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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Techplayer who wrote (382994)	3/31/2003 3:52:04 PM
From: PROLIFE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

An Interesting Turn of Phrase Did Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations let something slip about Saddam's condition on "Meet the Press" yesterday? by Jonathan V. Last 03/31/2003 2:10:00 PM LOST IN THE CRIES of "Vietnam" and "quagmire" yesterday was this short but very interesting exchange between Tim Russert and Mohammed Al-Douri, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, on "Meet the Press": RUSSERT: Mr. Ambassador, is Saddam Hussein dead or alive? AL-DOURI: We start with that. I am here. I am in New York. I think that he is alive, of course, because we saw him several times on the TV. RUSSERT: But on the TV, it could be edited or outdated footage. Why doesn't he appear holding a daily newspaper so people know for certain he is alive? AL-DOURI: You know, anyway I think he is alive, but the question is not there because Iraq is Iraq and Saddam Hussein is the president of Iraq. Now we have to talk about the war against Iraq, against the people of Iraq, not against one person. RUSSERT: But were Saddam Hussein or his sons injured? AL-DOURI: I told you it is not a question of one person or two persons. . . . What's going on here? For one thing, Al-Douri clearly hasn't spoken with either Saddam, Qusay, or Uday Hussein since the war started on March 19. But more interestingly, he remains noncommittal on whether or not Saddam is still alive. Notice how Al-Douri (who's a lawyer) lawyers his way around the question: He thinks Saddam is alive. His evidence: the handful of undated, videotaped Saddam speeches that have been released. It's hard to think of a reason Al-Douri would be so circumspect. As a Baath party higher-up, it would seem to be in his best interest to simply assert that Saddam is alive and well no matter what. If Al-Douri really doesn't know anything--which is entirely possible--his safest bet would be to stick with his patron, since he doesn't have any future in a post-war Iraq. If he knows that Saddam is alive, he can only help the Iraqi dictator by showing the world that he has escaped the clutches of America yet again. And if he knows that Saddam is dead, he should try to prolong the fiction of him being alive for as long as possible, knowing that if word got out, the Iraqi resistance might collapse. And who cares if we find out later that he was lying? He's not worried about maintaining credibility with Russert or the American audience. There is one other scenario worth considering: Al-Douri's non-answer would make sense if he did know that Saddam was, for one reason or another, out of the picture, and that one of his sons was running the show. In that case, Al-Douri wouldn't want to let slip that Saddam was not in control but, at the same time, wouldn't want to appear disloyal to the new Hussein by insisting that the old tyrant was still calling the shots. It's a little thin, but it's interesting nonetheless. Jonathan V. Last is online editor of The Weekly Standard

To: Techplayer who wrote (382994)	3/31/2003 4:05:28 PM
From: J_F_Shepard	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

You resort to Ollie North....a convicted liar and a man who financed and ran a secret illegal war by selling hi-tech rockets to an "Axis of Evil" partner, Iran????? Ollie North, who had his secretary steal documents from the White House for shredding and a man who installed a fence and private security system at home at government expense.... This is the guy you look to for support.. Do you notice his lack of specifics, just bumper sticker charges that some people cling to and quote....

To: Techplayer who wrote (382994)	3/31/2003 4:09:43 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 769670

The Kind Of War Hero The Bushies attack as "unpatriotic": WASHINGTON - Former Sen. Max Cleland (news, bio, voting record) doesn't sugarcoat the lessons he gives young aspiring politicos who, like him 40 years ago, are spending a few months in the nation's capital in hopes of jump-starting their careers. "These young people give me hope, and I try to give them a dose of reality," said Cleland, the Georgia Democrat, who unexpectedly lost his Senate "dream job" in last November's election. He says he's not sure whether he'll ever run for office again. Now a member of the faculty at American University's Washington Semester Program, Cleland tells students, visiting from colleges across the nation and overseas, that politics will provide them some of the best — as well as the worst — days of their lives. Cleland, 60, should know. During his unsuccessful re-election bid last year Cleland, who lost two legs and an arm to a grenade blast in Vietnam, was criticized by some who questioned his patriotism because he refused to vote for creation of a Department of Homeland Security. Cleland said he voted against the measure because it failed to protect workers. Today, in the classroom, he often is asked not only about politics, but also the war in Iraq (news - web sites). In far blunter terms than he ever used on the Senate floor, Cleland describes to the students his concerns about the war and how he fears it might harm the ongoing fight against the al-Qaida terrorist network. Cleland, who as a senator voted to support force against Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) if weapons inspections failed, says he is devastated when he hears about soldiers who have been killed in Iraq. "It's breaking my heart because that's exactly what happened in the Vietnam War," he says. "There's no exit strategy." But he says he hopes those who opposed this war do "not take it out on the warrior" as often was the case during the Vietnam War. Cleland worries the focus on Iraq may be taking attention away from the fight against terrorism. Saddam Hussein could have been deterred by threatening his regime, he argues, while Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), who has no country to lead, is not deterrable and a justifiable target for war. He fears America's invasion of Iraq might hurt international support for the war against terrorism. "We have a worldwide challenge here, and we're going to need every ally we can get," he said. "... We may be a superpower, but we can't take on the world alone." This is just the kind of candid talk that David Brown, a dean at American University, was expecting when he hired Cleland. "This is where it's at, and the students know that," said Brown, citing rising enrollment, particularly among the program's foreign affairs classes. "They want to be where the action is." He said the program includes participation by Democrats and Republicans including by some Pentagon (news - web sites) officials. Cleland, who 40 years ago took part in the program as a student from Stetson University, seems to relish the opportunity to participate again. "I need them more than they need me," he said recently while dining with the students in a university cafeteria. Cleland lives in a Washington suburb with longtime companion Nancy Ross, who accepted Cleland's marriage proposal two days after last November's election. Cleland for 12 years was secretary of state in Georgia. President Carter, the former Georgia governor, appointed Cleland to head the Veterans Administration.