Posted on 10/07/2002 11:28:59 AM PDT by Asmodeus
Well, that may have been true of some posts, but quite a few answered him point by point.
so many conservatives are blindly agreeing with anything and everything comeing out of the Bush administration.
I just don't see that many "blindly" agreeing with "everything" that comes out of the administration. He took plenty of justified flack for CFR and other issues. On the other hand, his actions with respect to Al Queda and the Taliban (the best criticism anyone can seem to come up with is that we "didn't find Osama" yet) justify a certain amount of deference with respect to overall strategy where it's not possible or advisable to lay every iota of intelligence out on the table for public consumption. That's not blind agreement, that's trust based upon demonstrated performance. Clinton never earned it; Bush has, to a considerable extent. Just my opinion, of course.
You're railing against a straw dog. Everyone, including Huffington and Pentagon, knows there will be casulties in the upcoming Iraqi war. That's why our generals have prepared casulty estimates in the first place. What Huffington is asking is that the Pentagon reveal what those casulty estimates are. And, in a democracy, what's so awful about that?
Actually I'm a life long Republican and an active organizer in my area for more then 30 years. But I am first and foremost a conservative from the Old School ie. "Young Americans for Freedom"(YAF). From a conservative standpoint I have reason to take issue with my party when they propagate and futher socialist policies in government. That happens far too often in my party and only someone who is dazzled by personality or blinded by dogma would not recognize policy flaws that transend party lines. Conservatism doesn't exist without small L(libertarian)principals in it though. And if I ever do vote outside my party, I expect it will be the Libertarian Party that will get it.
Arianne, what are you whining about now?:
Nobody is asking for you or anyone else in the private sector to make an informed decision on the war. It is a matter of State.
Well, I wasn't "railing", but I realize what you are saying. But it is also true that the reason Huffington and others want the estimates so badly is so they can make an issue of the casualty figures to argue against going to war. Polls have shown that the American public's approval of an Iraq war is subject to having low casualties, as if that could be promised in advance.
The casualty estimates overestimate anyway. They have to in order to be prepared. Estimates for the Gulf War were much higher than what turned out to be true.
And it was PROVEN that in Desert Storm, casualties were SO LOW, that it was statistically safer to be in combat for an American soldier than it was for that soldier to be at home on base? (Thanks to the History Channel for that little gem).
Now that Saddam's military has already once been vanquished, with not a whole lot of rebuilding other than the air defenses, I believe this time around might be even safer still, so long as his pesky WMD's are destroyed in place or not used...
I'm sure you're right. But even so, I'd still like to hear the numbers for the worst case scenario.
Some time ago, I perceived her as a smart person, but she keeps saying progressively more stupid things.
Bush Sr. did not go to Baghdad because he tried to avoid being on the soil of the Caliphate --- an act that would be remembered for centuries by the Arabs. At the time, the incremental gain semt to be outweighed by the costs.
She has to get over the Vietnam War syndrom: it's about time.
Well, Bush has been asking (repeatedly) for the support of the American people in the upcoming war. And he's about to do it again tonight. But even if he hadn't, I would still consider it my right to question any government decision and demand answers too.
First of all the president doesn't have the authority to wage war, that belongs to the legislature.
In addition the government may only undertake action specifically authorized in the constitution. They are given authority to provide for our defense, not to provide for cheap oil.
Absolutely. Question everything the government says and does. Demand answers, too, not that you will ever get answers. If you need answers, you must furnish them yourself.
Fortunately for us now, the Internet is a great research and communication tool and we can all see there how bad third-quarter corporate profit estimates compared to reality, and likewise for casualty estimates, no doubt. Not something upon which a private citizen could base a meaningful decision. If you want a number, pick one. 20,000. Could be more, could be less. Based on this, should we stop Iraq before they kill millions?
Boy that's the truth. As far as I can tell, here in LA, gas is way too cheap. Otherwise, when I pull up to an intersection I wouldn't see 500 cars waiting for the light to change (as happened to me recently). I'd like to see a $1.50/gallon tax increase on gasoline so gas pump sticker shock would discourage people from driving so much. Then to make sure the tax is revenue neutral everyone would get an equivalent reduction in income taxes. At the end of the year everyone would have the same amount of money in his pocket but when we drove up to intersections we wouldn't see 500 cars ahead of us.
That's right, Constitutionally speaking. Congress can declare war for any reason or for no reason at all if they so desire. The President can launch a temporary war on his own thanks to the War Powers Act, but there will be h*** to pay if he doesn't have a good reason.
Given that it's the American people who will be fighting and dying in the upcoming Iraqi war, we have every right to ask of our leaders what casulties they expect. And I can't think a democracy why one would want to have it otherwise.
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