Daily Wisdom

January 18, 2006

Ode To America

The following article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title "Cîntarea Americii" on September 24, 2001 (just days after the tragic events of 9/11) in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentul zilei ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day"). The article has been circulating on the Internet for 4 years now, so I apologize if you have already seen it. It just recently came to my attention and felt moved to share it. I checked with Snopes.com to verify its authenticity Here.

Editorial from a Romanian newspaper
Why are Americans so united? They don't resemble one another even if you paint them! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly extinct, others are incompatible with one another, and in matters of religious beliefs, not even God can count how many they are. Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, the secret services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed on the streets nearby to gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised the flag on the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colours of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a minister or the president was passing. On every occasion they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless America!".

Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast on Saturday once, twice, three times, on different tv channels. There were Clint Eastwood, Willie Nelson, Robert de Niro, Julia Roberts, Cassius Clay, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Silvester Stalone, James Wood, and many others whom no film or producers could ever bring together. The American's solidarity spirit turned them into a choir. Actually, choir is not the word. What you could hear was the heavy artillery of the American soul. What neither George W. Bush, nor Bill Clinton, nor Colin Powell could say without facing the risk of stumbling over words and sounds, was being heard in a great and unmistakable way in this charity concert. I don't know how it happened that all this obsessive singing of America didn't sound croaky, nationalist, or ostentatious! It made you green with envy because you weren't able to sing for your country without running the risk of being considered chauvinist, ridiculous, or suspected of who-knows-what mean interests. I watched the live broadcast and the rerun of its rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who fought with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that would have killed other hundreds of thousands of people. How on earth were they able to bow before a fellow human? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit which nothing can buy.

What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases which risk of sounding like commonplaces. I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion.

Only freedom can work such miracles!

As I absorbed the words of this article, I was transported back in time to those eventful days of 2001, and was reminded of the awesome unity which Americans exhibited in that moment of shared catastrophe. AMERICA was attacked. AMERICA was threatened by unknown assailants. AMERICA went on the defensive against AMERICAN enemies. AMERICANS pulled together to mourn the loss of their fellow citizens. AMERICANS started saying things like... "AMERICA - Land of the Free and Home of the Brave". Flags became ubiquitous. Bumper stickers started showing up like... "Proud to be an American", "God Bless America", "United We Stand", and "Red White and Blue - These Colors Don't Run".

It was truly a moment of American unity that may never be repeated in my lifetime. And where did it all go? Why has is it been forgotten after only 4 short years? How is it that my parents' generation could go to war on December 7, 1941 and remain utterly committed to that battle against fascism until September 2, 1945 despite losses of nearly 500,000 Americans? And why is it that today, after nearly an equivalent amount of time but suffering hardly more than 2500 casualties, and having liberated more than 50 million Afghanis and Iraqis, that Americans are now beginning to question their resolve in the current Global War on Terrorism? (...which, by the way, is no less important than WWII)

Sad to say, but I believe that it is the "fast food" syndrome at work. We want to be served NOW! We want our burgers and fries in less than 5 minutes. We want our wars to be over in ten days without any casualties... no if, ands or buts! Unfortunately, that's not real world thinking. President Bush warned us that the war on terrorism would not be a quick war, and that we would not always see results, even though successes might be occurring without our noticing it.

With the help of our allies, hundreds (if not thousands) of would-be terrorists have been captured or killed. Plots have been foiled. Plans have been disrupted. Lives have been saved. Attacks have been thwarted. We have been unbelievably successful in the War on Terror. Yet, you wouldn't know it from reading the liberally-biased media. What a shame. The left-wing media outlets attack Bush incessantly without a word of thanks for preventing another terrorist attack. But, God forbid that an attack should occur, and then they would attack him for failing to protect America!

In the days after September 11, 2001, President Bush told the country what he planned for the Global War on Terror. Everyone applauded. In his January 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush was interrupted by applause no less than 76 times. Bush outlined what his intentions were... and everyone applauded. President Bush has not done anything other than what he promised to do. George Bush has not changed... his political opponents have changed. Those who once applauded, have now turned to stab him in the back.

46 Comments:

At 1/18/2006 9:52 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice post

mynewsbot.com

 
At 1/19/2006 1:27 AM , Blogger camojack said...

Rerun...

 
At 1/19/2006 7:35 AM , Blogger MargeinMI said...

