[Ronin]

Interesting.

[Windflier]

I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t know that Ron Paul authored that bill to grant the president the authority to enlist “steath warriors” to take out Bin Laden and other Al Qaedas.

I’m even more ashamed to admit that I didn’t realize such a clause existed in our Constitution.

Ron Paul has risen several notches on my respect rule...now I’m off to do some study of my Constitution.

WF

[maine-iac7]

bin Laden would not still be at large six years later.

at large? LOL

You call living with the goats in a cave "at large"?

Personally, I don't think he's taking up oxygen and I think we know it.

Even if he is alive, he's a joke - hiding in a cave -

[oblomov]

Where do Rudy McRomney and Mike Huckabee stand on this issue? Perhaps they think we should consult with the “international community” instead?

[AmericanExceptionalist]

On October 10, 2001, Congressman Ron Paul led the effort in Congress to give President Bush the tools he needed to capture, dead or alive, Osama bin Laden and the other terrorists responsible for September 11th.

Almost everyone--that is, with the exception of those hard leftists who (secretly, at least) would revel in the destruction of the US--agrees that the capture or demise of Osama bin Laden would be a wonderful thing. But the wonderful part would be mostly symbolic (and cathartic) in nature. It would do very little to alter the balance in the war on Islamist jihadism. (The usual term, "war on terror," is just too vague to be useful, and, in any case, confuses a tactic with an enemy.)

Iraq is just one front in this existential war. And those on the other side often do not agree among themselves--or even like each other very much.

For instance, two radical Sunni groups, Hamas and al-Qaeda, seem to be at loggerheads now, with the latter recently lecturing the former for...well, being insufficiently radical.

On the Shiite side, the establishment-backed Badr Brigades and the populist (if that is the correct term) Mahdi Army have been engaged in internecine warfare for some time now.

All of this is to say nothing of the Sunni-Shiite divide, which is a source of serious irritation among radical Muslims.

But Iran, by funding both (Sunni) Hamas and (Shiite) Hezbollah, has shown that it is possible to set aside these deep animosities, in order to fight common enemies (the "near enemy" being Israel and the "far enemy" being the US).

We need to win this war decisively on all fronts--certainly, including Iraq.

[berdie]

I know I may get pretty heavily criticized for this statement, but it is how I feel. The “get Ben Laden” mantra is a throw back to the days of WWII. Get the Germans and the Japanese and the war will be over. Ben Laden is a figure head for an idealogical belief that has spread far beyond his personal influence. Much like the mythical hydra, when one head is removed the others continue to fight. I think of him much like I do catching a skunk in a trap. What happens when it is captured?? (give this some thought) So we bring him here for a fair, p.c. trial? Or we kill him and he becomes the ultimate, Jesus like martyr? Let him perish on his own.

I think Ron Paul is very strong in his beliefs, but I’m not sure they would translate well in the present global world we live in. Isolationism didn’t work during WWII either.

[MEGoody]

A letter of marque and reprisal is a constitutional tool specifically designed to give the president the authority to respond with appropriate force to those non-state actors who wage aggression against the United States while limiting his authority to only those responsible for the atrocities of that day.

I see. So Ronnie would ignore the tens of thousands of other terrorists who are trying to do the same thing Osama did?

He's not wise, he's wacky.

[steel_resolve]

mo seriously, ROn - you have no chance - Maybe you and Allen Keys should start a shadow government...

[takenoprisoner]

Article 1 sec 8

“To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water...”

kooky whacko Constitution...letters of marque...Ron Paul is looney bwahhhahaaha /s

I don’t know if Ross Perot had a letter, but if I recall correctly, Perot himself first, then some men from his private company, and a retired army Col stealthed into Iran to rescue and recover two imprisoned employees. The mission was successful.