More Edwards Double Speak

During Wednesday's Democratic Debate, former Senator John Edwards (D - North Carolina) responded to a question on health care. Here is his opening comment:

I listen to this discussion and this is what I hear -- a bunch of people who have been in Washington a long time who think that everything needs to be done there. It's like the rest of America doesn't exist. They're going to have a bunch of Washington insiders who sit around tables... and figure out... what should be done about health care.

He then said something that should make the hair on your neck stand on end:

And the thing that I have committed to do is the first day that I am President, I will say to Congress, to myself, to the vice president, to the members of the cabinet, if you have not passed universal health care by July of this year.... you lose your health care because there is no excuse for politicians in Washington to have health care coverage when America has no health care coverage.

Way to take the time to listen to the American people Senator.

P.S. Unless you plan on appointing yourself dictator you cannot fulfill this commitment. I hope the American people are not fooled by your demagoguery on this issue.

Senator Joe Biden: In his Own Words

During Wednesday's Democratic Debate, Senator Joe Biden (D - Delaware) responded (in part) to a question from NBC's Tim Russert on health care with the following:

But the fact of the matter is, it's much more difficult to go out and convince a group of Republicans, I would argue, getting something done that is of a major consequence. I have experience doing that.

Thanks Joe.

I found the following sturied buried on page 11 of my local newspaper under the headline "Plant Explosion", I had to hunt for it at FoxNews.com where it, interestingly enough, is not on the "most read" stories list. Here is the link and here is the big news buried in the story:

But Jane's cited Syrian defense sources as saying the explosion took place during a test to fit a "Scud C" missile with a mustard-gas warhead. It quoted the sources as saying the explosion occurred when fuel caught fire in the missile production laboratory. .... Jane's, based in southern England, said the chemical weapons program was part of a strategic co-operation accord signed between Syria and Iran in November 2005.

Obviously, this is very disturbing news. It underscores the one of the basic themes of this blog: the United States must stop its lethargy in the face of these provocative actions by Iran and Syria. Such instances must be met with strong signals of escalating tension coupled with diplomatic efforts that demand these provocateurs cease and desist in these type of activities.

John Edwards' Terrifying Counterterrorism Strategy

In a speech given this week (Sept. 7th) at Pace University in New York, former Senator John Edwards (D - North Carolina) laid out his counterism policy ideas in a speech entitled "A New Strategy Against Terrorism." Read the entire speech here.

Senator Edwards ideas are both mystifying and terrifying. Here is the meat of the plan :

Instead of Cold War institutions designed to win traditional wars and protect traditional borders, we need new institutions designed to share intelligence, cooperate across borders, and take out small, hostile groups. ... As president, I will launch a comprehensive new counterterrorism policy that will be defined by two principles—strength and cooperation. The centerpiece of this policy will be a new multilateral organization called the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization (CITO). Every nation has an interest in shutting down terrorism. CITO will create connections between a wide range of nations on terrorism and intelligence, including countries on all continents, including Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. New connections between previously separate nations will be forged, creating new possibilities.
CITO will allow members to voluntarily share financial, police, customs and immigration intelligence. Together, nations will be able to track the way terrorists travel, communicate, recruit, train, and finance their operations. And they will be able to take action, through international teams of intelligence and national security professionals who will launch targeted missions to root out and shut down terrorist cells.

And thus, it seems that Senator Edwards is advocating a new international police force that will have the prerogative to violate national sovereignty at its own whim. It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, doesn't it? I wonder where are the principles that our nation was founded under? Principles like checks and balances, a government properly constituted and constitutionally limited, responsibility to the people, and on and on and on....

But, the kindly Senator from the Tar Heel state is not done yet. Read this:

There is no more urgent task than preventing terrorists from acquiring a nuclear weapon or another weapon of mass destruction. And we will all be better off when the world is free of nuclear weapons. Diplomacy is key to progress against nuclear weapons. The recent agreement with North Korea to shut down their nuclear programs in exchange for the release of frozen assets is long overdue, but encouraging. It is telling that the few successes of the Bush Administration come from the diplomacy it has derided.
As president, I will create a Global Nuclear Compact to strengthen the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would support peaceful nuclear programs, improve security for existing stocks of nuclear materials, and ensure more frequent verification that materials are not being diverted and facilities are not being misused. And I will lead an international effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

Again unbelievable. Strengthen the NNPT? The Senator who sees two America's apparently cannot see the reality of the modern world. Korea has continually flaunted the NNPT and has violated its agreements whenever it needs economic assistance. The success Senator Edwards sees in Korea is the success of bribery and payola, not diplomacy. Iran is another country that continually flaunts the NNPT and the UN's IAEA. The so-called big three EU powers have failed to negotiate a diplomatic deal with Iran, even with the assistance and backing of both the U.S. and Russia. Re-writing treaties and discussing the issue in committee is not going to solve the problem, it is the equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

Ready? Here is the payoff pitch:

And during my first year in office, I will establish a "Marshall Corps," patterned after the military reserves, that will include at least 10,000 civilian experts. Its members will be deployed abroad to serve on reconstruction, stabilization, and humanitarian missions.
Rethinking our approach to terrorism also means rethinking our approach country by country, cell by cell. And in each place where terrorism has taken root, there is a lot more we can do.
We must begin with one of the greatest generators of terrorism in the world today: Iraq.

