Time Is NOT on Our Side: President Bush is absolutely right.

Wall Street Journal ^ | February 5, 2002 | S. Elenchus - Critical Commentary on TJ Bray

[elenchus]

THOMAS J. BRAY writes in today's Wall Street Journal that we should be patient with the terrorists. We have lots of time. America does not to strike preemptively. We are above that. In democracies, we do not strike first. We wait to be struck. To strike first is not gentlemanly. Even if the Islamic maniacs and the nations in the Middle East which sponsor their terrorism are all acquiring weapons of mass destruction--nuclear, chemical and biological, we should wait until they strike first. Not us. Let them show how inferior they are. Let us show how superior we are.

[elenchus]

No. Bray is a fool and a knave. We have precious little time left. President Bush is precisely right.

[elenchus]

Clarification. The law of our survival is that the number of millions of Americans who will live is inversely proportional to the number of months we delay attacking preemptively; that is, the sooner we attack preemptively, the more millions of American men, women and children will survive.

[b4its2late]

We cannot remain in a defensive shell. We must take the offensive. You and the President are right, time is not on our side, and hasn't been since the early 90's.

[OldFriend]

Dear G-d...how many more innocent lives must be sacrificed to this utter stupidity....or is it more than ignorance but a wish to see America suffer more casualties. I'll not give this writer the benefit of the doubt.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Comment 1: They have already struck first. Their intentions are clear.

Comment 2: Why not wait? It worked for the Romans in the latter days of Rome, did it not? /sarcasm>

[Pearls Before Swine]

Comment 1: They have already struck first. Their intentions are clear.

Comment 2: Why not wait? It worked for the Romans in the latter days of Rome, did it not? /sarcasm>

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I feel strongly both ways. The limiting case of "time is not on our side" is radicalism:

"Desperate ills are by desperate measures cured
or not at all." Shakespeare

On the other hand time wasn't on our side while Adolf Hitler was building up his forces, either. We have already allowed x42 to fritter away 8 long years and it is, in the words of the Dread Pirate Robert, "just work, work, work" to convince people that you mean business.

[mercy]

****our Islamic enemies****

Repeat this over and over to yourself untill it sinks in. Our enemy is Islam. Period. Nuff said. Thinking otherwise is a fools diversion.

[hang 'em]

Cheer up. After we do the Muslims we can move on to the Rats.

[elenchus]

Yes. Is it not reasonable to predict that for each month we delay, one million American men, women and children will die? One simple nuclear or smallpox attack can dispatch millions.

[sinclair]

I'm for doing the rats first.

[Freebird Forever]

bray

Function: verb

intransitive senses : to utter the characteristic loud harsh cry of an ass; also : to utter a sound like an ass

transitive senses : to utter or play loudly, harshly, or discordantly

[elenchus]

Yes; sounding not entirely unlike the bleating (or, bleating heart) of the sheep; a herd animal known to submit without the least resistance.

[hang 'em]

Amen bro.