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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (26397)	8/25/2003 11:03:48 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Spanish Media Eye Recall Race With Different Lenses foxnews.com

To: lurqer who wrote (26397)	8/25/2003 11:39:55 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Some interesting comments from the developer of the Santa Barbara for Wesley Clark website... <<...I had just discovered the Draft Clark movement. And almost immediately became immersed in it, setting up this web site, signing on to host a Meet-up, recruiting friends to participate in the next Meet-up, writing to news organizations and our local elected officials, and best of all, getting to know, and exchange ideas and information with, many other Clark supporters via the Internet. There has been a great deal of information to absorb very quickly, and more comes every minute. The gathering momentum, in just these past few weeks, has been astounding. Wes Clark has galvanized me as no one else has since Bobby Kennedy. I was active in the McGovern campaign. I worked hard for Mo Udall. And I loved, and still love, Bill Clinton. But the gut thing, the visceral knowledge that this man is the right man for this moment in our national life...no, I haven't felt that since Bobby. I've tried to organize this site as a kind of digest, to point you to materials and other sites that will be informative and useful. Please come back often, because it is constantly being updated. And please, get involved and stay involved! The race will be Wesley Clark's — and ours — to win...>> santabarbaraforclark.com

To: lurqer who wrote (26397)	8/26/2003 7:13:41 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Unprepared for Peace in Iraq ________________________________________ By Robert C. Byrd Editorial The Washington Post Tuesday, August 26, 2003 As the situation in Iraq continues to spiral out of control, an anxious nation watches. Despite assurances to the American people that our troops would be welcomed with open arms as liberators, U.S. soldiers are increasingly being met with guns and car bombs. The bombing at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad has clearly exposed our vacant policy in Iraq. The American people are told to be patient, that winning the peace will take time. Meanwhile, the frustration of the Iraqi people grows by the day, as does their anger. The inability of the United States even to restore basic amenities further fuels the fire. Before the war began, I urged the president to think through the consequences. There was no doubt as to the military outcome of war between the United States and Iraq; our might was unquestioned. But I was very concerned about the repercussions that would follow, especially if we were unable to persuade key allies to join our effort. Today I urge President Bush to review his options. It is time to ask the world community not only for assistance in restoring peace and security in Iraq but also for participation in moving Iraq toward self-government. While the secretary of state has opened a dialogue with the United Nations, it must be a true exchange and not a U.S. monologue. What has become tragically clear is that the United States has no strong plan for turning Iraq over to the Iraqi people and is quickly losing even its ability to maintain order. The administration is stumbling through the dark, hoping by luck to find the lighted path to peace and stability. Despite the best hopes for an Iraqi democracy, the Iraqi people and the world see only the worst fears of occupation. Instead of inspiring steps toward self-government, we witness hit-and-run murders of U.S. soldiers, terrorist attacks and sabotage. Our military action in Iraq has forged a caldron of contempt for America, a dangerous brew that may poison the efforts of peace throughout the Middle East and result in the rapid invigoration of worldwide terrorism. The president's stubborn insistence that much of the world be shut out of real participation in the rebuilding effort in Iraq is obviously costing lives. In addition, it is costing the United States credibility in Iraq and around the globe. We promised to improve the quality of life, yet so far we have failed to deliver. As a result, increasing numbers of Iraqis see the United States only as occupier, not liberator. Instead of giving the young people of Iraq a reason to turn away from the violence of terrorism, we have, through failures and unkept promises, fed the seeds of discontent. The inability of the United States to secure the peace in Iraq virtually guarantees al Qaeda a fertile field of new recruits. War has proved far easier than peace. We had the weapons to win the war, but not the wisdom to secure the peace. The coalition of those who might be willing to share the burden of building a new Iraq will be harder to muster now. But the challenge is too great for the United States alone. The rapidly rising anti-American sentiment demands that an international effort be initiated before Iraq slips from decades of dictatorship to decades of chaos. The administration's reconstruction effort is costing the American people $1 billion a week. It is costing the lives of American soldiers and of civilians from many nations. Only an entirely closed mind could fail to grasp the need for a change in course. Close cooperation with the international community might yet yield a plan for peace and security for the people of Iraq. Haughty statements and unilateral actions will not advance our cause. We must work with other countries to forge what we cannot achieve alone: a lasting peace for Iraq and, in fact, for the Middle East region as a whole. A hallmark of true leadership is the ability to admit when one is wrong and to learn from errors. Candidate George W. Bush spoke about the need for humility from a great and powerful nation. He said, "Let us reject the blinders of isolationism, just as we refuse the crown of empire. Let us not dominate others with our power -- or betray them with our indifference. And let us have an American foreign policy that reflects American character. The modesty of true strength. The humility of real greatness." It is time for the Bush administration to swallow its false pride and return to that philosophy of humility before it is too late. ___________________________ The writer is a Democratic senator from West Virginia. © 2003 The Washington Post Company washingtonpost.com

