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The Republicans Have Single Handedly LOST THE WAR ON TERROR

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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:14 AM
Original message
The Republicans Have Single Handedly LOST THE WAR ON TERROR
Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban gave Bush EVERYTHING HE NEEDED to LOSE THE WAR ON TERROR SINGLE HANDEDLY: A 90% Approval Rating.

With that 90% Approval Rating, BUSH COULD HAVE used it to:
1. TRACK DOWN THE ENEMY
2. SECURE OUR BORDERS
3. REINFORCE THE WORLD UNITY SUPPORTING AMERICA
4. BUILD A BRIDGE OF PEACE TO THE MIDDLE EAST

What's more, in a time of war, NO AMERICAN (including Republicans) would have EVEN QUESTIONED REPEALING THE TAX BREAKS and even further, no one would have questioned imposing taxes on the wealthiest and the corporations. EVERYONE must make sacrifices in a time of war. Right after 9/11, I was ready to do whatever I needed to do to help fight and win the war on terror. And I was not alone. Military recruitment was at an all-time high. Bush COULD HAVE used it to:

1. Maintained the National Debt at it's then present level (maybe even reduced it)
2. Maintained the Budget
3. Strengthened and Improved our Military
4. Bolstered the National Guard

By catching the terrorists, unifying the world and maintaining fiscal responsibility, Bush would *not* have had time to focus on building a campaign to go to war with Iraq. He would not have had to falsify intelligence that would take us to War. In fact, left alone, the World, who at the time fully supported us, would have used the U.N. to discover that Saddam's WMD program was completely decimated and Saddam was in compliance. Saddam would *not* have been firing at U2 planes painted to look like U.N. aircraft because Bush would not have been goading him into war. Right now, Iraq would be a stable country contributing nearly full capacity to the Oil demand of the world.

When Katrina hit in 2005, the National Gaurd would have been fully capable of dealing with it, the price of oil would not gone as high and we would have plenty of funds to help in the recovery. It's very likely that Bush wouldn't have needed to be bolstering support for his Social Security and his Medicaid plans or raising funds while this disaster was happening and he could have given his full attention to the situation.

INSTEAD OF THIS INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY, INSTEAD OF GRABBING FOR THE BRASS RING OF PRESIDENCIES, BUSH AND THE GOP HAVE SINGLE-HANDEDLY LOST HE WAR ON TERROR:
1. They allowed the enemy(s) to escape
2. They have allowed the largest influx of illegal immigration EVER and allowed our BORDERS TO REMAIN INSECURE AND WIDE OPEN TO INCOMING TERRORISTS (in fact they wanted to hand over control of our ports, under the cover of night, to a country that has been found to support or at least enable terrorists)
3. They have made America one of the most DESPISED and HATED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD (Illegal war, torture, etc)
4. They have SPENT UNCONTROLLED, giving our TAX PAYER DOLLARS TO WAR PROFITEERS like Exxon, Halliburton and Blackwater
5. They have DESTABILIZED THE MIDDLE EAST... we are on the brink of a nuclear war with Iran, and on the brink of another Cold War with Russia AND China
6. They have Allowed the National Debt to SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL
7. The Military and National Guard have not suffered more casualties since the Vietnam War; they are stretched way to thin and recruitment is at an all-time low
8. The poor and middle-classes are in economic distress with rising inflation and cost of living
9. Americans have lost their civil liberties: the right to choice, privacy, due process (gitmo), and now free speech.
10. America can not protect itself from even Natural Disasters, let alone a terrorist attack.

And what is Bush doing? PANDERING, Doing Damage Control, and trying to keep his butt LITERALLY OUT OF JAIL. He no longer even has the ability to focus on DEFENDING OUR NATION. It's time for ALL AMERICANS, Democratic and Republican, Liberal and Conservative and every political party in-between, to stand up and demand PROPER LEADERSHIP. We have ONE CHANCE TO SET THINGS RIGHT THIS NOVEMBER. LET'S NOT SCREW THIS UP.

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stepnw1f Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:15 AM
Response to Original message
1. Kick
Edited on Tue May-16-06 08:16 AM by stepnw1f
and nominated.
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originalpckelly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:16 AM
Response to Original message
2. I actually have some good idea about winning it and....
I am preparing this very large strategy. I will post it here when I finally get my lazy ass to finish it.
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Champion Jack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:18 AM
Response to Original message
3. K&R
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ixion Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:21 AM
Response to Original message
4. any war against abstraction is unwinnable
the human toll, on the otherhand, is anything but abstract.

"War on Drugs" -- Unwinnaable

"War on Terror" -- Unwinnable.


