Debate 1 Kerry Scores Well
I was Overjoyed by John Kerry's performance in the first Debate on Foriegn Policy... Mainly Iraq.
John Kerry's message on Iraq is quite clear. Saddam Hussein was a threat yet we did not need to rush to war without a plan for peace. Diplomacy should have been exhausted.
I would go further and say the war was not justified. Our sanctions were working and Saddam Hussein was not a threat to our security. But I can accept his position.
Kerry went further and assured the nation that he would stay the course in Iraq but would strive to bring the international community into the solution.
Bush presented no plan for securing Iraq and at one point even fell back to his misleading rhetoric saying that "the enemy attacked us," presenting the impression that Iraq was somehow linked to the attacks on September 11.
Bush spreads confusion when he links Al-Qeada with Iraq.
But he is consistent in his confusion.
Ed Herndon
October 5, 2004
At the time Bill Clinton left office, he briefed incoming president George Bush that the most pressing foreign problem was the defeat of Al Qaeda. George disagreed and said he was sure Saddam Hussien was the biggest threat and that he was going to do something about Iraq.
Michael Moore in his recent documentary reveals a very chummy relationship between the Bush Family and the Saudi Arabian Monarchy. It goes a long way toward explaining why George Bush was so hot to get Saddam even before the September 11 attack. You really ought to see Fahrenheit 9/11 to get the real scoop on George's performance.
More recently the 9/11 Commission points out that Bush was briefed a month before 9/11 of the Osama ben Laden threat. He was still focused on Iraq. After 9/11 he did not pursue the enemy immediately so Osama is still at large.
In my pre war comment I noted that the sanctions appeared to be working and felt we should just keep Saddam bottled up. In my year ago comment I too asked where are the Weapons of Mass Destruction? Why this reckless war?
In the past year we have gone from "Liberator" to "Hated Occupier", and we have lost our reputation of "Peacemaker" and gained the sobriquet "Gunslinger".
I don't think George Bush is can fix the problems he has created with this reckless war.
It Is Time for a Change.
Ed Herndon
August 29.2004