He didn’t ask the UN for permission he just did it. And he launched the first formal offensive against terrorism whether he knew it or not.
The Reagan years compare well to Bush’s first term because it’s the culmination of the other two elections mentioned. FDR was re-elected because of the war, LBJ was elected because of JFK’s assassination, Reagan was elected because of the hostage crisis, and re-elected because he had kept his promise to continue to aggressively destroy the scourge of communism. And thus President Bush is handed the mantle as a war time President touched by fate and given the same respect and support as those previous Presidents. Reagan won 58% of the popular vote and 525 electoral votes and he would have won Mondale’s state of Minnesota if he had managed to campaign there one time.
President Bush will win between 60 and 70% of the popular vote and 535 electoral votes. He will not win DC but then again who needs it? He will win because deep down inside most Americans know he’s the only guy willing and able to actually do something about the threats to our security. And all other issues are secondary. On this November 2, this libertarian will cast a vote for George W. Bush and I won’t be alone. God bless President Bush and God bless America.
It's the truth.
Excellent writing...
redrock
Fantastic distillation of what this is all about, sir. Thank you for the effort you've put into this...it is going out on several e-mail lists as we speak...
Many of the people on this list are incensed at President Bush for what he hasn't yet done on the border.
Like it or not, though, this essay tells what this election is all about. It is because of what nunya bidness says here, which meshes with what I've known all along, that my vote has been cast for President Bush.
Defeat John Communist Fing Kerry for America's Children BTTT
Morning HiJinx.
I'm not happy with some of Bush's policies and decisions but a Kerry Presidency would be a disaster.
I predict a November Surprise when the empty skirts and suits of the MSM stand there gapmouthed as Bush rolls up state after state on November 2nd.
Bookmarked; good work!
It was a great read, especially the last paragraph.
Works for me...
Great work. I wish I was as optimistic as you. I think the dems are going to fight tooth and nail for this, both at the polls and in the courts.
Printing out and reading on the ride home today.
Thanks!
Terrorists shot American Jackie Pflugh in the back of the head and threw her out of the plane 15 ft to the tarmac. She laid in her own pool of blood for five hours before the terrorists allowed an ambulance to recover what they thought was a corpse. Not only did she live but she made almost a full recovery. Egyptian special forces subsequently raided the plane and killed the terrorists as well as many of the hostages.
BTTT
Many of the people on this list are incensed at President Bush for what he hasn't yet done on the border.Like it or not, though, this essay tells what this election is all about. It is because of what nunya bidness says here, which meshes with what I've known all along, that my vote has been cast for President Bush.
To ALL GOP:
GO to the polls and vote for Bush. Take your friends with you to do the same. If you know any Zell Miller type Democrats that support Bush and they are voting for him, take them as well.
Vote EARLY to avoid the rush. If you wait until November 2nd, make SURE to go and vote!! And if you do wait until November 2nd, remember:
IGNORE ANYTHING IN THE MEDIA YOU HEAR (i.e., making a fast, early call in Florida for Kerry, etc.). THE FLORIDA ELECTION DEBACLE OF 2000 CAN AVOID A REPEAT THIS YEAR IF GOP TURNOUT IS STRONG, imho.
bump!
It's politically impossible to do anything about the border. Until voters start to vote consistently for Buchanan-like candidates, nothing is going to happen on that front.
I'm not sure how to/where to post, so thought I'd tack this article onto this thread. It was written by Mathew Manweller... Central Washington University political science professor...
"Election Determines Fate of Nation"
In that this will be my last column before the presidential election, there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high.
This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a nation that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out the current occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will be two-fold.
First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things. Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.
Second, we inform every terrorist organization on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that you don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America.
Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the homeland.
It is said that America's W.W.II generation is ts 'greatest generation'. But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's 'last generation.' Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of WW II, they may be the last American generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake 'living in America' as 'being an American.' But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities.
This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the oblivion they may deserve.
I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the City on the Hill.
Mathew Manweller
Thanks. Great essay.I started to read that and it sounded familiar.
It's been posted multiple times here on FR.
John Kerry would be a disaster for the War on Terror and the only folks cheering him on are the jihadists, the brain-dead up-to-their-eyeballs in massive Muslim slums of Europeans, and equally brain-dead Americans who would gladly roll over if confronted with jihadists in their midst.
This article should be posted to all those European newspapers that can't seem to understand why Americans are supporting Bush.
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