Journal frankie's Journal: Foreign Policy Reasons to Oppose Bush 3
Invading Afghanistan to attack Al Qaida was the right thing to do. By the end of 2001, the Taliban(*) had fallen, but Al Qaida was entrenched in the mountains. If we had launched a full-out siege with 20000+ US troops (instead of only 2000 that Rumsfeld actually deployed), full AWACS coverage, etc, we could have cut them off and nabbed Bin Laden.
In February 2001, the Bush administration said that Iraq's military and weapons programs were toothless. There were exactly ZERO Al Qaida members in Iraq. But in January 2002 (although he'd been planning it since January 2001), right when our infantry was needed in Tora Bora, Bush pointed them elsewhere. Pulling out too soon and declaring victory was a flip-flop and a tragic mistake. Osama got away.
Then he made his bad desicion even worse by completly botching the occupation. Iraq fell apart, Al Qaida recruiters flooded in, and now they're a bigger threat than Saddam was. Bush made the terrorists stronger, not weaker.
Furthermore, our troops are bogged down, and we don't have enough deterrence in reserve. For example, if Kim Jong Il lost his very last shred of sanity and launched a massive assault on South Korea, our only hope of stopping him would be genocidal carpet-bombing. In order to save Seoul (30 miles from the DMZ) we would have to destroy it. And North Korea isn't the only bughouse we have to watch.
Lastly, there's the smouldering ruins of our international credibility. We cried wolf. That's going to keep hurting us for years to come.
(*) = Note that any rhetoric about invading Afghanistan in the name of "freedom"(TM) is hollow. In December 1997, the Taliban's leadership was wined & dined in Texas by friends of then-Governor Bush at Unocal. And in May 2001, the Bush administration signed an economic aid deal with the Taliban. Bush had plenty of opportunity to oppose their oppression, but he gave them a pass.
p.s. Yes, Kerry said a lot of this last night. That's because it's true.
p.p.s. Coming soon: my "Reasons to Support Kerry" journal.
Addendum 2004/10/17: Official Iraq post-war plan: "To be provided"
Re:And 2 simple reasons Kerry is the worst possibl (Score:1)
G.W. Bush: I would hope I'd never have to. I understand how hard it is to commit troops. I never wanted to commit troops. I never -- when I was running -- when we had the debate in 2000, I never dreamt I'd be doing that. But the enemy attacked us, Jim, and -- ah -- I have a solemn duty to protect the American people, to do everything I can to protect us.
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