This makes me very sad. It has always been my belief that every American should travel to another country some time hopefully early in their lives.

The United States IS the best place to live in the world!

WHY?????? do the folks on the left HATE this country??????

I. Just. Don't. Get. It.

sigh

 
At 1/19/2006 8:28 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hawkeye, what a profound, and unfortunately sad, understanding of today's left. It is they who have turned from applause to attack, when other things have not really changed. And their attacks aren't even based in reality. I hope and pray the American people can see them for what they are.

 
At 1/19/2006 12:28 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Hi Everybody,
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, it is indeed sad to think that only way this country comes together is when we are attacked and thousands of people die. A few months later it's back to politics as usual. No, scratch that... politics that are worse than ever.

Regards...

 
At 1/19/2006 1:49 PM , Blogger Pat's Rick© said...

Hawkeye-
Great post.

MarheinMI-
They hate because they have been schooled in a public education system that was subverted years ago. Why do you think the left is so adamantly against vouchers? Check out the faculty at most Universities.

Perhaps Christians are mostly to blame because they did not want to be wordly and have removed Christian influence from the arts, movies and TV. It's one thing to shout down the stuff produced by Hollywood. It is quite another to produce something of our own.

 
At 1/19/2006 2:20 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hawkeye, I'd seen the quote once before, but your comments hit home...exactly what I have been thinking, but unable to put in workd. Great job.

Only question...how do we get the left turned around? How do we continue to make this country great when we have an enemy within which is unwilling to do positive things, only attack?

 
At 1/19/2006 3:23 PM , Blogger cranky old fart said...

Here's how you turn the country around. Just keep moving in the same direction it's being pushed. Let's have an all-powerful president in charge of a theocracy. As soon as everyone is praying 24/7 and acting like sheep, everything will be just fine.

 
At 1/19/2006 8:04 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Rick,
Thanks. I agree that it's hard to produce a movie of "our own" when most in Hollyweird are LLLs. But it's not impossible. After all, Mel Gibson did it with "The Passion Of The Christ".

Which reminds me... funny how that movie made like the most money that year, but never got a single Oscar. (Gee, I wonder why?)

Regards...

 
At 1/19/2006 8:14 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Just the Facts, Ma'am,
Thanks for your kind words.

How do we get the left turned around? Well... I don't know! If they keep losing at the polls, they might get the hint that they are not connecting with the voters. But if they start to win some elections, then they will pat themselves on the back and say, "See, I was right all along."

We can only hope that they will continue to shoot themselves in the foot... especially close to election time (when voters' memories are still fresh).

These die-hard LLLs are so recalcitrant, they will never change unless a poll suggests that 56% of Democrats want them to change.

Regards...

 
At 1/19/2006 8:26 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

cranky old fart,
Now now there. No need for bitterness and exaggeration. We understand that you are not a happy person. Do you have some rational and thoughtful ideas? Or are you just another whiner and moaner?

Don't feel bad. You have plenty of good company. There's lots of whiners like... Hillary, Gore, Dean, Kerry, Soros, Biden, Pelosi, Murtha, Kennedy, Schumer, Reid, Boxer, Feinstein... OOOOPS. Time's up! I ran out of time before I ran out of losers. Sorry 'bout that.

 
At 1/19/2006 9:41 PM , Blogger Libby Gone™ said...

Freedom is a gift from God. Smelted in the fire of our ancestors, wrought from the faith in our souls ,and preserved by the pasteurization of Jesus.
In a way of speaking...

 
At 1/19/2006 10:15 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

There seems to be no ceiling in the level of stupidity of your writings.

Let me give you an education that you apparently did not get from your 2 degrees.

1. In the aftermath of Sep 11, George Bush assembled the will of the American public to conduct a very legitimate war of terrorism, i.e. hunting down terrorists like bin Laden and his Al Qaeda pals. However, that war was abandoned in less than 2 years. As of today, there is NO war of terrorism.

2. Iraq is NOT part of the war on terrorism. Saddam Hussein did not have anything to do with 9/11. Thus, if we're going to attack a nation that has no link to 9/11 but is hostile to us, why not attack Cuba or Venezuela?

3. Bush has proven time and time again that he is incompetent when it comes to fighting terrorists. Liberals and conservatives may differ in their opinion of Bush's intentions, but there is no doubt that he is mind-numbingly incompetent.

