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Please proof/critique my long LTTE on Rumsfeld and their appeasements

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NewJeffCT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:29 PM
Original message
Please proof/critique my long LTTE on Rumsfeld and their appeasements
It's long, but I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

>>>
In recent comments to the American Legion, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld compared the more than 60% of Americans who oppose the U.S. occupation of Iraq to those who appeased Hitler before World War 2. If you look at reality, however, it is neoconservatives like Bush, Cheney, Lieberman and Rumsfeld that are truly appeasing the terrorists with their policies.

First, they ignored all the warnings about the dangers of Al-Qaeda prior to 9/11 to focus on the Star Wars boondoggle, while also having the FBI shift its focus from counter-terrorism to fighting pornography and drug-trafficking. Meanwhile, a Clinton-era plan to disrupt terrorist financing around the globe was killed soon after Team Bush took office, and the massive bipartisan Hart-Rudman report on terrorism collected dust in Condi Rice’s office.

Then, when terrorists struck our country on 9/11, we were told it was because Osama bin Laden hated the presence of US soldiers on the Arabian Peninsula, the most sacred Muslim holy land. In the months following 9/11, the Bush White House quietly cut and ran from Saudi Arabia, moving our troops out in compliance to Osama’s decade-long dream.

To follow-up on their Middle East appeasement, Team Bush later announced they were hightailing it out of South Korea not long after the loony leader of North Korea started rattling his saber about nuclear weapons. From Truman and Eisenhower, through Reagan and Clinton, every president had maintained a troop presence in South Korea until Kim Jong-Il had his wishes granted by George W. Bush.

Speaking of wishes, one of bin Laden’s greatest wishes was the overthrow of secular Muslim Saddam Hussein as leader of Iraq, and George Bush also fulfilled that one. It was just icing on the cake for Osama when Bush ordered the UN inspectors out of Iraq and invaded on the pretext of the urgent threat of WMD, shattering our nation’s international credibility and prestige. Not to mention costing us over 2,600 lives and $300 billion, to date. The invasion and occupation has also proven to be a recruiting boon for Al-Qaeda.

Then, when one lone ambassador questioned the White House’s fabricated WMD claims, the response of Team Bush was to out the ambassador’s wife as a CIA spy, destroying her career as an agent tracking WMD, and also obliterating the usefulness of her CIA front company, Brewster-Jennings.

To make it a double whammy of agent outings, when they had to justify raising the terror alert during the 2004 Democratic convention, the Bush Administration served up the name Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan as justification. It turns out that Mr. Khan was a double agent working with Pakistan and Britain, whose cover was now blown.

With our current policy of submission to the demands of terrorists, it is no wonder that, for the last three years, the number of acts of terrorism has around the globe has grown exponentially, shattering previous records.

And, the appeasement continues to this day, as not long before the recent liquid explosives on airplanes scare, it was the Bush Administration that tried to cut funding for detecting those very types of explosives. Combine that with our port security still being dangerously under funded, first responders suffering severe budget cuts, loose nukes unaccounted for around the world, and so much more, I believe it is time to stop our policy of supplication to Al-Qaeda.

While Rumsfeld spoke of Europeans appeasing Hitler and Mussolini, it might be better if we turned an eye to our shores during that time, when many of that era’s Republicans, conservatives and business elites advocated alliance with the Nazis and the fascists. Some, like George Bush’s grandfather Prescott, went so far as to do extensive business with Hitler for years, even after Germany declared war on our country after Pearl Harbor. The reality is that George W. Bush is just following in his grandfather’s footsteps with his long-term business relationship with the bin Laden family, and our rubber-stamp Republican Congress is just repeating history with their appeasement.
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lastknowngood Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:39 PM
Response to Original message
1. We did not withdraw from South Korea! We withdrew our troops
from the DMZ. You might want to beef up the Bin Laden family tie. Poppy and family have been doing business with them for over 25 years.

You might add that no assessment has yet been made about the extensive damage caused by the Plame outing. Many overseas agents were compromised and we still don't know how many died.
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NewJeffCT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:43 PM
Response to Reply #1
5. I know we did take at least some troops out of SK as well
They were being moved to some place near Iraq/Afghanistan/Iran. I had thought I remember reading Wesley Clarke commenting on how it was a bad time to be doing that with Kim Jong-Il doing his thing.

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petersjo02 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:39 PM
Response to Original message
2. Long yes, but it's very good
Only one suggestion: I have also heard terrorist attacks have increased over the last few years. Can you site some figures to that effect, before vs after? That would have a positive impact on readers, I think. Good job! Sure hope the part about Prescott makes it into print. That news should be known to all but would come as a shock to most, I suspect. Kudos. Very thoughtfully and intelligently said.
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Atman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:41 PM
Response to Original message
3. First of all, don't stoop to Bush's level.
I know that's pretty tough to do! Nothing personal! LOL! But first off, I'd suggesting referring to Rice by her full name, not Chimpy's little pet name for her. It shows proper respect (editorially, not actually, as I know she has little to be respected for), while giving you added credibility in the reader's eye (if not the Ed's).

Otherwise it's a boffo letter! Although the Nazi references in the end make me a bit nervous...but then, Rummy played that card, so I guess turnabout is fair play. Great job!
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petersjo02 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:42 PM
Response to Original message
4. One more thought...
If it is too long for LTTE, would some newspaper in your state consider publishing as an opinion piece on the op/ed page? This is too good to lose. I wholeheartedly agree with commentor number 1's suggestions.
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NewJeffCT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:45 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. I have no status to be an op-ed writer
If my local papers run op-ed pieces, it is usually from a nationally syndicated writer (George Will, Molly Ivins) or a local person of some connection to what they are writing about...

We do have a few local papers that run longer LTTEs, but I think mine is still too long for them.

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spindrifter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:43 PM
Response to Original message
6. Bravo! I am sending you
a PM with edit suggestions. This is really well done.
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NewJeffCT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Aug-31-06 09:46 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. thanks
just realized it's 10:45 here, so I'll have to respond in the AM.
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NewJeffCT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 08:05 AM
Response to Reply #6
10. good comments
I think I incorporated all of them in there.

Thanks!
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NewJeffCT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-01-06 04:32 AM
Response to Original message
9. Friday morning kick
thanks again.
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