Tuesday, June 28, 2005
In Case You Haven't Been Paying Attention
President Bush told us the same things he's been telling us for months now. In other words, he's still lying.
I do agree with him one one point (which I'll paraphrase): the terrorists consider free societies decadent and we must take our fight to them.
Here's my beef (which has not changed after tonight's speech): we made Iraq the mess it is. Yes, Iraq is now the center of the so-called "War on Terror." Why? we made it that way. When we started this illegal and unjustified war, we made Iraq a rallying cry for Jihadists. We took down a secular (and yes, evil) regime, creating a vacuum that sucked in extremist Muslims from around the world.
Mr. Bush actually quoted Osama Bin Laden tonight, the first time we've actually heard him mention the person truly responsible for the so-called "War on Terror" in months.
For the record, I think our actions in Afghanistan are, for the most part, correct. I think we should be waging war against Saudi Arabia (as they were home to most of the men and money behind September 11), not Iraq, and I think OBL must be captured immediately (even though CIA director Porter Goss disagrees).
Also for the record, let's review Mr. Bush's flip-flopping statements on OBL:
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." (September 13, 2001)
"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'" (September 17, 2001, UPI)
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." (March 13, 2002)
"I am truly not that concerned about him."(responding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts, March 13, 2002, printed in The New American, April 8, 2002)
What a difference a year...and now almost four makes.
I do agree with him one one point (which I'll paraphrase): the terrorists consider free societies decadent and we must take our fight to them.
Here's my beef (which has not changed after tonight's speech): we made Iraq the mess it is. Yes, Iraq is now the center of the so-called "War on Terror." Why? we made it that way. When we started this illegal and unjustified war, we made Iraq a rallying cry for Jihadists. We took down a secular (and yes, evil) regime, creating a vacuum that sucked in extremist Muslims from around the world.
Mr. Bush actually quoted Osama Bin Laden tonight, the first time we've actually heard him mention the person truly responsible for the so-called "War on Terror" in months.
For the record, I think our actions in Afghanistan are, for the most part, correct. I think we should be waging war against Saudi Arabia (as they were home to most of the men and money behind September 11), not Iraq, and I think OBL must be captured immediately (even though CIA director Porter Goss disagrees).
Also for the record, let's review Mr. Bush's flip-flopping statements on OBL:
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." (September 13, 2001)
"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'" (September 17, 2001, UPI)
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." (March 13, 2002)
"I am truly not that concerned about him."(responding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts, March 13, 2002, printed in The New American, April 8, 2002)
What a difference a year...and now almost four makes.
