Help me respond to this letter!

[jeanarrett]

This is an example of the letters in our local paper lately! I want to respond to this with a letter of my own, but need some help. Livingston County, Michigan is heavily Repuke, but lately letters to the editor have been coming in critizing Bush almost daily.

http://www.hometownlife.com/Brighton/News.asp?pageType=StoryCurrent&StoryArchiveID=118816&StoryID=37118&Section=Letters&OnlineSection=Letters&SectionPubDate=Thursday,%20August%204,%202005&RefDate=8/4/2005

[Floogeldy]

1. Check these links

http://www.sptimes.com/News/093001/Worldandnation/CIA_tried_to_have_bin.shtml

http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/10/03/ret.bin.laden/

Edit: You can also remind them how Reagan tucked tail and withdrew troops from Beruit after 241 Marines were killed.

[sniffa]

2. my response

it was bush's incompetence as a Leader, who turned his back on security, and aLLowed 9/11 to happen.

[seabeyond]

3. clinton caught and brought to justice those for wwc in 93

the cole was done in oct election year. clinton had his investigation going john oneil was hot on the trail. bush called it off and said he wasnt going to do anything cause was like swatting flies with a flyswatter

clinton tried to do things in the latter of his administration and republicans near and far yelled wag the tail, and block him

the writer of this letter is totally wrong on all point and shifts the blame as repugs do so consistantly

clinton admin went to bush admin and told them obl was the greatest threat. condi rice dismissed them. said no it was russia

[Hav]

4. .

It seems, these things never get old. Who doesn't remember these spam mails, even Snopes dealt with them.

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/clinton.htm

[ET Awful]

5. First, the perpetrators of the attack on the WTC in 1993 are in jail

Second, that attack took place less than a month after Clinton took office, I have yet to see anyone, least of all Bill Clinton blame the previous administration for that attack. Yet, somehow, an attack that takes place 9 months after he leaves office is his fault?

Additionally, the attack on the Cole took place just prior to him leaving office. There was a planned response to that attack which involved the very tactics of special forces operations and aerial support that was later used by the Bush administration in Afghanistan. This was not implemented in December of 2000 because Clinton had the foresight to not dump a military engagement in the lap of his successor, unlike George HW Bush who dropped the Mogadishu situation in Clinton's lap when he left office.

When Bill Clinton ordered attacks in reprisal for the embassy bombings, he was attacked by the right for "waggin the dog." When he wanted to go after Bin Laden, he was accused of focusing the fight against terrorism too much on one man.

This information is easily available to anyone who actually looks for themselves instead of listening to Limbaugh and his like-minded liars.

Edit: You should also mention that Reagan did NOTHING in response to the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut which killed 241 American marines. And, if you REALLY want to chap his hide, remind him that immediately following that Beirut attack, the French miliatry barracks in Beirut was also bombed. The French, unlike Ronald Reagan, responded with an attack on Iranian Revolutionary Guard positions.

[Canuckistanian]

6. You could mention...

1. The World Trade bombers were caught during the Clinton administration

2. The "Milennium Bomber" was caught and convicted during the Clinton administration.

3. Taliban camps were hit with cruise missiles during the Clinton administration.

4 During the handover of power in 2000, Sandy Berger held a briefing with *'s incoming national security people and told them "You'll spend more time on Al-Qaeda (then relatively unknown) than anything else". They promptly ignored his advice.

5. Richard Clarke repeatedly tried to get the * administration to focus on Al-Qaeda and muslim militants, but was repeatedly rebuffed and kept out of the loop.

And this is what I remember off the top of my head.

[CitrusLib]

7. Here's a stab at it

Mr. Marc Roberts assertion that a U.S. President turned his back on security is only partially accurate. He got the name wrong. The President who turned his back on security was George W. Bush. During Clinton's administration, a Republican held Congress refused Clinton's request for additional funds to fight terrorism and refused his request to expand the abilities of law enforcement agencies to find and deal with terrorist organizations. Clinton was accused by Republican leaders of being 'obsessed' by Al Qaeda and they swept his concerns under a legislative rug. George Bush's administration was warned about Al Qaeda by the outgoing Clinton administration and our new Secretary of State, Condaleeza Rice, blatantly ignored warnings that may have prevented the events of 9/11. Mr. Roberts categorization of Bush as 'a president with morality, integrity and the fortitude to protect this great country and one who's not afraid to make a decision' is certainly his opinion, but I would challenge him that leading a country to war based on fabricated evidence shows neither a high moral standard, nor integrity. Bush is most definitely not afraid to make a decision, but he also seems unable or unwilling to change that decision in the face of new data. I don't rate inflexibility and stubborness as superior traits in a leader. Someone once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I'll let Mr. Roberts draw his own conclusions.

[Gatchaman]

8. Ask them what * did about the USS Cole.

The Cole was attacked on October 12, 2000, just 27 days before an election which ended up being contested for over a month. Can you imagine the howls from the right if a lame-duck Clinton (who suffered far worse criticism than * ever did) had taken America into war with no clear successor? What did * say about the Cole on the campain trail?

Of course, by the January corination, the * administration was more interested in making up stories about a "trashed" white house and appointing every nutball who lost an election to a dead man to important posts than going after the Cole bombers. And don't forget that this week is the fouth anniversary of the "historical document" which talked about how determined bin Laden was to attack the US. It's that document * ignored while on one of his endless vacations.

[jeanarrett]

9. Thank you, all!

I'll post my reply letter to the editor when I'm done with it.

[Hav]

10. .

Would be nice, if you would show us what you intend to write. I am sure that many here would make helpful suggestions if they are necessary.