That is, you cannot create war against something abstract and attempt to remove it from existence.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:22 AM
Response to Reply #4
6. Their words, not mine. And Winning it COULD HAVE BEEN CATCHING THE ENEMY
That attacked us on 9/11. They defined the term and they can not even play by it's definition.
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Toots Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 09:00 AM
Response to Reply #6
16. Who is they? Iraqi women and children?
There is no such thing as "War on Terror" It is "War on America" Bush* style...
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ixion Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 10:52 AM
Response to Reply #6
23. if you want to catch 'the enemy' just follow the money
who benefitted from the attack?

The enemy is in the WH, IMO.

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pauldp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 12:25 PM
Response to Reply #6
26. "THE ENEMY THAT ATTACKED US ON 911"
That would be Bush's business partners the Bin Laden Family.
The PNAC agenda was launched. 911 was an inside job. America needs to wake the fuck up.
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leesa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:21 AM
Response to Original message
5. There IS no war on terror. It's a made up game to keep money flowing
into rich men's pockets. Don't you see that yet? It's like the fake war on drugs and the fake war on communism. It's nonsense. You can't wage war against a technique. It's a game our government has played with us since our countries inception and both Republicans and Democrats play it.

The ONLY way to stop terrorist attacks is to stop invading countries, stop killing their citizens and stop stealing their stuff.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:23 AM
Response to Reply #5
7. Of course *I* see that... but MANY AMERICANS DO NOT
So you send them this message... that WE ALREADY HAVE LOST, And you tell them WHO IS RESPONSIBLE.
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opihimoimoi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:26 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. kick and r'd
Bush is toast....
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sweetheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:29 AM
Response to Original message
9. that wasn't the purpose of the war
the war of terror has to create terrorism and terrorists
or it will be over without a fight. It has to create
violence and anarchy or they won't have a market. The war on terror's
announcement created a new market entirely, and as marketeering
goes, you must create a supply, a demand, buyers, sellers, a
system of exchange (shooting), and a competetive regulator, darwin's laws.

The purpose of the war of terror is to waste all of our children's
investment in to the police state so the war will survive.

The war has its own survival at stake from the outset, a baby sucking
the lifeblood of millions to survive, fed by a load of lying corporate
criminals and hoodlums no matter their pretentious titles in a corporate
oligarchy plantation state.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:34 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. Most Americans Won't get what you are saying... What I'm saying
Is much simpler: BushCo created the War On Terror, Defined the Rules, and now is LOSING IT. The Repubs couldn't win Tic-Tac-Toe against themselves, let alone a War against those who attacked us.

Once Americans begin to REALIZE this, they will be able to take it to the next step (your point) on their own. You can't just thrust that in their face as I don't think they'll accept it. First you make it clear that the repubs have ALREADY LOST IT. Then they will realize the ruse.
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mmonk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:42 AM
Response to Reply #12
14. Using their semantics guarantees that it will continue
until or if our ruin becomes apparent. This is why I don't think using their descriptions in explaining anything to the public is a formula for defeating them.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:44 AM
Response to Reply #14
15. I agree, but there must be a *last time* to use it: when you declare it
to be lost or non-existent.
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Jack from Charlotte Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 09:20 AM
Response to Reply #12
17. Mr. McCoy, I'd add one other point..... corruption..,. The Duke Deal....
Edited on Tue May-16-06 09:22 AM by Jack from Charlotte
etc is outrageous and treasonous. Screwing over our military guys by taking bribes on defense contracts is just plain treason.

Enjoyed your essay. Excellent.

One other point I'd only bring up because I'm guessing this excellent piece will be reprinted... on point #7, it should read...... TOO thin rather than to thin.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 09:33 AM
Response to Reply #17
18. Excellent point and thank you.
I can no longer edit this entry, so I will need to do that when I re-write it.

I will also make it clear at the end that I do not believe there *is* a war on terror, that it was a fabricated construct that took the place against the WAR AGAINST AL QEADA. My point that I think was missed by many here is that while WE HERE at DU do not believe in the "War on Terror", many Americans have not yet come to that conclusion. It doesn't matter. This construct created by the right-wing in power is a failure regardless.
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mdmc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 09:36 AM
Response to Reply #9
19. the gop and the dlc were in it together
the war on terror is a forever war. The corporations wanted it, and we delivered. We are finally seeing some resistance. The DLC will crush it.
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gratuitous Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:30 AM
Response to Original message
10. Yes, they have lost the war
All their little selves. There were millions of folks marching in the streets, offering another path. Instead, the Republicans squandered a trillion dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives, and our national standing in the eyes of the world to . . . well, what? Bin Laden is still at large. The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan. Instead of a model of democracy in the Middle East, we have a civil war in Iraq, and Iran is preparing to establish and extend its hegemony in the region.

