03/25/04: Post by Craig
Posted by: BLOWBACK
Would that be the Committee to Elect John Kerry that Bush and the GOP congress put together? Look, there's enough blame to go around. The politicians are spinning it, but folks ought to try to examine things objectively for themselves.As for the apology, at least someone made one, even if it took MORE THAN TWO YEARS. Presidents are responsible for everything that happens under their administrations, the good as well as the bad. Franklin, in my view, when there is a war going on, political and military leaders are a legitimate target, and going after them is not illegal. My question of whether it was the right thing to do has to do with policy, not "legality."Yes, that means Sharon among others would be a legitimate target. If fact, it would be a refreshing change from blowing up pizza parlors and buses.Only a fool would accept the Yassin "settlement" that you mention. What do you think he had in mind for the next generation?As we have discussed before, either in this forum or elsewhere, when it comes to criminality there's a lot bigger fish out there than Sharon and Arafat.As for the Leahy amendment, and however its current incarnation reads, I'm sure it has a national security waiver. Is anyone calling for it to be applied?And why just apply it to Israel? What about all the other countries to whom we give military aid, to whom it could, and perhaps should, be applied? You and others are focusing on just one particular country, and the reason for that focus, in the case of some people at least, is not particularly admirable.Which brings us to AIPAC. Powerful group. Have you ever looked at what the Greek lobby is up to? Or the Armenians? Check out the Indians sometime. The Taiwanese do a great job. How about holding legislators accountable for their votes and their positions instead of blaming advocacy groups for representing the views of their membership?There is a lot of selective outrage. To give one example, a few weeks ago, the Russians killed a Chechen leader in one of the Gulf states, I think the UAE. Did the UN condemn it? Did the Muslim world rise up in protest? Were there demonstrations outside Russian embassies around the Middle East? I must have missed it.I would second your call to Joan for her pop psychoanalysis of Bush.