Democrats want the terrorists to win? - Democratic Underground

Hulsey13

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Thu Nov-02-06 05:23 PM
Original message

Democrats want the terrorists to win?

Edited on Thu Nov-02-06 05:30 PM by Hulsey13

What the hell is wrong with this President and his merry band of idiots? No matter how many times it is explained to them, they still don't get it. They can continue to accuse Democrats of being soft on terrorists. They can mischaracterize the things that Democrats say. They can continue to distort the truth. But they still won't be right.

Let's go through the charges one at a time, shall we?

"When it comes to trying terrorists, what's the Democrats answer? Just say no."
- George Bush

Trying terrorists? Actually, Democrats completely support trials for accused terrorists. But it was the Bush administration who imprisoned and tortured US citizen Jose Padilla, denying him his rights of due process and protection under the law. And the only reason this man is receiving a trial is because the US Supreme Court ruled that he was entitled to one. Make no mistake - if the man is convicted of plotting terrorist activities in this country, then he should be imprisoned for life in an isolated, remote cell. But he is an American citizen and is entitled to a trial by jury. That is the Democratic position.

"When it came time to vote on whether the NSA should continue to monitor terrorist communications through the Terrorist Surveillance Program, almost 90 percent of the House Democrats voted against it."
- George Bush

No, they didn't. They voted against a bill that would allow the government to spy on its own citizens without a court order. And don't give me the "we need to be able to move immediately, not wait on a court order" crap. Because the FISA legislation allows for the monitoring agency to request a warrant up to 3 days after the contact is intercepted. There is no reason to bypass the FISA courts. In fact, the FISA court approved nearly every warrant requested.

"When it comes to questioning terrorists, what's the Democrat answer? Just say no."
- George Bush

Democrats are not opposed to questioning terrorists. Democrats are opposed to torturing suspects. And we oppose it for two reasons. One, because it is inhumane. It is, in fact, the very lowest of human behavior. For this country to rely on torture as a weapon in a war against terrorists is to become the terrorists ourselves. Two, we oppose it because it does not work. A tortured suspect will say and do anything to make the abuse stop. The intelligence gathered as a result of torture is suspect at best and most often useless.

"However they put it, the Democrats' approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses."
- George Bush

Is he even serious? The accusation here is that the Democrats support the terrorists over our own nation. And this coming from an administration that has given us an Iraq policy that is actually fueling the global war on terror. Democrats do not want the terrorists to win. That is absurd. What Democrats want is an intelligent, comprehensive, effective plan to fight the global war on terror. That means more than just "stay the course" in Iraq, or whatever the administration's phrase-du-jour is.

I understand that there are terrorists in the world who wish harm to me, my family, and my country. I know that. But what is required is more than flippant comments, reckless bravado, and the facade of compentence. I hear over and over that our nation is fighting a war unlike any we have ever faced. True. But, as a Marine Corps veteran, I can't help but think that, had Bush and his closest advisors ever experienced actual combat, they might be handling this current fight quite differently.

The bottom line? The Republicans can say that Democrats propose a different solution to the Iraq problem and a different strategy for fighting the war on terror. They can even say that their plans are superior, though to do so with a straight face would require more denial than I can imagine. But what they cannot say is that Democrats want the terrorists to win.

What Democrats want is to make this nation truly safe. What we do not want is to just pretend to do it, at the cost of liberty, freedom, and security.