4. At the end of the day, you morons preferred the pom pom waving high school cheerleader who has never seen a single second of combat over the man who shed blood for his country and in the process won 3 purple hearts, a bronze star and a silver star.

 
At 1/20/2006 8:44 AM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
What planet are you from anyway?

1) How can you say there is no War on Terror when just a few days ago a drone fired a missile in Pakistan killing one of the most-wanted al-Qaeda bombmakers. You can read the story Here.

2) Although there is no evidence that Iraq participated in 9/11 directly, there is plenty of evidence that Iraq was harboring terrorists, including Zarqawi. In his 2002 State of the Union address Bush said that the War on Terror would include countries that harbor terrorists and specifically referred to Iraq as part of an Axis of Evil. You can read the address Here, and you will find that Bush definitely said Iraq was part of the War on Terror... and everybody applauded.

3) It's amazing how liberals like to think that Bush is incompetent, but yet they turn around and say that Bush was so devious, deceptive and manipulative that fooled the country into going to war in Iraq. So which is it? I think history will show that Bush was one of the most competent Presidents ever... even if no one gives him high marks for oratory.

4) Kerry was only in combat for 3 months, and two of his Purple Hearts were self-inflicted wounds. He wanted to get out of combat as fast as he could... unlike many of our brave soldiers today who are seriously injured and yet choose to return to combat.

 
At 1/20/2006 9:42 AM , Blogger cranky old fart said...

"We will be greeted as liberators"

"The war will pay for itself"

"Iraq was behind 9/11"

Shortage of troops, soldiers having to buy their own body armor, VA cuts, Abu Grehb...etc. The lying and incompetency never ends....

But then, God is on bubble boy's side, so it's all OK.

 
At 1/20/2006 9:52 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cranky old fart, the name suits you. The quotes you have mentioned may appear on some leftist website, but not in REALITY. Wake up and smell the truth! Or are you too blinded by your abject hatred to do so?

 
At 1/20/2006 10:41 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Point 1:
Correct, the US is sporadically trying to engage Al Qaeda but you and I both know that if we measure the amount of money and military strength that goes towards fighting Al Qaeda vs the equivalent that goes towards nation-building in Iraq, the answer is right there. The so-called war on terror is almost non-existent.

Let's face it, we are in a war right now that we absolutely need to win and pulling out is not an option BUT it is NOT the war of terror.

Point 2:
hey chowderhead, there are Al Qaeda terrorists in THE UNITED STATES.

Yes, certainly there is evidence that Al Zarqawi and bin Laden at some point spent time in Iraq. But bin Laden and many of his Al Qaeda lieutenants also spent time in several other countries DURING the time they were planning for 9/11, including US allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Should we bomb those nations as well?

Point 3:
If he is so competent, why is he, with the world's most powerful military behind him, still not able to capture any of the main perpetrators of 9/11?

Secondly, there is no doubt among Republican circles that Bush screwed up the operations of post-Saddam Iraq. So much for competence. The only person in Washington right now who is arrogant enough to refuse to acknowledge that Bush screwed up is Dick Cheney.

so much for the asinine conservative theory that we would be greeted as "liberators".

point 4: it's so ironic that conservatives who claim to support the military do not hesitate to turn around and disparage a soldier. that is hypocrisy at its best.

Kerry's medals were given to him by the US military. His service was ended by the US military. He did not exactly hire a lawyer to lobby the US military for those medals or to have him sent back home.

If we were to go with your hypocritical theory, everytime we see a soldier in uniform, there is reason to doubt the authenticity of any medals he was awarded based on the fact that if Kerry could scam a few medals, anyone else could do it too.

hey bottom line, Kerry was there. Bush wasn't. He was busy defending Alabama against the Viet-cong.

 
At 1/20/2006 11:20 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cranky Old Fart
You sound like my former husband.How did you find me?

 
At 1/20/2006 11:42 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Libby Gone:
What took you so long? I've waited a long time for you to appear in this blog.

You quoting God, Jesus, biblical scriptures is like Osama bin Laden pontificating about religious freedom.

 
At 1/20/2006 3:32 PM , Blogger cranky old fart said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 1/20/2006 3:35 PM , Blogger cranky old fart said...

Shelly:

Are you serious? You've never listened to your own heroes?

