The Good Ole Days
“You do not create terrorism by fighting terrorism, if that ever becomes the mind-set of the policymakers in Washington, it means we’ll go back to the old days of waiting to be attacked — and then respond.” - President Bush
Let’s break this down, shall we?
You do not create terrorism by fighting terrorism.
So I guess George must not believe in that part of the bible that says, “violence begets violence.” Hey that’s okay; we all know that most Christians only follow the parts of the bible that coincide with their personal beliefs. That aside, I’m not advocating a non-response philosophy, I’m advocating a correct-response philosophy: DIFFERENCE. Because when your response isn’t correct, one can see (and has seen) how it’s very easy to create terrorism.
if that ever becomes the mind-set of the policymakers in Washington, it means we’ll go back to the old days of waiting to be attacked
In Logic, this is what is called a false dichotomy. Here, GWB is asserting that you have two choices, either you believe in pre-emptive war and the U.S. will never be attacked. Or you do not believe in pre-emptive war and the U.S. will be attacked.
What Bush fails to mention (and I’m sure it’s no mistake) is that there are alternatives outside of the Republican mentality of attack or be attacked. Attack or be attacked might be an okay philosophy for a bar fight, but it tends to be a bit malignant when nations are involved. Not to mention the glaringly obvious problem of mistakingly attacking a country that does not deserve to be attacked. I might just be splitting hairs here, but some people don’t like that. How’s this for a philosophy: How about responding to intelligence claims about possible terrorist attacks inside the U.S. before they happen?
and then respond
Again, this is illogical thinking. Just because one believes one thing about one war doesn’t mean that they believe the same thing about all wars. I’ve always believed that when you’re in a fight, you need to strike first and strike hard–it’s silly to wait until you get hit first. But striking first doesn’t mean preemptive war; it means responding to imminent threats (like Bush should have done in the 8 months he was in office prior to 9/11).
The Bush administration has given four distinct reasons for going to war with Iraq; I maintain that these reasons are at best, disingenuous.
Reason #1
Al Qaeda and Iraq had an operational relationship before 9/11.
Truth
Despite public statements made by Bush and ex-CIA Director George Tenent, it was reported in October of 2002 by the Wall Street Journal that no evidence of a link between al Qaeda and Iraq had been found. The 9/11 commission report has also determined that there was no operational link. In other words, Iraq and al Qaeda did not conspire or work together in any way to attack us on 9/11.
Reason #2
Saddam Hussein had at his disposal, Weapons of Mass Destruction that he could use against the United States.
Truth
In the time since we invaded Iraq, no stockpiles of weapons have been found, and weapons inspectors have given up their search.
Reason #3
Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator who killed 5000 of his own people.
Truth
Yes, this is true; he gassed the Kurds in 1988 killing 5000. But what was our response then? Nothing, in fact, we continued to sell arms to Iraq until 1990 when Saddam invaded Kuwait. If it was so important to invade Iraq for humanitarian reasons, why didn’t we do it in 1988 instead of using that as an excuse in 2003? Also, U.S. intervention in Iraq has caused more Iraq civillian deaths than Saddam ever has.
Reason #4
We are bringing democracy to the Iraq people and liberating the country.
Truth
Yes, we are trying to bring democracy to the country, but we are trying to deliver it to them through the barrel of a gun which according to Richard Clarke, has handed al Qaeda, exactly what they were looking for: “proof that America hates Islam.” We have given the real enemy, al Qaeda, fuel for what is perhaps the largest ideological propaganda effort ever initiated against the United States. It is with this propaganda effort that al Qaeda will recruit millions of young people into their organization, young people that are currently being taught anti-Americanism in schools throughout the Middle East today. It is also with this propaganda effort that the cycle of hatred will continue for years to come. This is why I believe that the war in Iraq has strengthened al Qaeda and weakened our nation.