Jefflog on the Debate
It is seldom that I disagree with my friend Jeff so strongly.. but those disagreements do tends to be political. He’s not a rabid Liberal as I’ve come to expect in the younger technology crowd but a very well thought out Libertarian. Else I’d not waste my time posting this….
Jeff has posted his thoughts on the debate and rather than post something short in his comments I thought to do so here where my words may more plentiful and with the hope that I may induce others to once again take stock of their positions, possibly in a new light.
First off I have to agree with Jeff and many other conservative pundits that Kerry won handily on style. No doubt about that. But then Gore kicked W’s behind in 2000 and we know from atleast as far back as Ma Richards that W just isn’t a good debater. It also didn’t help Bush that while Kerry was getting a manicure President Bush spent the day trapsing up and down Florida reviewing the storm damage, but that’s part of the job for Bush. The next round I do believe will go to Bush because its a “town hall” format debate. Then likely loose the next debate of the same format as last weeks.
Where I really disagree with my friend is on the Iraq / Vietnam comparison and the “every good CEO knows when he needs to cut and run” (paraphrased) analogy, otherwise the Libertarian party line on Iraq in general.
Many today see Iraq as an ongoing failure.. a quagmire the mainstream media has so impressed upon us day after day for the last 2 years. But that is not the case and those who compare Iraq with Vietname are misinformed, they hate Bush or are think war never solved anything. Or they’re not checking the “facts” of the news reports against what the Iraqi government, returning GIs and relief agencies are saying which is quite contradictory to the doom and gloom of CNN and MSNBC.
Also let me point out that I hold no dilusion that Bush is no conservative and personally disagree with him on many many issues. Anyone who states Bush is a “radical right-winger” either has no concept of actual conservative values or are so rabidly Liberal that they think Ted Kennedy a moderate.
But all that aside I’ll try to spell out just this one little issue, why Iraq is a success. It is a success because of the insurgents flowing into Iraq from Iran, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza and Libya.
It is a fact that the (some would say radical ) Islamic fascists want to kill Americans. They claim many reasons for this hatred. They’ll claim it’s because of foreign policy mistakes under many administrations of both parties (and there were many but that’s beside the point). Or they claim it’s the exporting of Hollywood smut that is infecting their world and destroying their culture. (Funny Hollywood distances themselves from this as they pine for the poor terrorists) Or they say it’s because America supports Israel (the only democracy in the middle east) and by doing so America is to them the “Great Satan” to Israel’s “Little Satan”… there are many excuses I’ve read and heard on why America “deserved” what happed in New York on 9/11/2001 and it’s all lies to cover their purpose.
For if the above reasons were really why then tell me why are these Islamic fascists killing Hindus in India, in Malaysia? Why are they killing Christians in the Philippines? Why are they killing “weak” Muslims, animistic pagans and Christians in the Sudan? None of these have anything to do with America nor Israel…
Why Iraq? Our boys in Iraq are trained to deal with an ememy, a true enemy who’s goal in life is to kill Americans. This is something many of us here at home do not even really understand, the concept of a true “enemy” hatefully seeking our destruction. Here in America, on our soil, our bankers, travel agents, stock brokers, realtors, technicians, teachers and children are not prepared nor trained to deal with this. By going into Iraq, WMDs and 14 UN resolutions be damned, we go play into their back yard, to keep the fighting as far from our soil and our soft civilian population. The “Bring it on” the media so maligned President Bush for was thumbing our collective noses at the Islamic fascists, literally setting the bait and inviting them to Iraq. There in Iraq we can kindly help them with their life’s goal, martyr themselves for “Allah”.
This is the purpose of our military and the primary Constitutional task of the Federal government, to protect America. All the better if it’s, as President Bush put it, an “away game”.
OK, so what about 1050 dead American GI’s… I hate to see a single American die but for a noble and just cause, but their touting of this, the overall casualty number for an entire action, is incredibly misleading and niave. Especially for those claiming Iraq to be another “vietnam quagmire”. Infact the entire actions rapid sucess is second to no other victory in history. Neither Hanibal nor Napoleon won so fast and so decisive a victory. But back to the Vietnam comparison.
During the height of the Vietnam conflict twice the number of the entire Iraq war were coming home in body bags per month. And under 2 Democrat administrations. And how many Iraqi forces have lost their lives fighting along side us for a free and independant Iraq? Iraqis as soldiers, policemen… what of the children the terrorists blow up trying to regain control of Iraq through fear? If the sacrifice of American GI’s isn’t enough, what are these Iraqi lives worth? What value was their sacrific, as freedom fighter or terror victim, if we pull out before the job is complete?
I tell you here and now; to leave the job incomplete, to let the fledgling Iraq slide back into a civil “holy” war, is the greatest disservice we could ever do to the 1050 men and women who have given their lives for a free Iraq and a safe America. And it is a sharp slap in the face of all the Iraqis who believed in, have died for, and are at this very moment putting their lives on the line next to our own at this very instant for the cause of a free Iraq and a safer America.
So what about Exit strategy? Well, where is President Clinton’s “exit strategy” for Bosnia? Or what of UN’s involvement.. Where are the free elections in Bosnia? After 9 years we still have troops there, the UN has full reign and they’re not even close to holding free elections. Even today, no closer to a successful conclusion, we know we must stay the course and see it through in the Balkans and finish the job, agree or disagree with President Clinton’s motives we’re committed. And for a bit of iron… just who were we protecting in Bosnia? We protected the Muslims from the non-Muslims, mostly Catholics. The Muslims bit off more than they could chew in their jihad against the infidels and, like the Arab states did in 1948, they cried foul to the “global community” when they got their rear ends handed back to them.
But also I recall history as it took 6 years to get Germany on their feet. It was quite dicy going for many of those years and many pundits of the day called that occupation a “quagmire”, too. But look at Germany today! Such a success! So much so that they’re even more decadantly democratic that we are… though we’re not a democracy but a Republic but I’ll save that for a electoral college post.