"We will be greeted as liberators"
V.P. Cheney, on Meet the Press 3/16/03

"Russert: If your analysis is not correct, and we're not treated as liberators, but as conquerors, and the Iraqis begin to resist, particularly in Baghdad, do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties?"

"VP Cheney: Well, I don't think it's likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators. I've talked with a lot of Iraqis in the last several months myself, had them to the White House. The president and I have met with them, various groups and individuals, people who have devoted their lives from the outside to trying to change things inside Iraq. And like Kanan Makiya who�s a professor at Brandeis, but an Iraqi, he's written great books about the subject, knows the country intimately, and is a part of the democratic opposition and resistance. The read we get on the people of Iraq is there is no question but what they want to the get rid of Saddam Hussein and they will welcome as liberators the United States when we come to do that."

"The war will pay for itself"

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz: “There’s a lot of money to pay for this that doesn’t have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people…and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years…We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon.” [Source: House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, 3/27/03]


"Iraq was behind 9/11"

Ok, ya got me there. Not a direct quote. But there sure must have been some reason that shortly before our invasion, 45% of Americans believed Mr. Hussein was "personally involved" in 9/11. Hmm, wonder what that could have been?

Need I go on?

 
At 1/20/2006 4:11 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

It amazes me how conservatives are dumb enough to believe that Bush did a good job on terrorism when

1. He has failed to kill or apprehend the masterminds of 9/11

2. He is best friends with key members of the House of Saud who we know for a fact are strong financial supporters of Islamic schools (madrasas) that preach hatred for Judeo-Christian nations.

Isn't that great? Our bible-waving President walks hand-in-hand with the financial backers of Islamic fanatism!!! Go Bush!!

 
At 1/20/2006 7:22 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Libby Gone™,
Ignore the trolls. Loved your comment. Somewhat mixed metaphors, but... so very true.

Regards...

 
At 1/20/2006 7:39 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Cranky,
1) We WERE greeted as liberators! And I can show you plenty of stills and video to support that statement. Are there some Saddam loyalists? Sure. But there are fewer and fewer Saddamists as they decide their only hope lies in the political process.

Are there some FOREIGN terrorists? Sure. But they don't count... they're FOREIGNERS, not Iraqis.

2) The war WILL pay for itself. Maybe not now, or maybe not yet... but if Iraq becomes a stable Mid-East democracy, then this war will have paid for itself many times over. If Iraq becomes an ally like Germany, Italy or Japan... the returns will be a hundred-fold.

3) No one in the Bush administration ever said Iraq was behind 9/11 and I dare you to find a quote to that effect.

4) There was never a shortage of troops in Iraq because the generals in charge never asked for more than they had. And Bush would've sent them if he was asked.

5) YOUR lying and incompetency never end.

 
At 1/20/2006 8:02 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
1) I'm afraid I must admit that I'm not really sure exactly how much money goes toward fighting Al-Qaeda versus how much goes to Iraq. Since you obviously have those figures, I would appreciate it if you shared them with us.

2) Stop saying "the war of terror"... it's the "War ON Terror".

3) Hey chowderhead... Al-Zarqawi is STILL IN IRAQ! He is the top Al-Qaeda foreign terrorist there, but obviously you didn't know that.

4) Bush DID capture the MAIN mastermind behind 9/11. His name is Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and you can read about it Here.

That was nearly two years ago, so I guess it was before you started following current events, eh? Stop making stupid comments and check your facts before you engage your mouth.

5) There are eyewitnesses that will testify to the fact that Kerry's wounds were self-inflicted. And even if he was awarded medals, he supposedly threw them over the fence at the White House in protest because he didn't want them. But worse yet, Kerry should be tried for treason because he went to Paris and conferred with leaders of North Viet Nam during a time of war. Sorry, but that's a treasonable offense!

6) I don't doubt the bravery and heroism of our ALL-VOLUNTEER military. If they volunteered, then they are committed. However, I DO indeed doubt the word of John F. Kerry who has been caught in so many lies or exaggerations, he obviously can't distinguish between reality and delusion.

7) The rest of your comments are too stupid to respond to.

 
At 1/20/2006 8:14 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

1) Oh please, we were greeted as liberators? Fewer and fewer Saddamists? Let's see what some Senators have to say about this.

"Did we make mistakes? Yes. Did we poorly plan the fall of Baghdad? You'd better believe it. Shinseki was right. We should have had more troops. We need more troops now, in my opinion. This idea that it's a bunch of dead-enders is totally wrong. The insurgency's got to be larger than 1/10th of 1 percent because Zarqawi's been able to survive this long. So, yeah, we've made tons of mistakes."

