Mike_Rupp said:
I'll ask it again: did FDR give enough time to contemplate his decision to declare war on Japan and enter in a World War? This wasn't a regional conflict like those that you mentioned, but a World War.
There are several reasons why FDR didn't have to wait or ‘contemplate' entry into WW2. The first is that there was news of simultaneous Japanese attacks in Singapore and elsewhere across the south Pacific on December 7th. Despite Bush being given the intelligence briefing titled "bin Laden determined to attack US" weeks earlier, it wasn't entirely clear - initially - who was doing the attacking on 9/11. On 12/7/41, it was pretty damned obvious who was dropping the bombs.... Secondly, the Japanese ambassador was supposed to deliver a declaration of war prior to the actual Pearl Harbor attack. Though he was late delivering the message, Navy cryptologists had deciphered it nine hours earlier.
Mike_Rupp said:
Bush acted with restraint in Afghanistan and Iraq.
That Bush showed restraint is patently absurd on so many levels. Plans were being drafted by Cheney and Rumsfeld and the other micro-cephalics at the Defense Policy Board to invade Iraq long before 9/11. The only one to show actual restraint was Bush-the-Elder (and so much wiser), who feared impeachment if things went badly in Iraq. Writing in his diary on 12/20/90, about the impending war, Bush recorded his fears: "But if it drags out, not only will I take the blame, but I will probably have impeachment proceedings filed against me." Rightly so....
But the folks on the right continue to say absurd things because they think they can get away with it. The ethical troglodytes on the right apparently have no concept of reality, and can say the most absurd things without fear of contradiction ‘cause liberals have hardly ever called ‘em on it. Witness what McCain and Palin have been saying the past few days - things that have been clearly and can be proven demonstrably to be completely false. Yet they still say it. It's like they've never heard of audio or video tape... At the convention, Mitt Romney claimed "liberals don't have a clue," and backed that statement up by saying that the federal government right now is too liberal. "We need change, all right. Change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington." How clueless can one get?
So instead of contemplative thought, we get action - which is usually wrong-headed or misdirected. Bush has said many times that "he goes with his gut." Despite the international outpouring of support following 9/11, today, seven years later, Bush has squandered the goodwill of the world. The global opinion of the United States is lower than at almost any time in history. America's new posture was summarized in one, absurd sentence to Congress on 9/20/01: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." (Some folks on this board use a similar bludgeon in response to any criticism.) So instead we invade Iraq rather than concentrating on the for-real threat in Afghanistan...and bin Laden continues to consume oxygen.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael McMullen, warned Congress yesterday, "I'm not convinced we're winning in Afghanistan." Furthermore, he said the US is "running out of time" to succeed in Afghanistan and that sending in more troops will not necessarily guarantee victory. Yet McCain wants to stay in Iraq indefinitely....
But the absurdity exponentiates. McCain has also said that he knows how to take bin Laden down. "I know how to do it," he told his supporters several days ago. He's either lying simply to sound, well, presidential or - worse - he's blackmailing the electorate in order to win in November. Either way is despicable, but then fear has been the principle motivator for GOP campaigns ever since 9/11. "You must vote republican or this will happen again and you will die." Doesn't "then" count?
McCain promised a decent campaign, but if he does know how to get bin Laden, why hasn't he told someone at the CIA or maybe the Pentagon or W, at least? To know and remain silent is aiding and abetting the terrorists.
