10.19.2004
War...what is it good for?
This takes the cake, dear friends! No ifs. No buts. I woke up in America, and as the fog of history clears, I find myself elsewhere. These are the words of an American president. He for whom I cast the wrong vote...he who continues to bolster the wrongness of my youthful indescretion...
Permit this little ole' red stater to digress... Oh, never mind. Just never mind.
Thanks, but I will take my red meat on John Wayne's plate. Not Pierre Trudeau's, or Indhira Ghandi's. For Pete's sake, we are America! For good, ill, or indifferent, we are movers and shakers. We are leaders for righteous good. And yes, that is OUR definition, not the UN's! The United States of America does not stand for watered down, time-worn differentness from Britain or Europe. I shudder to think of the state of the world had we not been there in times of 20th and infant 21st century desparate need.
Our old 'peanut farmer' can take his rightful place in heaven, beside Neville Chamberlain. Here's a little more to whet your appetite:
Listen to George W Bush and the voice of strength in America. We do not want to force any ideology on anyone. We simply want to a) kill off tyranny, and b) EXPOSE a suppressed people to our (and what 'USED' to be the free world's) example. I have the utmost faith in our elected government to do what it publicly has said it will do, and that is to provide a chance for free and fair elections. Period. The Arab world isn't used to this. There is no crime in promoting a glimpse, at least, of the free world. That is what we are about...and that is what we are doing.
Leave it be, Jimmy C.
Hat tip to Kellipundit.
This takes the cake, dear friends! No ifs. No buts. I woke up in America, and as the fog of history clears, I find myself elsewhere. These are the words of an American president. He for whom I cast the wrong vote...he who continues to bolster the wrongness of my youthful indescretion...
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you the question about—this is going to cause some trouble with people—but as an historian now and studying the Revolutionary War as it was fought out in the South in those last years of the War, insurgency against a powerful British force, do you see any parallels between the fighting that we did on our side and the fighting that is going on in Iraq today?
CARTER: Well, one parallel is that the Revolutionary War, more than any other war up until recently, has been the most bloody war we’ve fought. I think another parallel is that in some ways the Revolutionary War could have been avoided. It was an unnecessary war.Had the British Parliament been a little more sensitive to the colonial’s really legitimate complaints and requests the war could have been avoided completely, and of course now we would have been a free country now as is Canada and India and Australia, having gotten our independence in a nonviolent way.
Permit this little ole' red stater to digress... Oh, never mind. Just never mind.
Thanks, but I will take my red meat on John Wayne's plate. Not Pierre Trudeau's, or Indhira Ghandi's. For Pete's sake, we are America! For good, ill, or indifferent, we are movers and shakers. We are leaders for righteous good. And yes, that is OUR definition, not the UN's! The United States of America does not stand for watered down, time-worn differentness from Britain or Europe. I shudder to think of the state of the world had we not been there in times of 20th and infant 21st century desparate need.
Our old 'peanut farmer' can take his rightful place in heaven, beside Neville Chamberlain. Here's a little more to whet your appetite:
MATTHEWS: What do you make of this new philosophy, Mr. President, that we can go into countries like Iraq and that we can use our force of arms and our economic might to transform them into democracies? It‘s the new conservative philosophy. It‘s the Bush doctrine, whatever you want to call it. What do you make of it?
CARTER: I don‘t think it‘s ever been proven to be accurate as a premise that you can go into an alien society, win with force of arms, destroying a major portion of that country and killing their people to make them adopt a new form of government and to accept new rulers.
Obviously, the only way out of this quagmire that we have formed in Iraq now is to have some guarantee of withdrawal of American troops and turning their premises of the Iraqis over to them politically and to the international community to help on an equal basis and a shared basis with many allies both in economic and military concerns in the future.
Listen to George W Bush and the voice of strength in America. We do not want to force any ideology on anyone. We simply want to a) kill off tyranny, and b) EXPOSE a suppressed people to our (and what 'USED' to be the free world's) example. I have the utmost faith in our elected government to do what it publicly has said it will do, and that is to provide a chance for free and fair elections. Period. The Arab world isn't used to this. There is no crime in promoting a glimpse, at least, of the free world. That is what we are about...and that is what we are doing.
Leave it be, Jimmy C.
Hat tip to Kellipundit.
// posted by HunterByrd @ 4:46 PM 
Comments:
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As always you have nailed it!!!!
Keep up the good work. Always enjoy my visit here. Can I put a link from my site to yours?
Keep up the good work. Always enjoy my visit here. Can I put a link from my site to yours?
Carter is such am embarrassment. The unbelievable mix of egotism, self-righteousness, false piety and an utter lack of even basic logic and common sense make me want to heave every time I hear another of his asinine comments. HunterByrd, I share your dismay in not even knowing where to start in confronting this sort of nonsense. Just take this one quote, for example:
"Well, one parallel is that the Revolutionary War, more than any other war up until recently, has been the most bloody war we’ve fought. I think another parallel is that in some ways the Revolutionary War could have been avoided. It was an unnecessary war."
