Posted on 09/22/2004 12:17:13 PM PDT by rface
Dear Editor, the Tribune:
I can’t understand why the media, including the Tribune, have virtually ignored the heart of President George W. Bush’s speech at the Republican convention. The only time he seemed sufficiently committed to move the audience was when he talked about his vision of our mission in Iraq.
He promised a "successful democracy in the heart of the Middle East" and called this "the wisest use of American strength." He said, "The progress … will not come easily or all at once," but "America has done this work before," in Germany, when we established "a new democracy in the center of Europe." He said this "freedom is not America’s gift to the world, but Almighty God’s gift."
Our president made it clear he is committed to delivering "God’s gift" to the Middle East. However, the Middle East is not Europe, and Islamic Iraq is not Christian Germany. Perhaps he doesn’t understand these differences. A democratic Iraq would be about as successful as a democratic Israel has been in spreading democracy to the Middle East - by aggression and occupation.
President Bush apparently is searching for a mission sufficiently noble to justify the expense and loss of life in Iraq, which he failed to anticipate. But a crusade to deliver "God’s gift" to the Middle East might prove far longer and more costly than simply draining Middle East oil fields.
Americans need to have a serious debate about whether we are willing to support this crusade with generations of American lives and dollars.
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John Ikerd
(address deleted, but available at link)
Columbia, Missouri
A fine point - I believe that the quote in the letter is wrong. I don't think the letter writer is correct in the quote, ""freedom is not America’s gift to the world, but Almighty God’s gift."".....
I think the correct quote is more like ..... freedom is not America’s gift to the world, but the Almighty gift to mankind.
The letter writer felt the urge to use the word God - when I think W. purposefully substituted for it, the term Almighty. A fine point, but I'll make it nonetheless
Personally I think we've needed to turn this into a crusade for a long time.
The difference this time being that we finish them all off before they finish us off.
Didn't they win the land they "occupy" in a war where they were attacked?
The writer would rather be attacked at home than fight abroad. Can't we all just get along?
YES! I LOVE A GOOD CRUSADE! Ann Coulter is still correct about conversion!
A letter like that, and no one to ZOT! Don't tease me that way.
I think a crusade is a splendid idea.
This is a Crusade whether we like it or not.
Lessee... either support the 'crusade' or wait your turn to be beheaded/blown-up/shot/converted.
Thats a tough one.
I wish the US military would accept 50 year old Viet Nam Era vets. I'd love to be in the cranky old man brigade.
Actually ... I think he's right.
America does need to make the decision.
We have people who have not made the decision.
Politicians who are blown around with the slightest wind of PC politics ...
we do need to make the decision ... then follow through untill the job is done.
Why is it so hard for these nitwits to understand that the terrorist beasts don't want negotiation or concession from us,all they want is our destruction? They'd just as soon fight us in our country as over there if we would let them. President Bush won't let them,thank God.
Give a couple of suicide bombers a nuke and call me back.
Member of 3rd Pajamahadeen Division, 2nd Boxer Shorts Brigade
Good tag line. Expand to include (4th Bunny Slipper Battalion)
Back up the truck, John...
Remember back before the War? The Pentagon was saying that we would lose 10,000 men in the initial assualt. The peace-niks were saying we were all doomed! Nobody in their right mind though we would get out of this operation with fewer than 10,000 dead. Here we are a year and a half later with just over one tenth that number, and you are saying nobody anticipated these losses.
Well, you're right, but also wrong. Nobody anticipated these losses would be so low.
Careful, don't confuse the writer with facts.
It is being done but with a different name.
I think the point that is being missed here is that:
ISLAMIST ARE CRUSADING AGAINST NON ISLAMIST
we are just trying to deal with it.
I will, thank you.
"Why is it so hard for these nitwits to understand that the terrorist beasts don't want negotiation"
These dum dums either don't get it or refuse to accept the facts - Regardless of what we "choose", our enemies are on a holy crusade to either convert us or kill us. That's it! This is not a college debate over what "we" want to do. Forget the Clauswitzian model of war as an extension of diplomacy. Forget the notion that we can deal with these people. The Koran gives these people permission to lie and cheat and double-deal with us infidels.
Actually it's a holy war whether we like it or not.
The question is do we have the sack to do what we have to and turn it into a crusade in order to survive.
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