To: lurqer who wrote (26397)	8/26/2003 7:45:03 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

The growing doubts over the Iraq war threaten the president guardian.co.uk <<...Iraq has become a vast undertaking, which everyone claimed could not develop into another Vietnam but is beginning to arouse echoes of that existential American nightmare. A recent Washington Post investigation revealed more about the twisting of pre-war propaganda than Hutton is likely to expose. With heavy guns on Capitol Hill asking why post-war planning was so woefully deficient, Bush can't rely forever on single-syllable promises about terrorism not triumphing. Slowly, slowly, Americans confront the evidence that they are creating not a democracy but a terrorist state where there was none before. This is the mood of doubt into which some pertinent literature is being cast. The timing is right. Imperial America, by John Newhouse (coming next month from Knopf) is important enough to make waves. As well as chronicling the opportunities scandalously cast aside (by Blair as well as Bush) in the run-up to Iraq, Newhouse dissects the perils to come if the Pentagon psyche that allowed Iraq to happen applies itself to Iran and North Korea. If Bush's triumphant prophecies about the war being over continue to be disproved on the ground to such bloody effect as in the past two weeks, political traction against the man and his neo-con adventures can only strengthen...>>

To: lurqer who wrote (26397)	8/26/2003 8:30:36 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

The Achilles' heel of the Bush doctrine ____________________________________ By Gregory Treverton* International Herald Tribune Monday, August 25, 2003 iht.com <<...WASHINGTON Focused on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, the Bush doctrine is anticipatory, pre-emptive and, if need be, unilateral. Yet the doctrine is bedeviled at its core by the capability of U.S. intelligence. . Although the United States has the military power to take out whatever miscreant state it chooses, it still lacks the ability to precisely locate and pre-emptively target weapons of mass destruction, despite all the technical wizardry of its intelligence. Indeed, even determining whether a potential adversary, such North Korea or Iran, is developing and deploying nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will continue to prove difficult. . Although it is logical for Washington to meet the threat from weapons of mass destruction with military force abroad before the United States can be hit, the emerging Bush doctrine of pre-emption or preventive war places stresses on intelligence that it cannot bear. . America's capacity for ISR - intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance - is unparalleled, truly in a class by itself. It is also improving rapidly. However, existing ISR is not good at detecting objects that are hidden under foliage, buried underground or concealed in other ways. Nor is it good at precisely locating objects by intercepting their signals. Would-be proliferators can exploit these weaknesses, taking pains to conceal their facilities or change the pattern of activities at weapons sites, as India did before its 1998 explosion of a nuclear weapon. . None of the limitations on U.S. intelligence-gathering capacity will ease dramatically, at least not soon...>> *The writer was deputy chair of the CIA's National Intelligence Council during the first Clinton administration and is author of "Reshaping National Intelligence for an Age of Information." This comment was written for the Arms Control Association and distributed by Tribune Media Services International. A fuller version can be found at armscontrol.org.