Hardball: Did Bush Keep America Safe?

[Wetzelbill]

Run time: 10:08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezChIiXMj1M   Posted on YouTube: January 14, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: January 15, 2009 By DU Member: Wetzelbill Views on DU: 1645

 
Chris Matthews discusses this topic with Joe Conason and Frank Gaffney.

[Deja Q]

1. Wow. Frank loves the Clenis...

Will economic subversion be equated as terrorism too?

(I do not know if that was mentioned, after 3:54 when Frankenstein was too busy revisioning his bogus "objective reality" nonsense, I had to stop...)

[Wetzelbill]

2. Oh he was all over it

I probably could have put that better.

[hgovernick]

3. The U.S. cannot be made safe from terrorism

I believe the truth is that no President, past or present, has kept or will be able to keep us safe from terrorism on our own soil, and no President should ever make such a claim. Anyone with common sense need only ask a few simple questions regarding our security, none of which have been publicly addressed or discussed by any President, and few of which are even considered by the average citizen:

1. How many miles of unguarded natural gas and oil pipelines criss-cross this country?
2. How easy is it to export contaminated foods into the U.S.?
3. How many bridges spanning the Mississippi River are vulnerable to explosives?
4. How many small private planes have free access to our nation's airspace?
5. How many power plants across the country are secure?
6. How many main water lines in major cities are vulnerable to explosives?
7. How safe is our satellite communications system?
8. How safe are our computerized security and infrastructure systems?
9. Etc., etc., etc. Al-Qaeda strikes when ready, regardless of who is President.

[trthnd4jstc]

4. About Terrorism:

I, for one, am not convinced that 9-11 was not an inside job, but like thousands of others, the future is always more important than the past. So, let us consider the future. Why does someone become a terrorist?

I believe someone becomes a terrorist, so that he or she may affect some political outcome, of which the "terrorist" assumes that his/her act is will possibly affect.

Why would someone become a terrorist? Obviously the "terrorist" assumes that whatever mayhem is caused because the political adversary, the one who receives the terrorist attacks, is deserving of some destruction. A terrorist is someone who believes that his/her adversary deserves to be damaged.

Terrorism is about hurting the opponent.

Fear is the currency that the "terrorist" assumes will create a submission by the terrorists' adversaries public. The public, like the French had, during the Algerian War, submitted to Algerian Independence, which I for one support as much overall independence as possible.

Terrorism is caused by an outrage that the "terrorist" feels about his/her political opponent.

This outrage is the rationale, but not always. There are Economic Terrorists.

How do we stop terrorism? We need to have a Justice Based Foreign Policy. End all Imperialism. Arrest all Tyrants. Assist the damaged populations of the world, paying for it by taking all terrorists assets away. We can begin by taking members of the Bush Administrations riches away, and rewarding it to to Gazans, the Afghanis, the Iraqis, the Kurds. I am certain that this nation has killed millions of innocents. Many of these acts, though not defined by the American/European Elite, as terrorism, but in reality, completely horrible. Our nation has murdered millions of innocents. We need to take our war criminals assets away, and compensate those that the previous administration had damaged, as well as compensate those of the other administrations.

How do we stop Terrorism. We have a world based on fairness. We need to treat each other, as much as mentally/emotionally that this egotistically foreign idea of having consideration for other peoples' lives. The USA stops all militarism that kills innocents. We need to apologize to the world, and be a force of justice and kindness. We have to stop bullying any other nation.

We stop terrorism, by ending our being the bad guy.

[quidam56]

5. Bush/Cheney are TOXIC TERRORISTS to Appalachia

And all across America. http://www.wisecountyissues.com Wise County, Virginia is being bombed, blasted and bulldozed right into Third World America. Kept U.S. safe my ass. Our water is disgusting and our communities are being infected with MRSA. Politicians and Profit Machines don't give a shit.

[Piewhacket]

6. Frank Gaffney is a 'ticking time bomb'. Somebody..

throw a net him before he 'tick' again.

Actually, the quality of "discussion" with these whack-wing
insanobleeps like Gaffney make "Captain Underpants"
sillyness seem downright ADULT!

never mind. not worth the trouble. just throw a bag over
his head and rendition him to somewhere that practices torture.
He'll feel right at home, eh?

[LaPera]

7. What exactly did Bush do, forcing people to take off their shoes at airports....

to make it seem as if he was doing something, but instead allowing 99% of all shipping cargo to go unchecked everyday? Get real...What other (elected) president certainly wouldn't of done more if necessary.

But Bush actually did nothing, though he did ignored documented and verbal warnings of a certain coming strike on American soil...Bush didn't do anything to "protect" Americans afterward, except help designate American flags on pro athletes jerseys...and all the patriotic singing at games.

It wasn't as if 9-11 happened just a few days or weeks or even a few month's after Bush was in office, but eight long month's later into his stolen presidency 9-11 occurred....BushCo allowed it to happen, hence,creating a bogus "war time president" who would illegally invade Iraqi to control the oil fields and create corporate war for profit, which in turn certainly would (and purposely) bankrupt (steal) our economy to gut social programs...In turn we received a sick repressive, regressive, imperialist, fascist Republican ideology, which is where we are today.

So what did Bush actually do to "keep America safe"?

[burning rain]

8. Only to the extent...

that any other country with reasonably good intelligent intelligence and police services would have. In the same time stretch, after all, the reviled French had a better counterterrorist record -- no 9/11 there. And of course the French didn't help deliver up Iraq War II.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. Bush*s actions and policies served as a recruiting tool for terrorists.

