The UN would not be able to get together over something as simple and universal as the threat of an asteroid striking our planet. They would quarrel and babble; they might send a slightly perturbed radio message to the asteroid. And, in the end, the asteroid would nail us.
At Cheney's luncheon with Karzai, the Afghan leader told a story of meeting with tribal leaders and trying to get them to cooperate. "The only question they wanted to ask me, was, 'Is the United States with you?" Karzai said, according to this account.I'm going to guess "The Official" is Cheney himself in that last paragraph since it's the same wording Cheney has used before. And he's just as right. It is in Iraq as it is in Afghanistan.
People are concerned about the US commitment to the region, and Democrats in DC talking about withdrawal from Iraq make them concerned - though that debate back home had no bearing on the VP's decision to come here, sao said. "That would have devastating consequences to what we're trying to do" in this part of the world.
Karzai was reportedly "upbeat" - with all the money and troops that the US is committing to Afghanistan, the sao said, "It's all taken as a sign" of commitment.
"They worry about that... If they see weakness on the part of the US... They worry about our commitment."
The proposals of people in the US to withdraw from Iraq have "consequences in this part of the world," the official said. "The al Qaeda strategy is based on the notion that they can break the will of the American people."
On Being PerfectPaul would definitely be on a short list of people I would like to meet if I kept such a list. Also, keep in mind that, as much as this article applies to a lot of people on the Left -- far and otherwise-- it applies to too many on the Right as well. From my seat, it looks like those with this kind of problem more easily drift leftward. My guess/explanation for this would be that bumpersticker politics is easier on the intellectual digestive system.
The 4,000-square-foot house is a model of environmental rectitude
Geothermal heat pumps located in a central closet circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a constant 67 degrees; the water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. Systems such as the one in this "eco-friendly" dwelling use about 25% of the electricity that traditional heating and cooling systems utilize.
A 25,000-gallon underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof runs; wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers goes into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is used to irrigate the landscaping surrounding the four-bedroom home. Plants and flowers native to the high prairie area blend the structure into the surrounding ecosystem.
No, this is not the home of some eccentrically wealthy eco-freak trying to shame his fellow citizens into following the pristineness of his self-righteous example. And no, it is not the wilderness retreat of the Sierra Club or the Natural Resources Defense Council, a haven where tree-huggers plot political strategy.
This is President George W. Bush's "Texas White House" outside the small town of Crawford.
Did you hear about any of this? I doubt it. It doesn't cast "W" in the "correct" light.
But you've heard plenty about Bigfoot Al and his selfless crusade to save the planet since then, haven't you?
And it's big. It's 221,000 kWh -- (that's according to his electric bill. None of this is apparently supplied by his touted solar panels - so none of that would be offset by them.) 20 times the national average household. And his mansion's Nashville Electric consumption went up by 2,200kWh per month from 2005-2006 according to Nashville Electric Service records.
Al Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That's their fundamental underlying strategy, that if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we'll quit and go home. And my statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of al Qaeda.How much clearer can you get than that? Where's the "spin"?
“You cannot say as the president of the United States, ‘I welcome disagreement in a time of war,’ and then have the vice president of the United States go out of the country and mischaracterize a position of the speaker of the House and in a manner that says that person in that position of authority is acting against the national security of our country,”
- Nanci Pelosi, regarding a disagreement with the Vice President
It really pisses her off. How dare the Vice President do his best to assess what her position is and say it when she won't say it herself! How dare he try to pin a weasel down as to what her position is! Why, if she were forced to actually publicly take a clear position and state her plan of action, somebody might be able to, you know, criticize it. I'm sure that's like a violation of her free speech, or something.The President can't say he welcomes disagreement in a time of war and then have the Vice President go out and disagree with my disagreement by saying what I really mean but have been carefully avoiding explicitly saying.
"If you're going to advocate a course of action that basically is withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, then you don't get to just do the fun part of that, that says, 'We'll, we're going to get out,' and appeal to your constituents on that basis"Nothing in there about Nancy's Patriotism. He's saying she should stop weaseling and spell out her position. He wasn't questioning her Patriotism. He was questioning her honesty. He was challenging her to be upfront and honest with her constituents (and the rest of us).
But diplomats too often fail to appreciate this because their initiatives take on a life of their own. The imperative becomes brokering a deal without much regard to whether it will accomplish our objectives and serve our interests. We saw this with Oslo, and we almost saw it at Camp David under Clinton. We've seen it once with North Korea, and now we seem to be seeing it again.
And that's one answer to the Democrats when they ask what the harm is in talking with Iran. The last thing we need is for a Condi Rice or a Madeleine Albright to become obsessed with getting Iran's signature on a piece of paper, any piece of paper.
To fight them effectively, we need coolness, resolve and stamina. But we also need to overcome long habit and remind ourselves that not every enemy is in fact a threat to our existence.
.... it may well turn out that the USA, instead of overreacting, failed to react strongly and forcefully enough. 9/11 as an act of unprovoked aggression is without parallel, and those who celebrated it throughout the Muslim world did so with complete impunity. In the eyes of our enemy, our failure to respond immediately and indiscriminately to the attack has not been chalked up to our humanitarian zeal, but to our weakness.If you've read Al Queda's stuff and watched Muslim reactions all over the world, it's hard to disagree.
"... it's easy to stand up and call Bush a liar, and say war is bad under any circumstance and have have all your friends pat you on the back..."Can I get an "Amen" from the back pew?
"... it's easy to be a rebel, it's easy to stand up on a soapbox and complain and throw stones and call people names. It's much harder to offer an alternative solution or come up with some kind of thoughtful discussion -- and I see that, I think that's reflected both in music and in our leadership. And again I sometimes shake my head and I wouldn't say I'm ashamed to be a part of the music community, I just wish that there'd be a little more serious thought when we're facing such serious times."
These traitors in Iraq and Afghanistan must face their inevitable fate and face up to the inescapable facts. America--which was transformed from the "Great Satan" into the "Closest Ally"--is about to depart and abandon them, just as it abandoned their like in Vietnam. If the Mujahadeen have--by the grace of God--broken the back of America will its agents hold their own against them in the absence of America?
And these countries must know that America doesn't thank anyone for serving it and there is a lesson for them in the fate of the Shah and final days of Arafat.