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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (115186)	9/18/2003 8:29:27 PM
From: Rascal	Respond to of 281500

Both Rather and Brokow showed clips nailing the Administation on falsely linking Saddam (badman) and 9/11. The stories were pretty damaging. And Have you seen this yet?..... September 18, 2003 AP: Kennedy Says Iraq War Case a 'Fraud' By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 6:57 p.m. ET BOSTON (AP) -- The case for going to war against Iraq was a fraud ``made up in Texas'' to give Republicans a political boost, Sen. Edward Kennedy said Thursday. In an interview with The Associated Press, Kennedy also said the Bush administration has failed to account for nearly half of the $4 billion the war is costing each month. He said he believes much of the unaccounted-for money is being used to bribe foreign leaders to send in troops. He called the Bush administration's current Iraq policy ``adrift.'' The White House declined to comment Thursday. The Massachusetts Democrat also expressed doubts about how serious a threat Saddam Hussein posed to the United States in its battle against terrorism. He said administration officials relied on ``distortion, misrepresentation, a selection of intelligence'' to justify their case for war. ``There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud,'' Kennedy said. Kennedy said a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office showed that only about $2.5 billion of the $4 billion being spent monthly on the war can be accounted for by the Bush administration. *``My belief is this money is being shuffled all around to these political leaders in all parts of the world, bribing them to send in troops,'' he said.* Of the $87 billion in new money requested by President Bush for the war, Kennedy said the administration should be required to report back to the Congress to account for the spending. ``We want to support our troops because they didn't make the decision to go there ... but I don't think it should be open-ended. We ought to have a benchmark where the administration has to come back and give us a report,'' he added. Kennedy said the focus on Iraq has drawn the nation's attention away from more direct threats, including al-Qaida, instability in Afghanistan or the nuclear ambitions of North Korea. ``I think all of those pose a threat to the security of the people of Massachusetts much more than the threat from Iraq,'' Kennedy said. ``Terror has been put on the sidelines for the last 12 months.'' Kennedy was one of 23 senators who voted last October against authorizing Bush to use military force to disarm Iraq. Earlier this year, he supported a Democratic amendment that would have delayed most of the president's proposed tax cuts, and most spending increases, until the administration provided cost estimates for the Iraq war. The amendment failed. nytimes.com Long knives are coming out. Watch for this story to percolate! Rascal @BribeDidHeSayBribe?.com

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (115186)	9/20/2003 5:58:54 AM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Maurice, your post neglects to take into consideration the unique role America has played in the past 50 years to keep the peace around the world. Could New Zealand have afforded to station 50K troops in Germany? 30K troops in South Korea, and tens of thousands strategically located around the world? The tremendous growth and free flow of commerce exists, to a large degree, because big army America is out there vigilantly watching and maintaining the peace. America is indeed unique Maurice, it's a uniquely benign superpower who promotes democracy and freedom around the world. Do we always get it perfect? No, do we make mistakes along the way? Of course, but, to suggest America is just one of many players in the world neglects to take into consideration the unique role we play. New Zealand is a fine country, full of fine people who've been a good ally, (except the waako's who won't let our nuclear vessels moor there), but it's a relative pips-queak when it comes to influencing the direction of freedom on the planet. As to the issue of Americans being cowards in WW2. I doubt the nearly 300 thousand dead American who sacrificed their life taking out Hitler and Tojo would agree with you. Would New Zealand have been able to build the tens of thousand of aircraft, bombs, trucks, tanks, and other logistical equipment necessary to take Hitler out of power? Of course not. It was America who could accomplish such an endeavor. And it's America, sitting benignly on the sidelines that quietly protects New Zealand and allows them to feel safe and secure with three war-ships to defend them. In regard to your assertion that militancy is on the rise in America because a few hundreds terrorists are being held in Cuba. I would only suggest you consider what New Zealand would do if a few thousand of her citizens were murdered in a single act of barbarity. America's checks and balances, it's freedom of speech, and its adherence to the constitution, along with its military leaders who steadfastly believe in civilian rule will prevent a Hitler from ever coming to power. Equating America with the rest of the world in this regard, is another fallacy you make imho.