So let me get this straight, we want to pull out 130,000+ troops from Iraq on the grounds it is failed and unconnected to terror... then send out TEN THOUSAND civilians to ???? deliver payola? Come on, Senator... this is ludicrous.

The Senator then lays out the tough talk:

As president, I will condition future American aid on progress by Pakistan, including strengthening the reach of police forces and working more effectively with tribal leaders and their members to ensure their acceptance of the government. But I want to be clear about one thing: if we have actionable intelligence about imminent terrorist activity and the Pakistan government refuses to act, we will.
And Saudi Arabia is a country we have given too much in return for too little. We must require the Saudis to do more to stop the flow of terrorists to Iraq. As president, I will condition future arms packages on Saudi Arabia's actions against terrorists.

But Senator, what happened to CITO?????

President; Democrats; Still Do Not Get It.

Amazingly, the President of the United States and the Congressional Leadership of the Democratic Party seem not to be reading principleandpolicy.blogspot.com.

What else explains the moronic, today is yesterday all over again, political dialogue regarding the war in Iraq?

The Democrats are insisting on sticking to their mind-numbingly stupid political and policy positions: the war was a mistake, it is a distraction from pursuing bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network, that the American people want our troops out of Iraq, etc, etc, etc.

As for the POTUS, he insists on maintaining that Iraq must be free and democratic in order to hold the line on terror. We must stand-by Iraqis who are fighting Al Qaeda elements until Iraqis can stand on their own.

Missing from this discussion is the strategy of the war on terror. The Democrats' rhetoric fails to recognize that the war on terror is larger than just Al-Qaeda and that Iraq is part of the war. POTUS has failed to lay out a clear strategy for the war on terror, which necessarily must address state sponsorship of terror.

In the age of terror, our only hope for lasting security is ending of state sponsorship of terror. Leaving Iraq now will empower Iran and Syria, the two major remaining state sponsors. It will also empower bin Laden by giving him a rhetorical victory with the Arab public. But, sticking it out in Iraq, however noble, is not the same as voicing a strategy that is designed to end state sponsorship and ultimately defeat the terrorist networks. Long time readers of this blog are familiar with this unavoidable logic.

The Drums of War: A Failure of Principled Policy

Fox has reported here that German opposition to further U.N. sanctions against Iran has led the U.S. to begin to develop attack plans against Iran's nuclear production facilities.

While some Democrats, and even Republicans like Congressman Ron Paul (R - Texas), may scream, it is clear that the World cannot allow the Iranian Theocracy to acquire nuclear weapons. In fact, given their long and inglorious history of supporting terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, it is dangerous for this regime to possess any type of radioactive material.

One cannot help but feel that feckless inaction {not} taken by the U.S.A. in the face of Iranian treachery over the last 30 years has lead to this point. I still believe that if the U.S. began responding to Iran in effective ways, that hostilities may be avoided. Note, this does not mean "diplomacy"... it means acting to increase tensions when the Iranians engage in provocative acts and acting to decrease tensions when the Iranians act in encouraging ways. It means sending clear and unmistakable signals of intent to the Iranians. Actions like increasing our military, forward deploying forces, capturing and detaining Iranian operatives, inspecting vessels bound for Iranian ports, etc. should all be on the table and under consideration whenever the Ayatollahs cross the line.

Regrettably, the current administration will likely deliver an ultimatum, then authorize weapons release. This may ultimately be necessary, but it is also a action that might produce an undesirable widening of the war in the middle east.

bin Laden's Sense of Humor

I read bin Laden's communique here.

They must have been really giggling like school girl's back in the cave when they thought this one up. What a hoot. The main idea in the message seems to be "Why don't all you godless Americans give up Democracy in favor of an autocratic theocracy based on Islam and led by me?" I had milk coming out my nose....

On a more serious note, this communique gives lie to the notion held by some, including GOP Presidential Candidate Ron Paul (R - Texas), that UBL and the boys are only angry because U.S. troops are in the Arab lands. The truth is, which is clearly evident from this message, that UBL is trying to rally the Arab people together by making the U.S.A. their common enemy. His only hope of establishing his precious caliphate is to convince the masses they have a common external enemy. This is the tried and true strategy of the megalomaniac -- and UBL is certainly one of those.

Fortunately, there are many more Arabs who realize that 1) UBL and his fanatic associates are the leading cause of Arab deaths, and 2) the U.S. is the only force protecting them from this murderous rampage.

Godspeed to U.S. Forces in all parts of the world.

Republican Candidates Still Don't Get IT.

Well, the August lull is over and the campaign season begins in earnest with last nights GOP debate in New Hampshire.

The big picture taken away from the debates is that the GOP field of candidates still do not get it. The election of 2008 is about winning the war on terror, a necessary component of which is ending state sponsorship of terror. There was little discussion of the topic and no plans laid out for victory.

When will they get it? The public wants to win, the public wants to here about victory.