If he claims responsibility for the lack of domestic terrorist attacks since 9/11, then he also has to take responsibility for the attacks on 9/11... :grr:

[bulloney]

11. Bush's argument that he's kept us safe because a 9/11 event hasn't since happened is severely flawed

First, 9/11 DID happen on his watch because in part his administration ignored warnings of al Quaeda terrorists planning to use commercial aircraft as weapons.

Second, to say we've had no 9/11 events since, therefore, Bush kept us safe is like an alcoholic who continues to drink, but argues that he's cured because he hasn't had any DUIs in a while.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. Of course that's what happened...

It has totally baffled and angered me that 9/11 is the Republicans rallying cry. It happened on your watch, you morans! You ignored the PDB on bin Laden and Sandy Berger's warning! But terrorism was a "Clinton issue," like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the threat of North Korea, so obviously unimportant... I just cannot believe that this man is so clueless. Your analogy is a good one. :-(

[ro1942]

10. more attacks

Bush kept America safe by doing everything stupid he could after 9-11. Why would any alleged terror group want to hit again. Bush's actions helped put us in financial hardship, made the world hate us, imperialism is what they don't like. no reason to attack again and maybe change world opinion back in America's favor. I'm sure they like it just like it is.

[olegramps]

12. There was need for a second attack!

bin Laden had fully achieved his objective. He was viewed as a hero in the Muslim world for blooding the nose of the world's oppressive giant. We were provided with the opportunity to seriously damage the Taliban, but instead of completing the job the PNAC neo-cons seized 9/11 as their "Pearl Harbor" to invade Iraq. What better proof could we have provided him to convince his fellow Muslims of our vicious intentions to crush them under our jackboots and steal their oil. The invasion of Iraq by the neo-cons has provided him with thousands of glorious martyrs for the cause.

The invasion of Iraq to control their oil was the objective of this administration, which was dominated by PNAC neo-cons, from the very first day. The Bush-Cheney administration will go down in history as little more than a criminal fascist enterprise. Cheney will fair the worst since he is the personification of EVIL. Bush will be regarded as just their brainless puppet. That they think history will exonerate them only confirms their state of delusion. The testimony of O'Neil and Clarke has sealed these bastard's. The architects of this disaster, such as Perle, Wolfowitz for example, know full well it was a miserable failure and are desperately trying to distance themselves from their involvement in this catastrophe.

The sad fact is that those who are responsible for this disaster will never pay for their crimes. This could only be accomplished if their is a massive hue and cry from citizens that have been awakened to their crimes by a responsible press. Don't hold your breath. I watched Wolf Blister, the stinking little weasel, just the other day interviewing Cheney and he didn't dare confront the evil bastard. He exemplifies what is the matter with today's Fourth Estate. They are nothing more than a pack of chicken shit lapdogs. Look who is on Meet the Press; David Gregory. That's enough to make any respectful citizen vomit.

[KansDem]

15. Plus, Bush pulled US troops out of Saudi Arabia. Further proof that terrorism works!

Didn't Osama want US out of Saudi Arabia?

From the BBC, April 32, 2003:

US pulls out of Saudi Arabia

The United States has said that virtually all its troops, except some training personnel, are to be pulled out of Saudi Arabia.

The decision was confirmed by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a joint news conference with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan.

Both men stressed that there were no differences between their countries and their co-operation would continue.

Ever since the 1991 Gulf war, the US has had about 5,000 troops stationed in Saudi Arabia - a figure that rose to 10,000 during the recent conflict in Iraq.

The BBC's Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says this is a strategic shift of great political as well as military significance.

Technically US troops there have been part of Operation Southern Watch, which has enforced the no-fly zone over southern Iraq set up after 1991.

But our correspondent says the US troops have become a potent symbol of Washington's role in the region, and many Saudis see them as proof of the country's subservience to America.

Saudi Arabia is home to some of Islam's holiest sites and the deployment of US forces there was seen as a historic betrayal by many Islamists, notably Osama Bin Laden.

It is one of the main reasons given by the Saudi-born dissident - blamed by Washington for the 11 September attacks - to justify violence against the United States and its allies.

--more--
BBC

[fasttense]

13. So according to neocons, it's ok to break the law

some of the time. It's ok to torture some of the time, just so long as your intentions are good.

We know torture never works, so it's ok to torture when you "think" it just might work.

They have been watching too much fantasy TV like 24.

[unblock]

14. what's the use protecting against terror if you don't protect against natural or economic disasters?

people died in katrina, and the increased poverty from the economic collapse has and will kill people, too.

we would be FAR better off as a country if we were protected adequately against hurricanes, protected adequately against systemic economic risks, and had kept shrub's outlandish military spending to shore up the government's debt situation, even if it had meant suffering "another 9/11".

although, of course, the whole idea that he protected us from "another 9/11" is ridiculous, as is the notion that responsibly addressing other national problems puts us in greater jeopardy of terrorist attack.

[KansDem]

16. Wouldn't you feel much better while being thrown out of your home during a hurricane...

...that you wouldn't be meeting any "terra-ists?"

I know I would...

:sarcasm:

[unblock]

17. i'm sure those who buried loved ones thought just that.

at least he died slowly and painfully from exposure and lack of safe, fresh water due to a government negligence in a widely predicted natural disaster instead of being hailed as a hero for dying quickly in a spectacular terrorist attack.