Lindsey Graham on Meet The Press

""Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality," Hagel tells U.S. News. "It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq."

Chuck Hagel on US News

The words of 2 Senators who have served in the military vs the words of George Bush, a high school cheerleader who never served in the military.

2) War will pay for itself?? hahahaha. We have spent hundreds of billions of US taxpayer dollars in Iraq. Good luck on getting that money back.

B4) Bush has repeatedly denied more troops for Iraq. Shinseki asked for more troops. Where were they?

3) Cheney has on many occasions strongly hinted that there is a link between Iraq and 9/11.

In September 2003, Cheney said Iraq under Saddam had been "the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11."

You are a damn fool. There are tons of conservatives out there, those who actually served in combat and/or served in Republican administrations that warned against going into Iraq.

 
At 1/20/2006 8:17 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hawkeye....I need computer advice.
What causes the computer to freeze up?

BTw....where are the letters to copy?

 
At 1/20/2006 8:19 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

anonymous,
Regarding your post at 1/20/2006 4:11 PM...

First of all, it would be nice if you logged in as "Other" and chose a name versus "Anonymous" (no need to enter a web site). If five people log in as Anonymous, I can't tell who is who.

Second, see my post to WCL at 1/20/2006 8:02 PM. We DID capture the MAIN mastermind behind 9/11. So it's obvious that YOU didn't know that either. (Why are liberals so ignorant?)

Third, I must agree with you that I can't understand why Bush and the Saudis are so chummy, but let's face it... the Democrats LIKE being dependent on Saudi oil. They don't want the U.S. to be energy independent. If they did, then they would authorize oil drilling in ANWR and off the coast of California or Florida or WHEREVER there is oil in the U.S. Shame on them!

 
At 1/20/2006 8:20 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey hawkeye, it is clear that we differ on our opinions of how Iraq is going.

What is clear though is that there are Republicans like Graham, Hagel, Scowcroft, Wilkerson, McCain who back my view that Iraq is a bloody mess and we HAVE TO change the way that Bush is handling the situation. Bush's only strategy is stay the course. That's it. Hell, even Bill O'Reilly has criticized the way Iraq has been handled and was rebuked by Ann Coulter for expressing doubts.

You can continue to be the bloody fool that you are already are or you can wise up and realize that Bush is nothing but a useless piece of crap. In order to win in Iraq, we need someone else in charge, Republican or Democrat.

 
At 1/20/2006 8:29 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Hi Maggie,
I just sent you an E-mail. Maybe you can give me some particulars.

Regards...

 
At 1/20/2006 8:41 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
Well, everyone has a right to their opinion... even you. If those Republicans you refer to do indeed believe Iraq is "a bloody mess", well OK... that's their opinion. If you think I'm "a bloody fool", well OK... that's your opinion.

BTW, I don't agree with them or you. I go straight to the source and hear it from the people who live there and the soldiers who serve there. They say that things in Iraq are far better than the media reports. In fact, they are disappointed and irritated by the media coverage of Iraq.

Where do you get your info... the BBC? "Aw, bloody hell!"

 
At 1/20/2006 10:32 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hawkeye,
I find it really incredible how delusional you can get.

It is pretty obvious that you are so close-minded that you refuse to believe anything that might render your original opinion absolutely false.

Why are the words of Republican Senators Graham, McCain, Hagel, and Warner, all of whom have served in the military, not credible?

Oh wait, I get it, you prefer to believe the words of the pom pom-waving cheerleader George W. Bush.

More evidence of Bush's incompetence

USA TODAY reports in Sep 2004:

"Of the $18.4 billion Congress approved last year for Iraqi reconstruction, only $1.1 billion has been spent because of violence and other problems. Hagel called that record 'beyond pitiful and embarrassing; it is now in the zone of dangerous.' Even Lugar, who is not usually given to strong rhetoric, said the failure to inject funds into the Iraqi economy quickly was 'exasperating for anybody looking at this from any vantage point.'"

You might also want to note that one of the harshest critics of the Iraq war is Brent Scowcroft, who has served in the Ford, Nixon and Bush 41 administrations. So is he a liberal then? After reading Scowcroft's comments on Iraq, you would think that John Kerry is a red-state conservative.

