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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (8566)	3/19/2004 1:26:14 AM
From: Patricia Trinchero	Respond to of 81568

I need to learn more about the hybirds. They seem to be growing in acceptance. Amazingly, the big SUV's and dualcab trucks are still popular ! Though not with me..........I prefer something smaller and more economical for the Spring and Summer.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (8566)	3/19/2004 3:44:47 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 81568

Bush's Global Credibility Gap _____________________________________ Spanish Election, Pew study Show World Wants Bush Out by Byron Williams Published on Thursday, March 18, 2004 by Working for Change.com Those poor naïve Spaniards, like Stepford wives they unwittingly followed the diabolical plan of Osama bin Laden to the letter. The Socialist Party swept into power on the heels of a horrific terrorist attack that left approximately 200 dead. Incoming Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has already promised to bring home Spain's 1,300 troops from Iraq when their tour of duty closes if the United Nations does not “take control.” Supporters of the war in Iraq have placed Spain’s election results on the appeasement meter somewhere between the resignation of Austria's president in 1938 and the annexation of his country by Germany to “avoid war” and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain waving a worthless treaty with Hitler in the air. But there remains another reality that Bush supporters are not ready to embrace: a global credibility gap. Spain’s voters expressed anger with the incumbent Popular Party, accusing it of provoking the Madrid attacks by supporting the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which most Spaniards opposed. The government had insisted that its prime suspect in rail bombings was the armed Basque separatist group ETA, even as evidence mounted of an al-Qaeda link. In fairness, there is chilling evidence suggesting that the ultimate outcome of Spain’s elections was exactly what al Qaeda had in mind. According to CNN, a December posting on an Internet message board used by al Qaeda and its sympathizers spelled out their plan to topple Spain’s incumbent government. “We think the Spanish government will not stand more than two blows, or three at the most, before it will be forced to withdraw because of the public pressure on it,” the al Qaeda document says. “If its forces remain after these blows, the victory of the Socialist Party will be almost guaranteed -- and the withdrawal of Spanish forces will be on its campaign manifesto.” Could such a dire prediction been possible without the assistance of the Bush Administration’s policies? The presumptive Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry, asserted last week that foreign leaders want him to defeat Bush in the November election, a claim that the Bush Administration has since challenged. However, Richard Holbrooke, former delegate to the United Nations under President Clinton, told the New York Times: “It's so obviously the truth what Kerry said, and the Republicans are just having fun with it -- everybody knows it's true... In the last six or seven months, I've been in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. I've met with leaders in all of those regions, and they have overwhelmingly -- not unanimously but overwhelmingly -- said that they hope that there's a change in leadership.” A Pew survey supported Holbrooke’s claims, finding that “large majorities in every country, except for the U.S., hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush.” The president was rated unfavorably by 57 percent of respondents in Britain, 60 percent in Russia, 67 percent in Turkey and Pakistan, 85 percent in France and Germany, 90 percent in Morocco and 96 percent in Jordan. Behind the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, which Prime Minister elect Zapatero said was “turning into a fiasco,” is a global Gertrude Steinian belief that “there is no there there.” Bush claimed he was acting on the best intelligence when he decided to go to war. We now know this is not true. Bush repeated his claim that Iraq was in violation of Security Council resolutions. The failure to produce weapons of mass destruction makes this also not true. Bush says that Saddam Hussein was a madman and that a madman "can't be contained." If there were no weapons of mass destruction this claim is half true; Saddam is still a madman, but was contained nonetheless. The fact remains the actions of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have presented a greater threat to the war on terror than those of Iraq. As a nation, we are increasingly more isolated each day, comforted by the fact that we have nicest house on the block, not realizing that if the other houses are not maintained we too lose property value. Global cooperation remains the greatest asset in the war on terror. Our current foreign policy neglected the advice offered by Sidney Greenstreet in Casablanca, “Isolationism is no longer a practical policy.” Good thing Spain remembered. ______________________ Byron Williams writes a weekly political/social commentary at Byronspeaks.com. Byron serves as pastor of the Resurrection Community Church. © 2004 Working Assets