Bush knew about 9-11 in advance?

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How do we know that they are trying?

Millions of Mexicans somewhat cross our border, but dedicated jihadists can't?

A Korean student can paralyze a nation with his evil, but jihadists can't?

Iraq should tell us that the Bush admin is incompetent. It's probably not wise to give the govt. credit for stopping all attacks for occurring.

Could it actually be the case, that they want us to get the freak out of the Middle East? Out of Saudi Arabia (the reason Al Qaeda started in the first place), out of Iraq, etc.?

Maybe there aren't as many people that want to kill us as we think. Just maybe.

Guys, I must begrudgingly admit that Waters really is the franchise here.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How do we know that they are trying?

Millions of Mexicans somewhat cross our border, but dedicated jihadists can't?

A Korean student can paralyze a nation with his evil, but jihadists can't?

Iraq should tell us that the Bush admin is incompetent. It's probably not wise to give the govt. credit for stopping all attacks for occurring.

Could it actually be the case, that they want us to get the freak out of the Middle East? Out of Saudi Arabia (the reason Al Qaeda started in the first place), out of Iraq, etc.?

Maybe there aren't as many people that want to kill us as we think. Just maybe.

And some folks think September 11th will never be forgotten.

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by Tex

And some folks think September 11th will never be forgotten.

Stop using September 11th as a political platform.

/end channeling of MikeWaters

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Tex

And some folks think September 11th will never be forgotten.

and some people will throw away the constitution and all civil liberties because of a bearded guy living in a cave in Pakistan.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

and some people will throw away the constitution and all civil liberties because of a bearded guy living in a cave in Pakistan.

/cue dramatic music

[Solon]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How do we know that they are trying?

Maybe there aren't as many people that want to kill us as we think. Just maybe.

I think you're reading more into my post than I intended.

I'm not a Bush apologist. I think he's a buffoon.
I don't think "the war on terror" is any reason to suspend civil liberties, or to try to cash in politically. I think war on a concept is stupid (and ultimately unwinnable).

I don't think there are millions of terrorists trying to infiltrate our country, and the only thing keeping them back is a ultra-strong executive branch with unfettered powers and no oversight. If anything, Bush's policies have made the threat of terrorism worse. I'm not trying to whip up support for anything, nor would I be surprised if Bush had known al-Qaeda was planning "something" nonspecific. The government knows about all sorts of "threats" but rarely announces them because the confusion and panic it would cause outweigh the "threat's" perceived legitimacy.

Hindsight is always 20/20. It's hard to know the validity of a threat until it is carried out.

At the end of 2002, the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) was claiming to have averted several "attacks" or terrorist acts intended for US soil. It might have been bullsh*t, but these were never released to the public. In only know because I used to work for the CTC (Counter Terrorism Center). And now you know my secret and can use that against me.

Incidentally, I quit for a few reasons, one of which was the time commitment and my upcoming marriage, but another was the gearing up for Iraq. I thought that was a purely political ploy.

So, please don't think I'm defending the administration. I'm defending the men and women who bust their asses in counterterrorism, who follow the laws, who don't set policy, who are just doing their jobs but are forced to work within a jacked up system.

[MikeWaters]

I'm sure most people who are doing the work are doing it as best they can.

But to some degree the idea that we can walk the halls of high school and never get sucker punched again is ridiculous.

And that it would be foolish to credit our vigilance with never being sucker punched again. (though our vigilance can play an important role).

[Solon]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I'm sure most people who are doing the work are doing it as best they can.

But to some degree the idea that we can walk the halls of high school and never get sucker punched again is ridiculous.

And that it would be foolish to credit our vigilance with never being sucker punched again. (though our vigilance can play an important role).

Agreed. (whew!)

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I'm sure most people who are doing the work are doing it as best they can.

But to some degree the idea that we can walk the halls of high school and never get sucker punched again is ridiculous.

And that it would be foolish to credit our vigilance with never being sucker punched again. (though our vigilance can play an important role).

Open request for Mike or whoever wants to answer:

What measures are you in favor of to protect against terrorism? I get the feeling you believe anything we try to do in the name of counterterrorism is not worth the sacrifice made.

[Archaea]

We should develop intelligence with the tribal communities most likely to foster and to support terroists.

We should develop our community disaster response teams so that there is national responses programmed into our schools and public areas.

We should promptly extradite known offenders who are here on visa or illegally.

We should develop better relations, if possible with nations motivated to sponsor terroism.

We should not use the Patriot Act for anything outside of terroism for which it has been abused.

We should have a meaningful plan to secure our borders but also one that recognizes the economic realities of immigrants.

Those are broad generalities. Eliminating civil liberties is not the answer.