"The election is Bush's to lose, and he is doing everything to lose it." - STRATFOR AAA, why don't you think Kerry is credible?
Kerry has a 20 year record of support for extreme leftwing causes, he has an unbroken record of opposing intelligence and defense inititiatives, his enthusiasm for subordinating our sovereignty to international bodies frightens me, and he has done nothing but carp and whine about Iraq without offering any useful ideas.
The intent was to sieze a strategic Arab country, not to get rid of Saddam and the Baaths. They were the pretext, a necessary casualty, not the true casus belli, nor the ultimate target of the war. Islamic miltitant terrorism is the target. The Baaths are secular, educated Arabs. Coopt them and turn them loose on the Islamic miltants WHILE YOU RUN THE COUNTRY AND HAVE THEM ON A LEASH! I applaud today's reversal.
Well said. Adding, Saddam had the Shia's (or as many here, call them extreme fanatics militants fundamentalists) under good control. Funny how there were no "terrorists" blowing themselves up in protest for ousting Saddam while he was in power for so many years. After all we labeled him a brutal dictator, the butcher of Baghdad, addicted to weapons of mass destruction.. Let's see, after last elections (democratic) in Pakistan, the Taliban got about 25% or 36% control of that country's Parliament. Shouldn't we be attacking Pakistan for harboring the Taliban?? But I digress... It's democracy we preach... and we are shoving it down their throats... then let them have whoever they want.
Since most Baath party members were not political or activist at all, but rather joined because it was necessary to be a member to do certain jobs (e.g. teaching, being a doctor), or in some cases to avoid harrassment and even execution, what is wrong with letting these people back into the government and military? If you were a military officer under Saddam, would you really have said "F*ck you moustache man, I'm not joining your stupid party"? If you were a university professor, would you stay nonpartisan out of principle, and get fired and probably thrown in jail to be tortured? Somehow I doubt it. All this policy is doing is letting those who joined the party purely out of convenience or fear, to take up normal positions again in Iraqi society. The hardcore Baathists, the activists, the Saddam loyalists, will still be barred.
Who killed and tortured all those Iraqi people all those years? Hint / Surprise: It wasn't Saddam! He was just at the top. It was all those thugs (i.e. the Baath Party). The groups who stood up and died because they resisted the Baath Party should be the groups that benefit now that the Party has been been defeated. Imagine.....George Bush begins killing, gassing, and torturing Americans. He proclaims martial law and keeps himself and his Republican Party members in the White House for about 30 years. During all this time he is at the head of a murderous killing machine. Now one day he is brought down and all his old party members are left, scattered about the country. Bush and his "party members" have tortured, gassed, and raped your sisters, brothers, moms, dads and other loved ones. Now.....What do you suppose the attitude of people outside the framework of the Republican Party would be towards those who had participated when the times were "good"? Oh, they were just scared? They were just doing their jobs? We'll overlook all this and let them come into power again, 'cause they're really decent folks? They deserve another chance to "prove" themselves? We're not mad anymore, let's just start over and forget everything? I DON'T THINK SO! Why was it the original policy of the U.S. to disallow these Baath Party members? Why the sudden REVERSAL of policy? We have an administration which is confused and making up policy as we go. Appears to be "policy by desperation". Makes us appear weak and undecisive.
You're right but don't forget to look at yourself U.S. National Deficit $7,154,081,226,140 Deficit Increase Total for Friday $260,518,040 Deficit Increase Total for April $32,278,666,933 http://www.capitalupdates.com/news/InternationalForecaster/1082043081.php Overall household debt is $9.4 trillion, of that $6.7 trillion is mortgage debt and $745 billion is credit card debt. Borrowers have little or no savings and the delinquency rates are high at 2.68%. If cardholders miss a single payment, their 3% interest rates immediately jump to 18%, which just about buries them. Another factor is rising interest rates that are just around the corner. Bankruptcies nationally are already at record highs and those seeking credit counseling are becoming an epidemic and rates havenât even moved up yet. This time the elderly are going to get hit very hard. Try living on $800.00 a month from Social Security when you are in your 80âs with $8,000 in credit card debt. It is not a pretty picture and it will get worse. Consumer credit grew $4.2 billion in February or at a 2.5% annual pace to $2.02 trillion. Auto loans were up $2.6 billion and revolving credit and credit cards rose $1.6 billion. They just keep on piling it on. The overseers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac want them to provide more liquidity in the home-loan market so that homebuyers across the country have access to mortgages and to promote affordable housing and homeownership for lower income Americans. Both agencies are virtually giving away homes to people who have no financial qualifications to own them, and these idiots want them to just give everyone a home. Of course, Fannie and Freddie are overjoyed. They believe because 75% of white Americans own homes every minority and illegal immigrant should also have a home. This is just another redistribution of wealth and an increase in our debt burden. When this thing collapses it will be a nightmare as all these people lose their homes. Wal-Martâs rock bottom wages and benefits cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollar a year in basic housing, medical, childcare and energy needs that the retailer fails to properly cover for its employees. More of their employeesâ families are on welfare, then any other company in the county. They have created a major burden for the taxpayer. Wal-Mart is also the largest importer of Chinese goods, some 10% of their exports. Fifty-three percent of Wal-Martâs clothing comes from China. Wal-Mart is Americaâs largest corporation and is a black stain on our economy.
You don't see the link between huge debts and future slavery then .... http://www.realityzone.com/hiddenagenda2.html
Bush supporting the Taliban: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30933 Bush supporting an evil dictator who boils his victims to death: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24614 Democracy is the absolutely last thing on Bushs mind, he doesn't give a damn about that, what all the people in this unbelievably counter productive Iraq war have been getting mutilated for and dying for is nothing but a bunch of evil lies for nothing else than corrupt reasons: 8/26/02 Cheney: Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us. (Remarks to VFW, 8/26/03). 9/02 Rumsfeld: Rumsfeld told Congress that Saddamâs "regime has amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons, including VX, sarin, cyclosarin and mustard gasâ¦â (U.S. News 6/03). 9/19/2002 Rumsfeld: There are a number of terrorist states pursuing weapons of mass destruction -- Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, just to name but a few. But no terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. (Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing Transcript, 9/19/2002) 1/28/03 Bush: âThe British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.â (The State of the Union Address, 1/28/03) 2/05/03 Powell: âOur conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of chemical weapons agent. That is enough agent to fill 16,000 battlefield rockets.â (Remarks, U.N., 2/05/03) 2/08/03 Bush: "We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have." (Radio Address, 2/08/03) 3/16/03 Cheney: âWe believe [Saddam] has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons.â (The Washington Post, 5/20/03) 3/17/03 Bush: "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." (Address, D.C., 3/17/03) 3/30/03 Rumsfeld: "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." (Remarks, ABC, 3/30/03) 10/06/02 Bush: Saddam Hussein could strike without notice and inflict "massive and sudden horror" on America. (AP, 10/6/02)