Face it. More than 2,000 American lives have been lost in vain. They were lost to bring about a pseudo democracy in Iraq where ISLAM (??!!!) dominates the constitution!

Great. We spent hundreds of billions of dollars and lost a couple thousand soldiers to create a new AFGHANISTAN, a country governed by Sharia law. Only diff is that instead of bin Laden hiding in there, it's his heir apparent Al Zarqawi.

There is a saying in life that there is always a worse road than the one you're traveling on.

What is worse than a brutal dictator slaughtering his own people? A country with vast oil reserves run by a bunch of Islamists who look very likely to cozy up to Iran, creating an even bigger threat to the US than ever before.

 
At 1/20/2006 10:35 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Libby Gone:
I'm still waiting to hear from you. How are things? If the going gets tough, you can always come join me in sunny Santa Monica.

 
At 1/20/2006 11:21 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
I find it amusing that you are complaining that we only spent $1.1 billion in Iraq versus the $18.4 billion that Congress approved, after complaining just a moment ago that we are spending way too much on Iraq. What an idiot! Bush spends money and you complain. Bush saves money and you complain.... Grow up!

 
At 1/21/2006 1:27 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hawkeye,
You are confused. Let me explain this slowly.

1. We should NEVER have gone into Iraq because we should have concentrated all our money and resources on the REAL war on terrorism.

2. Since we have already made the fatal mistake of going into Iraq against the better judgement of Colin Powell, we have to fix the situation since we broke it.

3. As far as my examples go, they refer specifically to #2. Sure it sucks that we screwed up and went into Iraq when we should not have but since we are there, the least we can do is to clean up the mess and leave when it is appropriate to do so.

Clearly Bush has displayed remarkable incompetence in the sense that he failed miserably in dealing with Iraq.

The fact that the money has not been spent is NOT a sign of frugality. It is a sign of extreme ineptitude. It is clear that Senators Lugar and Hagel meant that the Bush people were unable to come up with a proper distribution system to swiftly and responsibly distribute the money to the relevant parties in order to get the construction work done fast.

 
At 1/21/2006 1:36 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey, did you actually say we DID capture the MAIN mastermind behind 9/11?

So pray tell, which jail cell in America is the Ace of Spades, the #1 man on the FBI's most wanted list, Osama bin Laden, sitting in?

Oh wait, did Fox News make up some name and pin point him as the main guy behind 9/11 to try to mask Bush's failure to capture to true culprit?

As far as Dems wanting to depend on Saudi oil, you are smoking some serious crack. George Bush's deep friendship with the House of Saud ensures that the US, the largest consumer of oil in the world, continues to buy Saudi oil.

Don't forget, this is a country whose oil industry is its only source of revenue. It needs its biggest customer, the US, to keep buying its oil, whatever the price may be.

If the Dems were in charge, the Saudis would scream bloody murder because the US would consume less oil. Imagine your biggest customer suddenly buys less of your best selling product? The Saudis would not want that to happen at any cost.

Bush's love affair with the Saudis is what is providing the latter with consistent revenue, and it is this money that goes to funding terrorism thru support for Islamic schools (Madrasahs).

Does Bush indirectly aid terrorists? You decide for yourself.

 
At 1/21/2006 9:27 AM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
Your post at 1/21/2006 1:27 AM was the most reasonable and rational post I have seen so far. Maybe you should explain things to me "slowly" more often. I do not happen to agree, but at least it is presented in a rational manner without all the hyperbole, sarcasm, name-calling, vulgarity, etc.

I happen to believe that Iraq is indeed part of the War on Terror, just as Bush said in his 2002 State of the Union. Did Bush rush in? Yes. Was Bush overconfident from the recent victory in Afghanistan? Sure. Did he lie to get us into Iraq? I don't think so. Was Saddam harboring terrorists? Yes. Was Saddam communicating with Al-Qaeda? Yes. Was Saddam a threat to the US. Yes (perhaps not an imminent military threat, but clearly as a facilitator for terrorists).

And, I am forced to admit that I was being sarcastic with you about saving money by spending only $1.1 billion. But you must admit that you can't have it both ways. Either we're spending too much or too little. I wish we could build more infrastructure but it's hard to find people that want to work in Iraq. People are still being kidnapped and held hostage.

Fortunately, the Iraqi people are very optimistic about their future. A recent poll resulted in something like 70% of the respondents saying that they thought things are getting better, and they will be even better a year from now.

