Are We Safer?

[ClubMed]

Alternative Commentary

Are We Safer?
by Stephen F. Cohen

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030602&s=cohen

(As usual, remember to wear your asbestos underwear)

[Max50]

Critics of the war have no reason to regret their views. No sensible opponent doubted that the world's most powerful military could easily crush such a lesser foe. The real issue was and remains very different: Will the Iraq war increase America's national security, as the Bush Administration has always promised and now insists is already the case, or will it undermine and diminish our national security, as thoughtful critics believed?

I disagree with the message in the above snippet specifically and in general the points of the article:

Critics to the war projected massive loss of American lives; endless warfare similar to the previous incursion with Vietnam; an economic drain on US resources and a proliferation of homeland attacks to damage US resolve to finish the war.

"Thoughtful critics" won't admit the campaign was successful. In my opinion national security was more at a risk by not taking affirmative action after an attack on US soil. As Bush has stated the war against terrorism will take a long time, and there is a need for freedom loving countries to co-operate in a common goal to rid the world of terrorism. I believe that goal has been clearly stated. The winning of the war provides an opportunity to go forward with peace tactics. How it will shake out? Who knows?

[osprey4]

Clubmed, to borrow an old movie line, Who's "we", sucka?

[ClubMed]

Maybe you should ask the author?

[SeanC]

Something I'm still wondering about.

If Osama Bin Laden was responsible why did Bush attack Iraq instead?

Sean

[foodbiz]

Originally posted by SeanC
Something I'm still wondering about.

If Osama Bin Laden was responsible why did Bush attack Iraq instead?

Sean

Money!! Our War factories are running again. Boeing has several new contracts so do the rest of the war monger corporations. And everyone forgot about welfare reform and Social Security!!!


Stephen F. Cohen The name of the author should give you an idea of a biased Article .... What else would you expect a "Cohen" to do or say??!!


I remember a few years ago most of the current flag were flag burners.... It is a sad and pathetic world we live in ALL ABOUT MONEY

[pickel]

"No sensible opponent doubted that the world's most powerful military could easily crush such a lesser foe. "


Reckon that sends a message to the other "lesser foes "

Esspecially when we live in a world of cowards who claim to be soldiers.

[caddmannq]

Yes, we are safer. One of the reasons is that by fighting this war, we've raised both the awareness of the US people about who we are and what we can do, and we've raised the awareness of the Arabs about the same things.

The message we've been sending out for the past 3 decades is that foreigners (particularly Arabs) can harrass and attack people all around the world (and even on our native soil), and the UN (and through them the USA) will do nothing of substance because we are hidebound to the "laws" of political correctness.

As long as the actual terrorists who were physically involved were "invisible" no one would justify any action.

Now we've been bitten hard, those days are over; and the gloves of political correctness have come off. This affront by Arab terrorists would not be ignored; and if those selfsame terrorists were not individually available to be prosecuted, that didn't matter.

We would simply pick the nastiest, meanest, Arab despots around and thoroughly wax their a$$e$.

Oh, all the chicken$#!+ countries in the world flapped their lips about this "affront to humanity" but you notice that no nation, not even the most powerful of the Arab states, joined in to try and stop us.

Why not? Because they are helpless? Because they are cowards? Because they are too poor? Because they don't care if we go around bombing Arab cities? ...No!

It's because they know that the USA will probably be hit again. And when that happens, we will just take our revenge on the next available despot in despotland.

Why are we pulling people out of Arabia? Because they're throwing us out? Nope.

We're preparing for the next head that will roll when the USA decides it's been bitten too often again.

And ultimately, it doeesn't matter if we kill bin Laden, or Hussein, or whomever. We take their land, their weapons, their money, their power, and their honor.

So who wants to be next?

[RADAR1797]

Well put Cadd. For a civilization that only knows to live and die by the sword, we must keep them in check with a few B-52s, B-2s, F16s, M1A2s, etc...

-RADAR

[ClubMed]

I believe you are not safer. In fact I believe that the possibility for more attacks has been increased, I also believe that you have given countless people, who believe (like your president) that only violence will solve problems good reasons, or more reasons, to join the ranks of those who see death and destruction as the only methods of making themselves heard and of bringing about some kind of change.

IMO presidents like Bush's I & II will be the downfall of America, they will drag you into many wars, killing your sons and daughters in the process, while they, and the companies they still work for make many more millions through their deals and contracts.

What does the average Joe get from all this? Cuts in government spending for health, services and education to ‘pay’ for the wars, the wars that make billions of dollars in profit.

War is a money making business, you destroy the country and it's infra-structure, then you install a new regime that will award your companies with contracts worth billions and those in power live happily every after. They then justify this to the masses using very noble ideologies, just causes and the usual bla bla.

A lot of people seem to fall for it because the power of denial is strong.