Posted on 09/26/2001 2:02:39 PM PDT by Heisenburger
Dear Mr. President:
I want to tell you that you have lost my vote in the 2004 election. Though I voted for you in 2000, though I donated to your Victory 2000 campaign, and though I wore your pins and t-shirts, I cannot support you again.
Your diplomatic team, by trying to build a world coalition, has allowed Middle-Eastern and Arab dictatorships to dictate what we can and cannot do to respond to the attacks that took place on September 11. Instead of following the example of Ronald Reagan and basing foreign policy only on what is in the best interests of the United States, you have made concessions to Pakistan and Middle-Eastern countries that will threaten our security for years to come. The coalition has indeed determined the mission, not the other way around.
Specifically, your administration's statement that you will not overthrow the Taliban is unthinkably misguided. To not overthrow the Taliban is to give a feeling of security and power to other states that sponsor terrorism. Not only that, but it makes your statement last Thursday that the Taliban would share in the fate of terrorists an outright lie. One of the reasons I supported you in the 2000 election was that I was sick of being lied to by the Clinton administration. Now I see that you and your team are no different.
Furthermore, the fact that your administration, in an attempt to keep from offending Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, is not concentrating on Iraq as an important link to the Septemeber 11 attacks shows that you are not truly concerned with protecting Americans and ending terrorism. As Colin Powell said, Hussein is indeed the greatest terrorist in the world today. That he had a hand in the attacks on the 11th is not only highly probable, but also fairly obvious. The world can never be safe as long as Saddam Hussein is still in power.
In closing, I would remind you that you have a chance to win back my vote by changing your policy towards terror states and terrorists themselves. Perhaps your team should realize that "it is easier to ask forgiveness than to ask permission."
Sincerely,
Brent Skilton
I think you missed the opening paragraph. I voted for Bush. I even donated to his campaign, not too mention Rick Lazio's, and I have the check stubs to prove it.
I do as well. But I do not want to see GWB make a GHWB mistake in getting us bogged down into alliances that limit the scope and ultimate elimination of those who are doing this. We still have Saddam thanks to GHWB ignoring the wisdom of our founders. I do not want the U.N. or their World Court or their Security Council to be party of this as this.
This not their war and in war you fight by no other mans rules but the rule of unconditional victory. That means either elimination of enemy or the unconditional surrender of the enemy and occupation of a nation until stability is restored to that government which is not a threat. The Gulf War did not end in such a manner.
To fight war otherwise brings upon yourself defeat as the enemy has tied your hands. I'm giving Bush a chance on this one and I hope he is wiser than his dad.
As an aside, does anybody have a link to a website that calculates the dates of phases of the moon over Afghanistan? (A little curiousity, if you know what I mean).
What is the problem with waiting to see what happens before you decide how to vote in 2004? Or is it that you think your little note is going to influence events? Geez.
Simple. We ask them if we can use their bases, offering them bribes or trade preferences or political favors. But we do not offer to alter our mission in order to win their support. This is where Bush has faltered, and it may be our downfall.
Overestimating him is too.
I remember the "Fearsome Republican Guard" in the Gulf War, and those guys surrendered to news reporters.
I'm sure glad you dopes aren't running the country.
This is not a conventional war that will be won using conventional warfare. As a matter of fact that is EXACTLY what bin Laden would love for us to do as our response, indiscriminately drop bombs. Then he would be able to garner all Islamic support rather then just the radicals.
I think you at least owe yourself some time to see how his response is played out before you totally discount his methods. Played wrong, and WWIII could erupt. Played correctly, and terrorism just might end up in the cross-hairs of the world. That would include terrorist states that support terrorism too.
Wow... harsh. What do you want, really? All of the military planning to be held in public forums? Special-ops actions printed in the NY Times prior to their happening?
Try to learn a little patience. There are five major fronts of this campaign, and some of them have already started to show results. There is the financial front -- witness the freezing of terroist assets to the tune of $100 million in the EU just in the past day. There is the domestic front -- the investigative agencies have been very aggressive about finding and detaining possible suspects and accomplices. There is the special-ops front -- a UK report yesterday or the day before indicated that British SAS were already on the ground inside Afghanistan. There is the diplomatic front -- pressure is being placed on various countries to isolate the primary target from any outtside support. And finally, there is the direct military front -- this one takes the longest to get started because troops shouldn't be committed until the objectives are set and all the pieces are in place.
Things are happening. Sorry if you aren't getting the prime-time telecast of bombs dropping that you might want, but direct military action is probably the last of the fronts to be fully active, for many reasons logistic, strategic, and diplomatic.
Actually, the problem isn't with Rice or Rumsfeld. They understand what's going on and what must be done. The problem is that Powell doesn't understand international politics and Bush is taking Powell's advice over that of the true experts.
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