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Edited on Wed Mar-15-06 09:03 PM by gasperc
Why doesn't president Bush have the gravitas to deflect any and all criticisms from both domestic and foreign critics during a time of war? Am I the only person in this entire country, if not the world, which sees the phrase "time of war" as a man-dress argument? Why is America trying to hide behind the phrase "time of war" like a man that hides behind a dress? Shouldn't the administration be fighting both domestic and foreign critics by the merits of its case for war? The Chinese torture of this "time of war" phrase beaten into our collective skull has become mind numbing. Is this president afraid of peace? Is the country afraid of peace? We want peace but we just can't get there because of those big, bad terrorists? We know the pattern but is the administration fighting a war or hiding behind a war? In most cases, a wartime president is considered a macho president so why the effort to remind voters that this is a time of war? Would it be too difficult to govern the country during a time of peace? Is peace impossible and our nation must succumb to the realization that America is not involved in a long war but an endless war? We, citizens, are told that America can not end it's commitment in Iraq until Iraqis step up. Why is America waiting for Iraqis? Shouldn't America be calling the shots? America needs to stop hiding behind the man-dress phrase "time of war" and reassert itself as the mature, confident nation that we are. America can not nor should not have to wait for Iraqis. It's about time America be America again, confident, self-assured, wise, just and responsible. Why are so many Americans allowing the Bush administration to confuse them? We Democrats have demanded that the administration finish what it started, it's about time that the an overwhelming majority make this demand of the Bush administration? America is nearing the third anniversary of the conflict in Iraq. The best the Bush administration can muster is that this is a time of war and critics should be ashamed of criticizing the president or the government. Why are we still at war? Isn't the administration's insistence that we can't retreat since it believes in a perception of cutting and running, just as easily be seen as the Bush administration's failure to gain the upper hand in Iraq? The aura of American military invincibility has been pierced. Serious challenges and questions must be addressed before America's piercing becomes a shattering. As an American and a Democrat, my warning is not that our criticism will bring down the country but the shift in foreign perception of America is weakening the country. The deployment of American troops in Iraq has not quelled sectarian violence; American troops have been victims of this violence. America must display the confidence and ability to re-evaluate the situation in Iraq and re-deploy its military force without waiting for the Iraqis to stand up so America can stand down. One of the central tenants of the Bush administration arguments for fighting the terrorists and the war in Iraq is to defend democracy and freedom. Americans have also been told that the terrorists hate our freedoms; the government must stop taking those freedoms away. The government must stop hiding behind phrases and gimmicks and Americans must stop letting the government intimidate its citizens. I stand with Russ Feingold and we should not cower to the hollow bellowing by this administration.
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