PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH Message Board

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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

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To: Skywatcher who wrote (493539)	11/16/2003 2:45:35 PM
From: Orcastraiter	Read Replies (1) of 769667

The Democrats and the Republicans share many beliefs and are united on several ideals. We have unanimity on many issues. But we have differences as well. The difference between Democrats and Republicans is clear. That difference lies in the way which we go about leading the world and how we attend to our own domestic affairs. In the "war on terror" (I hesitate to use this phrase as it's meaning has been widened by republicans to include even those Americans who might question the Bush administration.) all of us agree that terrorists must be found and removed. We were unanimous in the efforts in Afghanistan, to root out bin Laden and put an end to the terrorist training camps and the bases of Al Qaeda. This was an effort well suited to a military operation, striking at the very heart of terror. As I mentioned this "war on terror" has been widened to now focus on Iraq. This while the focus on bin Laden and Al Qaeda has been blurred. This is where the major difference between the Democrats and the neocon Republicans lies. The Democrats are for an inclusive world effort on the war on terror. The republicans have a narrower view. One of pre-emptive war and unilateral action. They base the need for this kind of war on the false notion of imminent threats. The reasons for going to war have morphed. First it was WMD, Nukes and the "notion" that Saddam was tied to 9-11 and Al Qaeda. Now the reason "was" to remove Saddam from power and to promote democracy in the middle east. Think about it. This is a major shift. We went from the need for action. The imminent threat. From that we have shifted to a new role of Nation Building. I think that all Americans share the desire to remove despotisim, and to promote democracy in the world. We are together in this goal. Where the Democrats depart company with the Bush Administration is on the question of methodology. Democrats wish to lead by example. To work with the UN and NATO to make for a more secure world. We understand that we would need to act in the face of any imminent threat. We all believe that attacking Al Qaeda was the right response to 9-11. But the widening of the war to Iraq has not been demonstrated to have been an imminent need. In fact it appears that the war against Iraq has become a "war on terror". As the conflict has drawn fanantics to Iraq. This has endangered our troops and the Iraqi people. A guerilla urban war has developed. This is the kind of war that is very difficult to fight. It is not readily contained by a military presence. They hide, then they strike when it is least expected. A guerilla war is a war for the hearts and minds. With intelligence it can be fought. But the Iraqi people have not aligned with the Americans. That makes the war very difficult to fight. And now we have seen another shift by Bush, as the call for Iraqification of the war goes out. We are coming full circle. And the approach of this administration has come back to the center. One of internationalization and ultimately Iraqification. Only the voices of sanity from the left and the majority of people in the world have reeled in these neocons on their misguided adventure in Iraq. And to think that sanity was once equated with treason. We are seeing a shift in policy by the adminstration. there is an election coming up. That election is going to be a tough fight. Bush knows that the rising body count does not play well with the electorate. Especially when the imminent need for entering the war simply dissolved in a cocktail of deception and a predetermined need to attack Iraq. Somehow this administration fashioned a fuse out of 9-11 and fitted it to war on Iraq. The republicans have been called back home by the Democrats. Each and every one of us has a duty to make sure that our policy reflects our values. Clearly the policy in Iraq has strayed from our values. Pre-emptive war was not needed in Iraq. It was the wrong medicine for the wrong patient, and Bush needs to be held accountable for malpractice come 2004, if not before. We decry the loss of innocent lives on 9-11. But we should also be enraged by the loss of innocent lives in Iraq. We are the ones who now appear as the terrorists in the arab world. This battle for ideas is as important to win, if not more important than a military battle over Baghdad. Orca

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