Re:A lot of people feel "tricked", including Bush, Blair, Blix, Schroeder, and even Saddam himself, according to latest reports.
You're joking?! You're from NYC, the skeptics' capital of the country and you don't see throught their charade. Sorry, Joe, I'm not buying it.
Are you saying that Bush knew from the start that there were no WMD in Iraq? If that's the case, wouldn't it be the hight of stupidity to claim that as one of the reasons to take Saddam out, and make it THE reason to the UN?
Joe, very seriously, I am not going to discuss this issue with you if this is your point of view or the above is what you choose to remember.
WMD did not become a big issue UNTIL the UN was balking and Americans were insisting that they did not want to go to war without the backing of the UN. Only then, did Bush come up with purchases of weapons grade uranium and Powell trailer trucks loaded with WMD. They purposely took what was marginal info and turned it into something substantive. In fact, Powell and Jack Straw were overheard arguing this very issue before Powell's big speech in front of the UN.
Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell etc knew that the info re WMD was marginal at best and still, they went to war. That's what all the furor is about. IMO responsible leaders do NOT start a war under such flimsy circumstances.
Yes, I do because he let Bush cut him off. He wasn't strong enough to convince Bush to build consensus.....that's why they call Blair Bush's poodle....Blair knew better. The same goes for Powell. I no longer have any respect for either man.....Powell should have resigned before the war; instead he sold his soul to the man.
If there was anything Powell should have resigned for, it was convincing Bush to take it to the UN and falling flat on his face there. Allbright knew she would fall flat on her face over Kosovo, if she went to the UN, so she didn't go there.
Also, Powell is the secretary of state, and he should have burned a lot of jet fuel going all over the place doing convincing, like Jim Baker did.
I found Powell's performance very sub-par. He didn't manage do dissuade Bush from going to war, he didn't build support for it, he failed at the UN.
We see different reasons for Powell's resignation.........and I saw the events of that time differently than you did.
Every time Powell went to the UN. there was someone in the Bush camp ready to undermine his efforts. At one point, Bush himself called the UN irrelevant when Powell was trying to convince the Sec. Council to sign a resolution. It was a joke.
That's why Powell should have resigned. Instead he swallowed the insults to his performance and continued to be in league with people who had questionable motives. He sold his soul to the company man. I can't respect someone like that.
I could see a case for firing, but Powell meant well, and Bush knows he did, and there is loyalty on part of both.
That's BS. I think too many conservatives assign personality traits to Bush that are not appropriate. With Bush, there's not much there there. You need to be looking more closely at K. Rove. He's the person who pulls the strings of the marionette.
Re: The core of Europe is hopelessly rotten. The only question is if it will spread to the periphery.
That's your opinion. I suspect its based on the fact that the core of Europe is not conservative.
No, if you look around Europe, countries like UK, Holland, Ireland, Spain managed to chip away at the socialistic policies, labor market inflexibility, and were rewarded by higher economic growth, lower unemployment. The same trend is starting to take place in Eastern Europe.
Could be but I think the Iraqi war and the antics of the Italian PM will pretty much nip this trend in the bud. I know that the Spanish PM is in serious political trouble because of his support for the war.
The best France and Germany have to offer is to force their rotten overregulated system on the rest of Europe through hyperactive EU government.
Its a done deal. You need to get over it and move on.
It is curious that some of the new members have to discontinue some of their free market policies as a condition of joining EU.
And they desperately want to join.
No. There is a huge natural aquifer under the West Bank. Per capita, the Palestinian need for water is half that of the Israelis.
Isn't tapping the aquivier (rather than rain and rivers) an environmental no-no?
This is the ME, not the Pacific NW. ;~))
Also, as far as needs for water, do you think it is because of a different standard for hygiene, or because Palestinians import food from elswhere (rather than farm it and use water)?
Israelis need the water for industrial uses, swimming pools etc. Things the Palestinians don't have at all.
I am convinced conservatives don't have a clue how people think. Do not be surprised if in the next ten years a bomb is detonated in a major city of the US that ends up killing hundreds of thousands. Its only a matter of time IMO.
Since liberal policy of refusing to deal with terrorism resulted in 9/11, I think a different approach (dealing with terrorism) deserves a shot. So far it is working.
I am very sorry. The proof is hardly in the pudding. Like I've said before, I am firmly convinced that Bush's actions have only made more likely another terrorist attack of major proportions in one of our cities. If you think otherwise, you're kidding yourself.
Further more, this adminstration can't even get airport security down pat. Just in the last week, there's a big brouhaha over this guy who hit 9 airports in one month who unbeknownst to him was carrying a hunting knife in his luggage. Not once did he get caught. Security sucks!
Frankly, Joe, this administration's performance on almost every level is sub par. You conservatives need to do better than this if you expect to hold on to power.
ted |