The solution to the horrible crime of September 11 was to find the surviving planners and perpetrators and bring them to justice. Instead, the Republicans launched two ruinously expensive wars. And you -- if you're lucky -- got a tax cut that will fill your gas tank. Once.
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mmonk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:32 AM
Response to Original message
11. What's a war on terror?
Edited on Tue May-16-06 08:33 AM by mmonk
It's an endless political war. Only they determine when it ends because there won't be any surrender ceremony aboard an aircraft carrier. So basically, many of your constitutional rights are surrendered indefinitely as well.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 08:35 AM
Response to Reply #11
13. I agree, see my posts 6 and 7 above.
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Bridget Burke Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 09:39 AM
Response to Original message
20. The Republicans INVENTED the "War on Terror"....
Terrorist acts should be treated as crimes. In the short run, capture the criminals, try them & imprison the guilty. In the long run, improve the conditions that make some people so desperate that they turn to terrorism.

But Endless War suits the Republicans just fine.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 10:32 AM
Response to Reply #20
21. I AGREE, but as I mentioned in my posts 6 + 7 above,
THEY HAVE LOST THEIR OWN GAME. Americans NEED TO HEAR THIS, LOUD AND CLEAR: That Repubs have DONE EXACTLY WHAT THE TERRORISTS WANTED THEM TO. And Americans NEED RESOLUTION at this point. Calling it a LOSS is the honest way to do that.
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Bridget Burke Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 10:52 AM
Response to Reply #21
22. Well, I agree with you too.
They started the War on Terror (TM).

But it hasn't worked out to be the "success" they had anticipated.

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Avalux Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 10:54 AM
Response to Original message
24. The war on terror is a sham.
The Republicans have never been about 'winning' it because they made it up to steal from us and control us.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 12:25 PM
Response to Reply #24
25. Correct. And America Needs to SEE THAT THE REPUBS HAVE TRULY LOST
What they've lost: SECURITY FOR AMERICA AND LIBERTY FOR ALL AMERICANS.
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NoAmericanTaliban Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 01:08 PM
Response to Original message
27. Not to mention the squandered surplus he had to begin with.
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DinahMoeHum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 01:31 PM
Response to Original message
28. Like I've said, Bush and the 'Pukes couldn't kick a duck in the ass
if they stood on a brick.

David Cole/Washington Post had an excellent piece about 10 days ago (in the wake of the Moussaoui verdict) on Bushco's emphasizing symbolism over substance in fighting terrorism:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/04/AR2006050401698.html

(snip)
The Moussaoui case is emblematic of the administration's approach to fighting terrorism. It has repeatedly overreached and sought symbolic victories, adopting tactics that have undermined its ability to achieve real security while disregarding less flashy but more effective means of protecting us...
(snip)
While the government rounded up Arabs and Muslims with no ties to terrorism and authorized torture and disappearances, several of its highest-profile cases fell short, and it failed to carry out the more mundane work that might actually make us safer. In December the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission gave the administration a disastrous report card on its progress in implementing a series of practical security recommendations -- such as better screening of cargo on airlines and containers coming into ports, securing of nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union to keep them out of terrorists' hands, and protection of vulnerable targets such as chemical plants.
(snip)
Tough talk in news conferences, overheated charges that evaporate under scrutiny and executions for symbolic purposes will not make us safer. The administration needs to turn away from symbolism and toward substance if it is to have any hope of protecting us from the next attack.
(snip)

:evilfrown:
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trogdor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 03:00 PM
Response to Original message
29. If he only had a brain....
Any reasonable person holding the office of President of the United States, having the resources available to him or her, and the best military minds ever to exist in one place in the history of mankind, could have squashed al Qaida like a bug and had Osama's head on a plate in about eighteen months. As a result, Saddam Hussein's nuts would have retracted inside his body cavity and we wouldn't have had to worry about him until he died of extreme old age. Ditto for our other "friends" in the Middle East.

The election of '04 would have been almost non-news. This hypothetical President would have had his or her portrait on a goddamned COIN when he or she died. Hell, Congress would have authorized a new denomination of coin for this very purpose, after making room on Mt. Rushmore for this President's sculptured head - right next to George Washington. But nooooooooooooooooooo.

GWB doesn't give half a shit about his "legacy." All he gives a shit about is GWB and the people who kiss his ass. The sooner we realize this, the better off we'll be.
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 04:02 PM
Response to Reply #29
30. NICE screen name TROGDOR!
And I agree. Everything * has done to this point has been motivated by ONE THING: GREED FOR HIM AND HIS OWN.
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pinto Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-16-06 09:08 PM
Response to Original message
31. Kick.
:kick:
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