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Originally posted by Sidd Finch
I keep hearing that. But I also keep hearing about how we are thwarting dozens and dozens of attacks, and of course every once in awhile failing to thwart any attacks.
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Yes.
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I also keep hearing that Clinton left us utterly defenseless, which means he failed to thwart any attacks whatsoever, which can only lead to the conclusion that a whole lot more people are attacking us now than ever tried to do so under Clinton. I wonder why? But I guess this is neither here nor there.
Anyway -- if we are really thwarting so many attacks, then it seems that, on a net basis, the number of people otherwise being occupied or killed in Iraq is less than the growth in people who became willing to do us harm as a result of the war. Put differently, as I've said before, the war in Iraq was a big boon to the al Qaeda recruiting drive.
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I don't know anyone who has said that about Clinton. The beef many have with him is that he did not heed the warnings (e.g., declaration by OBL, embassy bombings, 94 WTC bombing, Cole, etc.) although Ty will sure say that he did everything he could under the circumstances. I don't agree with Ty.
As for more people attacking us or trying to attack us, I think that's probably right, but I also I think that has more to do with the fact that we actually began to fight back after 9/11, then it does with Iraq in particular. And our fighting back probably did spur recruitment.
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I would disagree, also, that they are not harming us just because they are in Iraq. I think 1500 dead American soldiers counts as harming us. Do you agree?
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Of course. I should have said harming us at home or harming innocents. Soldiers in the mist of a war are not innocents.
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I think I agree with that. I don't agree that going to war in Iraq was the way to promote democracy in the region. I'm not sure that I can suggest a better way, but we seem to have drawn closer to the Saudis than ever and they are hardly democratic, and hardly our allies against radical Islam.
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You belief is certainly rational. The Saudis pose a problem for us given our need for oil - we need to keep them close. The administration has been applying gentle pressure, but there is only so much they can do and still expect the oil to flow freely.
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I also wonder -- seriously -- whether democracy in the ME is such a good thing. If Iran's voters are a clue, then I really wonder. And worry.
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The Iran vote was a sham.
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Bluntly, I'm pretty fucking down today.
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Me too. Fucking depressing world we live in today.
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