Sunday, November 09, 2008
Reaction
@jeffrey, who wrote a comment on one of my entries: Thanks for taking the time to respond to my humble blog!
Just wanted to clarify a couple of things:
First, I don't actually belong to any political party. I believe that the office of President is SO important that I think we should vote for the person rather than the party for this office.
You accuse me of pissing on the President... well, I guess I just have a different definition of pissing than you do. I do indeed feel that GWB worried and worked for 8 years; at the same time, I feel his leadership was misguided --and the polls indicate that 75% of Americans agree with me (although I reserve the right to think differently than a majority, which is why I respect your right to disagree with my views).
In my (humble) opinion, after 9/11 he should have persued the terrorists as the crazy criminals they were, and not have punished a whole region. Afghanistan has always been a country well able to resist foreign influence and would-be regime-changers: look at how long the Russians tried, and before them the British, who sent army after army into Afghanistan over a period of 30 years in the 19th century, with similar results to what we have now: Kabul could be forcibly tamed, but in the countryside the people have been ruling themselves in their own way for millenia and I suspect they will prevail in the long run. Moreover it is dangerous, I feel, to treat them as proxies.
What everyone seems to forget is that the 9/11 bombers all came from Saudia Arabia and their expressed justifications had to do with grievances with the Saudi regime, so why didn’t Bush address the quest for true democracy in Saudi Arabia rather than an arguably more democratic form of government in Afghanistan?
Could it just have to do with his lifelong connections with the Saudi royal family? (Just thinking aloud here.)
I do respect the President by nature of his office, but I think we all have the right... no, the DUTY to watch the actions of our President and try to make sure that he is making farsighted judgements.
You mention the surge in Iraq, and that the insurgency has been defeated. This is open to interpretation, as shown by the fact that the Iraqi government is desperate for a strong, long-term presence in Iraq for American forces, and by continuing news stories — albeit pushed aside by election news— like the one this morning mentioning suicide bombings yesterday that killed at least 8 people near Baghdad.
Yes I agree with you that GWB showed courage and command during difficult times. But Hitler also showed those qualities and I think you will agree with me that that didn’t make his leadership something to emulate.
Just wanted to clarify a couple of things:
First, I don't actually belong to any political party. I believe that the office of President is SO important that I think we should vote for the person rather than the party for this office.
You accuse me of pissing on the President... well, I guess I just have a different definition of pissing than you do. I do indeed feel that GWB worried and worked for 8 years; at the same time, I feel his leadership was misguided --and the polls indicate that 75% of Americans agree with me (although I reserve the right to think differently than a majority, which is why I respect your right to disagree with my views).
In my (humble) opinion, after 9/11 he should have persued the terrorists as the crazy criminals they were, and not have punished a whole region. Afghanistan has always been a country well able to resist foreign influence and would-be regime-changers: look at how long the Russians tried, and before them the British, who sent army after army into Afghanistan over a period of 30 years in the 19th century, with similar results to what we have now: Kabul could be forcibly tamed, but in the countryside the people have been ruling themselves in their own way for millenia and I suspect they will prevail in the long run. Moreover it is dangerous, I feel, to treat them as proxies.
What everyone seems to forget is that the 9/11 bombers all came from Saudia Arabia and their expressed justifications had to do with grievances with the Saudi regime, so why didn’t Bush address the quest for true democracy in Saudi Arabia rather than an arguably more democratic form of government in Afghanistan?
Could it just have to do with his lifelong connections with the Saudi royal family? (Just thinking aloud here.)
I do respect the President by nature of his office, but I think we all have the right... no, the DUTY to watch the actions of our President and try to make sure that he is making farsighted judgements.
You mention the surge in Iraq, and that the insurgency has been defeated. This is open to interpretation, as shown by the fact that the Iraqi government is desperate for a strong, long-term presence in Iraq for American forces, and by continuing news stories — albeit pushed aside by election news— like the one this morning mentioning suicide bombings yesterday that killed at least 8 people near Baghdad.
Yes I agree with you that GWB showed courage and command during difficult times. But Hitler also showed those qualities and I think you will agree with me that that didn’t make his leadership something to emulate.
# posted by vailian : 9:40 AM