 
At 1/21/2006 9:31 AM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
Did you read the link Here?

 
At 1/21/2006 2:03 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

i guess we should all celebrate that we captured the man who was the chief coordinator of the 9/11 and ignore the fact that he was nothing more than one of Osama's deputies.

Come on, get real. Is it great that we captured him? Of course. Should we horse-whip in public? I have no problems with that. But the bottom line is, he is NOT the main guy.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is the equivalent of a Gen Casey, the man who oversees all US forces in Iraq.

If a crazy Bathist wants to go after the main architect behind Saddam's capture, capturing Casey is no more or less significant than
us capturing this guy. Same thing for the Holocaust. There were a ton of Nazi generals personally responsible for planning every intricate detail to annihilate the Jews. But who is the main guy? Hitler.

 
At 1/21/2006 2:04 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

The last anonymous post was left by me. I clicked the wrong icon before sending.

 
At 1/21/2006 2:16 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's get something straight here.
You claim that you "go straight to the source and hear it from the people who live there and the soldiers who serve there." I do not doubt that what they say is true and what you've heard is what you've typed in this blog.

However, based on what you hear, you then proceed to disagree with what Republican senators Warner, McCain, Graham, Hagel and Lugar are saying with regards to how bad things in Iraq are.

You should know that Warner is the chairman of the Armed Svcs Committee and McCain is the No.2 Republican on that committee. Lugar and Hagel are the chairman and No.2 Republican respectively on the Foreign Relations committee.

Do you honestly think that these guys are not meeting with soldiers just as you are? Do you think that you have access to more credible reports that what they are seeing?

 
At 1/21/2006 2:38 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
Again I have to disagree with you.

1) OBL is a figurehead. He is a money man. He pays others to do the dirty work. He is not a general who actually plans the details of the operations. If you capture the guy who actually plans the operations you are really ahead of the game.

2) If some rogue Baathists captured General Casey, you can be sure that they would consider it a GREAT victory and it would be seen all over the world as a GREAT defeat for America.

 
At 1/21/2006 2:57 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
Just because those guys you refer to are Republicans does not mean that I have to agree with them. Do I think that they have spent much time in Iraq talking with the soldiers? ....No I don't.

In fact, I am more inclined to believe the word of Senator Joe Lieberman (D-MA) who has been to Iraq at least 4 times in the last 18 months. He came back from his last trip saying that we do indeed have a good plan in place to win the war in Iraq, that the plan is working, and that things are much improved from his last trip.

He took a lot of heat from his Democratic buddies Here. But that makes him all the more believable to me. All the rest of the Dems are lining up like lemmings to follow Teddy Kennedy over the cliff because they are more concerned about Democrat party victory than U.S. national victory.

 
At 1/21/2006 9:09 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Hawkeye, if you choose to trust Lieberman (D-CT), that's fine.

The last time I checked, our soldiers are dying on a daily basis. If Lieberman wants to support a evidently flawed policy, that's his perrogative.

Lieberman is but ONE of very very few Dems (hell, he might be the only one) who think that Bush is doing a good job in Iraq. And last time I checked, he has no military experience whereas the 5 Rep Senators I mentioned have all served.

Check out the number of conservative Reps who have criticized Bush's handling of Iraq. Even Mr. Freedom Fries himself, Rep Walter B. Jones, R-NC, has accused Bush of mis-informing Congress on Iraq's WMD. This is the same guy who was responsible for having french fries in the House cafeteria be referred to as Freedom fries.

lastly, Pat Buchanan, a staunch conservative asked the question in his book:

"how can US-trained Iraqis crush an insurgency when their US trainers, the finest soldiers in the world, could not?"

My question to you is: Where have you been?

 
At 1/21/2006 9:20 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

With regards to the capture of the so-called chief architect of 9/11, we clearly differ on our opinions on the importance of Osama bin Laden.

If what you say is true, in the process downplaying the significance of Osama, then tell me why does the FBI still put Osama as No.1 on its most wanted list, with a reward of $25m for info leading to his arrest?

Thus, in that sense, I'm forced to choose between your words/opinions vs. those of the FBI.

What do you think?

 
At 1/22/2006 11:56 AM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

WCL,
Don't get me wrong, Osama is important. I'm just saying, don't kid yourself that KSM was any less important.

 

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