"Had the British Parliament been a little more sensitive to the colonial’s really legitimate complaints and requests the war could have been avoided completely, and of course now we would have been a free country now as is Canada and India and Australia, having gotten our independence in a nonviolent way."
First, a small but significant point. The American Civil War, as is commonly known and well documented, was the "bloodiest" (I assume this refers to casualties -- killed and injured) war this nation has ever fought, bloodier than even World War II.
But more importantly, the whole idea that we could have talked the British into just letting us go our separate way makes no sense. We did, as a matter of fact, suggest that, and proposals of this sort were debated, and rejected, in Parliament. Then we went further, and DECLARED our independence. In doing so, the Continental Congress did not insist on a war, or threaten war, or in any way seek a war. They did, however, express a willingness to fight if Britain made war in order to defeat independence, and that is what happened. How long should we have talked? Another year? Another ten years? Perhaps after another twenty years of talk the British would have released us. Perhaps not. Apparently breaking away from England was important enough to a significant number of colonials to make them willing to fight rather than continue to plead for independence for an undetermined amount of time. And, doesn't the fact that Britain fought to keep its American colonies demonstrate that talking was not going to result in independence any time soon?
Secondly, saying that, "had Parliament only been more sensitive to the colonies' concerns, war could have been avoided" is the equivalent of saying that World War II was unnecessary because, if Hitler had only been a Quaker, there would have been no need for fighting. Hard to argue with that logic. Fact is, Parliament WAS NOT more sensitive, and Hitler WAS NOT a Quaker. Similarly, if Atilla the Hun had only been a more sensitive, caring guy, there would have been no need for half of Europe to defend themselves from his armies. How unnecessary it all was! If only Ghengis Khan had been more willing to sit around the campfire singing "Cumbaya" with the leaders of half of the known world, all of that killing would have been unnecessary. Oh! How unneccesary it all has been!Unlike Carter, most adults know that they must deal with certain facts as they exist in the world.
By the way, I am the same guy that was debating Jan the other day. Henceforth, I shall be know as "Publius." Of course, if only everyone could read my brainwaves, it would be unnecessary for me to say this. Oh, how unnecessary!! If only you could see me wringing my hands in dismay!
Publius
"Well, one parallel is that the Revolutionary War, more than any other war up until recently, has been the most bloody war we’ve fought. I think another parallel is that in some ways the Revolutionary War could have been avoided. It was an unnecessary war."
"Had the British Parliament been a little more sensitive to the colonial’s really legitimate complaints and requests the war could have been avoided completely, and of course now we would have been a free country now as is Canada and India and Australia, having gotten our independence in a nonviolent way."
First, a small but significant point. The American Civil War, as is commonly known and well documented, was the "bloodiest" (I assume this refers to casualties -- killed and injured) war this nation has ever fought, bloodier than even World War II.
But more importantly, the whole idea that we could have talked the British into just letting us go our separate way makes no sense. We did, as a matter of fact, suggest that, and proposals of this sort were debated, and rejected, in Parliament. Then we went further, and DECLARED our independence. In doing so, the Continental Congress did not insist on a war, or threaten war, or in any way seek a war. They did, however, express a willingness to fight if Britain made war in order to defeat independence, and that is what happened. How long should we have talked? Another year? Another ten years? Perhaps after another twenty years of talk the British would have released us. Perhaps not. Apparently breaking away from England was important enough to a significant number of colonials to make them willing to fight rather than continue to plead for independence for an undetermined amount of time. And, doesn't the fact that Britain fought to keep its American colonies demonstrate that talking was not going to result in independence any time soon?
Secondly, saying that, "had Parliament only been more sensitive to the colonies' concerns, war could have been avoided" is the equivalent of saying that World War II was unnecessary because, if Hitler had only been a Quaker, there would have been no need for fighting. Hard to argue with that logic. Fact is, Parliament WAS NOT more sensitive, and Hitler WAS NOT a Quaker. Similarly, if Atilla the Hun had only been a more sensitive, caring guy, there would have been no need for half of Europe to defend themselves from his armies. How unnecessary it all was! If only Ghengis Khan had been more willing to sit around the campfire singing "Cumbaya" with the leaders of half of the known world, all of that killing would have been unnecessary. Oh! How unneccesary it all has been!Unlike Carter, most adults know that they must deal with certain facts as they exist in the world.
By the way, I am the same guy that was debating Jan the other day. Henceforth, I shall be know as "Publius." Of course, if only everyone could read my brainwaves, it would be unnecessary for me to say this. Oh, how unnecessary!! If only you could see me wringing my hands in dismay!
Publius
# posted by 
: 9:56 AM
: 9:56 AM
Hey, Moomont, are you a dairy farmer or do you have some special connection with cows? I was just curious about your name, which would seem to be translatable as "mountain of the moos." Just curious.
Publius
Publius
# posted by : 11:06 AM
: 11:06 AM
Mr. Carter's comments kind of remind me of something Mr. Kerry said the other day. Mr. Kerry regarding how he would deal with the terrorists (paraphrased by Ferd): "I'm going to wage a more sensitive war on terror."
Ferd
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Ferd
# posted by : 12:15 PM
: 12:15 PM << Home
