Posted on 09/08/2007 4:27:42 PM PDT by lesser_satan
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Republican Fred Thompson said Saturday people around the world are looking for any signs the U.S. is relenting in combating Islamic radicals.
"It is extremely important that we not show weakness," said Thompson, wrapping up his initial campaign swing in Iowa after entering the presidential race last week. "We must send a message to friends and foes alike that we are determined."
During the three-day visit to Iowa, where precinct caucuses traditionally mark the start of the nominating season, the actor and former Tennessee senator called for a stepped-up effort in the global fight against terrorism.
`We have yet to come to terms fully with the threat that Islamic fundamentalism presents to this country," Thompson said. "The whole world is watching and waiting now, friends and foes alike, to see how we are going to react to the pressure they are going to put on us."
*snip*
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.google.com ...
Ping!
"I will pursue and kill terrorists wherever I find them and wherever they are."
But it doesn't look like I will hear that from Fred.
It’s an excerpt from a source that didn’t report the whole speech. But regardless, I think your sentiment goes without saying for ALL the Republican candidates with the possible exception of Ron Paul.
What the hell do you expect out of someone running for POTUS? This isn’t a bar conversation moron. If that is what you are looking for, you need to look at other threads.
You fling poo real good.
“with the exception on Ron Paul”
That’s rich man, real Rich. Naw, you’v have had enough.
I was hoping that Fred would say that he would personally rip bin laden’s heart out and show to bin before he died, then throw it on the ground and do the twist on it.
But dang.....
Chuck Norris isn't running for President, OK?
Rats - I get the two confused :)
That would be awesome.
Amen!
God bless our troops.
You’ve obviously not been listening. Here’s some of what Fred has said about the war agsinst Islamic facism:
*
“Apparently Osama bin Laden has crawled out of his cave long enough to send another video and he is getting a lot of attention. He ought to be caught and killed.”
- Associated Press, CBS News, September 8, 2007
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/08/ap/politics/main3244272.shtml
*
“It is extremely important that we not show weakness. We must send a message to friends and foes alike that we are determined.”
- Mike Glover, Associated Press, September 8, 2007
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hf7ho7DYRuxBh-diUR-LKc1ZaXIA
*
“Our choice is not whether or not we will fight. Our choice is where we will fight. And the only debate going on with regard to this most important issue facing our country on the Democratic side of the aisle is the date of our surrender.”
- Associated Press, CBS News, May 25, 2007
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/25/politics/main2851413.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_2851413
*
“The strategic center of gravity for this war is American willpower.
Our enemies know this. They know that they cannot defeat us in any conventional military contest, so instead, their aim is to demoralize us, to shake our resolve. They know that their only hope is in gruesome, made-for-television atrocities to undermine the confidence of the American public. Their purpose is not to win, but to convince us that we can’t win, to break our will, to convince us to cut and run. Unfortunately, that strategy is not illogical. We have run before.
That and other past failures of will are among the main reasons we are under siege today.”
- Fred Thompson, American Enterprise Institute, April 16, 2004
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.20318,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
“I will pursue and kill terrorists wherever I find them and wherever they are.”
But it doesn’t look like I will hear that from Fred.****
Well, there are all kinds of terrorists. And as it has been said, “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” The Irish Republican Army are considered terrorists by England, at least, they used to be. I forget which Jewish leader it was that blew up the King David Hotel in Israel, when Israel was fighting to become a nation, but he was considered a terrorist at the time.
The fact is that England, France, Spain, Russia, India, the Philippines, the Balkans and many other countries in the world face a more immediate threat from Islamic terrorists than we do right now. Mainly because they have a lot more radical Muslims living in their countries or their borders are next to radical Muslim countries.
England has pulled out of Basra in southern Iraq and is getting ready to pull all its troops out of Iraq. OTOH, we have the most troops in Iraq that we have ever had.
If all these other countries are not willing to spend blood and treasure to protect themselves, why should we do it for them?
We have other problems to deal with. MS 13, or whatever that gang is called, has probably killed about as many US citizens in the last 4 years as we have lost in Iraq.
We are the most open country in the world, I can think of a dozen ways to cause major problems with very little effort. However, they have not happened here.
There are usually a dozen things happening around the world, at any time, where we could think about intervening on a humanitarian basis. The terrorists got lucky on 9/11. No one would have predicted that the buildings would have collapsed. They probably wouldn’t have, or, at least not until most people had been evacuated, if the steel beam supports were protected by asbestos.
In our private life we do not try to right every wrong, so why should we be trying to do it for the world?
Personally, I was hoping for something along the lines of, “I’m gonna rip the eyes out of OBL’s head and p*ss in his dead skull! He f’d with the wrong candidate!”
But, alas...
Finally, some one says it. Too bad for you Ron Paul worshippers. Paul doesn't either realize it or doesn't care. And this to me is the "one" issue I really care about.
I wouldn’t try and make the moral equivilancy argument regarding terrorists bub.
Unless your expectations are based on the genre of Fred Thompson jokes modelled on 'Chuck Norris facts' jokes, I think that's more or less what he said. And if you don't get that from the article, another poster to this thread cited a fair number of quotes (with links) that make it clear that's his position (unless you expect him to personally go hunting for terrorists as POTUS).
I agree with Fred on almost everything he says. I do wish he had not voted for McCain-Feingold. My problem with Fred is that I can’t shake the feeling that he is a loser. With the current national mood/atmosphere, I have a nagging hunch that he loses to Shrillary. Fortunately, the general election is a long way off. If I can shake the haunting notion that a Fred Thompson nomination will result in Bubba & his Mrs. moving back into the White House, I might vote for Fred in the primary. I might.
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