Understated Agenda
The nexus of evangelism, Manifest Destiny and folly, from the news conference House Republicans held on Thursday:
"And I think that the Democrats who have undertaken this initiative have made a mistake. I think they've underestimated the toughness of the American people and the understanding that if we don't change the world, the world is going to change us."
-U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
posted by The Cunning Realist at Friday, November 18, 2005
18 Comments:
Sad to admit, but Duncan Hunter is the congressman in my area. He has been so good in opposing corporate trade deals, but in nearly everything else, he is a horrorshow.
His comment was very sad. He'll win re-election though because Dems don't even number 40% in his district, last time I checked.
Um, forgive my ignorance here. But TCR, I am not sure what point you are making with this post? I generally think much of what comes out of the Republicans in Congress (and most of the Democrats too) is bullcrap, but I'm missing what you are trying to point out.
Is it Hunter's references to WW1 and WW2 that don't seem to fit that you find objectionable? Is it because the Republicans keep touting, "but we got rid of Saddam Hussien, a brutal dictator that gassed his own people" without mentioning the fact that it was us (Reagan, Bush I, Rumsfeld and company) that sold it to him in the first place?
Is it the fact that Kay Granger talks about record re-enlistment rates without mentioning that soldiers haven't been able not-re-enlist so that we have a "back-door" draft that you find objectionable?
Is it Joe Wilson talking that the fact that the Iraqis have drawn up a constitution as the clearest example of winning the war on terrrorism that's objectionable? Because he doesn't mention that said constitution will make Islam the law of the land and the women of Iraq will have less personal freedom than when they were under Saddam's rule.
Or is it that all this bullcrap coming out of their mouths wouldn't be necessary with this war had been started on sound terms in the first place, with a larger force (as recommended) to keep the peace, adequate supplies to our troops, and a clear exit strategy with clearly defined goals from the beginning?
Hunter's comment "....if we don't change the world, the world is going to change us." is beyond belief. Is he lying or does he not realize that we've already changed?! We've endorsed torture! If that's not 'change', what is?
I only hope 277fia is being satirical through hyperbole, because if he is not, he is certainly expressing all that has been and still is wrong with this administration, its advisors, decisions and actions. Such an absolut trust for authority is the absolute opposite principle of what any American should be living buy. Our nation was founded on questioning authority and transparent government and legislation
I think the issue for most Americans is that once again our rhetoric about fighting a war is not insynch with the reality. I am a retired military officer (22 years in the Army) as such I am subject to recall to the military. I am not sure I support Mr Murtha's approach but at least it is better than the "stay the course" approach of the administration. A course that is costing lives and having minimum progress at best (elections are great but until the country is secure they are pretty meaningless). As I was driving home last night I thought what we should be doing is this. I would take Mr Murtha six months but I would be telling the Iraqis that they have six months to secure the place or I would be mobilizing a 500K force to come in and occupy the place. I am no right winger (or leftie for that matter) and I wished we had never gone to Iraq but we are there now and we do have to take care of the mess we made.
The new Conservatism!
Never underestimated the dumb things our representatives will say, and then flip flop, and say again.The Republicans came out fighting like beaten caged dogs this past week. Isn't it interesting that they waited until the "President" left the country, adding to the mess that perhaps the "President" isn't the leader; especially Cheney this past week. Man, talk about a flip-flopper! "The vice president supports torture. He hides out in bunkers. He conspires with big oil to deceive the Congress. His chief of staff has been indicted for covering up that office's role in outing a CIA officer to the media as political revenge. He bought sci-fi Iraq intelligence from whoever was selling. He obstructed a Senate Intelligence investigation of pre-war intelligence." Does anyone feel good about Rumsfeld, Cheney, Snow, Rice meeting with Ahmad Chalabi!
I don't quite understand the part about if we don't change them, they'll change us. Now we are fighting the world! Boy, does that sound like a lose-lose situation. Change? Walmart has changed us, so does that make them bad. What constituents bad change vs good change, and who is going to decide? A representative that is afraid of change..., guess he should come live in the real world for awhile, and then he'll know change.
A former marine pointed this out: Fourth Generation War: "War alway changes. Our enemies learn and adapt, and we must do the same or lose. But today, war is changing faster and on a larger scale than at any time in the last 350 years. Not only are we, as Marines, facing rapid change in how war is fought, we are facing radical changes in who fights and what they are fighting for."
It seems to me, that our career politicians, are dinosaurs. We mostly have an administration that is from the "cold war" mentality - torture, intolerance, dominance, nuclear bomb creation. We need leadership with great visions of peace, education, tolerance, environmentalism, safety; not perpetual war.
Jimmy Carter, "This Isn't The Real America".
What did Eisenhower say about the military industrial complex...
Andy Rooney on last Memorial day, "A Memorial Day Worth Remembering": "Remembering doesn’t do the remembered any good, of course. It's for ourselves, the living. I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future if we don’t find some new way - some new religion maybe - that takes war out of our lives."
You always get more of what you give, is a law of the universe. On one level I can understand the problem, I just don't think we are implementing the right solutions, in the right way.
As a country, we need to close our ears to the O'Reilly's and Limbaugh's, and people that only want to create political chaos only for their ego or monetary gain, and have honest open debates where we want our country to go and how. It'll be hard, but it is better than perpetual war.
Policy reduced to a turn of a phrase.
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I am not sure why you are so surprised to hear this; it’s an almost exact quote from "The Case for Democracy" by Nathan Sharansky, aka the Bush Iraq peace plan. Sadly, both Messer Bush and Sharansky missed the point that a constitution is a meaningless piece of paper unless the people themselves believe in the values that are enshrined in the document. It is not enough to change a government, you have to change the minds and attitudes of the people to be more democratic, and there is nothing coming from POTUS or anyone for that matter to address this fundamental shortcoming. Though one could say that Mr. Bush did keep at lest one 2000 election promise'...We will not engage in Nation Building.....'
In 2000 Bush probably didn't know what nation building meant, but it sure sounded good. He couldn't even pronounce the names of most countries and didn't know who their leaders were. Now he's so proud of himself because he can pronounce foreign names without completely butchering them.
Folly, indeed.
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