Flip-flopping on terrorism.
I don't know why I vent like this. But I do. Sorry to bore you...
Kerry flip flops? What about Bush? Let's look at the Bush Flip Flops (BFFs) on his most vital issue - The War On Terror (WOT).
BFF #1: While campaigning last week, he said we are a 'safer nation' now. Yet this week he reversed himself and said we're still in danger. Ridge announces a new terrorist alert.
BFF #2: Bush & Cheney were against convening the 9/11 Commission. But he changed his tune. Now he says they've done 'good work' and is trying to take credit for their existence.
BFF #3: When the commission released their report, Bush and Condi said time was needed to review their recommendations. He said the administration wouldn't actually implement any changes until next year. As if no one would notice that will be after the election. But when Kerry pro-actively jumps out ahead, saying he'll implement all their suggestions, Bush flip flops again and decides to speed things up a bit. Remember, 'no politics' in such serious matters as the WOT?
BFF #4: Even then, instead of listening to the bi-partisan commissions' recommendations, which were carefully crafted after seriously studing the problems inherent in our intelligence community, Bush decides to recommend a toothless intelligence czar. Although he finally admitted they had done good work and he was looking forward to reading their recommendations, instead of listening to them, he goes with a quickly cobbled together, politically expedient (you think his current intelligence leaders are happy with losing some of their power to a new kid on the block?), counter-measure. There isn't even any explanation of why this counter-approach is better. Just do it my way, eh dear leader?
BFF #6, 7 & 8: So are we safer, or not? The threat level goes up, yet Bush allows the opening of the Statue of Liberty, sends his wife to campaign at one of the actual identified targets and puts both himself and Dick Cheney in harms way, out on the campaign trail. Politics, or keeping America safe from terrorism? I thought one of them was always supposed to go hide in an undisclosed location, anytime the terrorist threat was grave enough that one of them could get popped. Yet both are out there, making campaign speeches, at the same time. Or, is it that Bush knows this new terrorism threat is based on 9 month old information and not as grave as they are making it out to be? But shame on me - we all know these terrorists are serious, patient. Time means nothing to them. Still, if it is serious, the irony of discussing intelligence reform and this woeful 9 month time-lag is almost too painful to think about.
How can anyone say the Bush Administration is doing an effective job at countering terrorism, with all this flip-flopping going on? Finally, let's not forget the biggest flip-flop of all: moving the WOT from Afghanistan to Iraq. Or, if that wasn't a flip-flop, I guess that shows it truly was a planned-for inevitability.
I don't know why I vent like this. But I do. Sorry to bore you...
Kerry flip flops? What about Bush? Let's look at the Bush Flip Flops (BFFs) on his most vital issue - The War On Terror (WOT).
BFF #1: While campaigning last week, he said we are a 'safer nation' now. Yet this week he reversed himself and said we're still in danger. Ridge announces a new terrorist alert.
BFF #2: Bush & Cheney were against convening the 9/11 Commission. But he changed his tune. Now he says they've done 'good work' and is trying to take credit for their existence.
BFF #3: When the commission released their report, Bush and Condi said time was needed to review their recommendations. He said the administration wouldn't actually implement any changes until next year. As if no one would notice that will be after the election. But when Kerry pro-actively jumps out ahead, saying he'll implement all their suggestions, Bush flip flops again and decides to speed things up a bit. Remember, 'no politics' in such serious matters as the WOT?
BFF #4: Even then, instead of listening to the bi-partisan commissions' recommendations, which were carefully crafted after seriously studing the problems inherent in our intelligence community, Bush decides to recommend a toothless intelligence czar. Although he finally admitted they had done good work and he was looking forward to reading their recommendations, instead of listening to them, he goes with a quickly cobbled together, politically expedient (you think his current intelligence leaders are happy with losing some of their power to a new kid on the block?), counter-measure. There isn't even any explanation of why this counter-approach is better. Just do it my way, eh dear leader?
BFF #6, 7 & 8: So are we safer, or not? The threat level goes up, yet Bush allows the opening of the Statue of Liberty, sends his wife to campaign at one of the actual identified targets and puts both himself and Dick Cheney in harms way, out on the campaign trail. Politics, or keeping America safe from terrorism? I thought one of them was always supposed to go hide in an undisclosed location, anytime the terrorist threat was grave enough that one of them could get popped. Yet both are out there, making campaign speeches, at the same time. Or, is it that Bush knows this new terrorism threat is based on 9 month old information and not as grave as they are making it out to be? But shame on me - we all know these terrorists are serious, patient. Time means nothing to them. Still, if it is serious, the irony of discussing intelligence reform and this woeful 9 month time-lag is almost too painful to think about.
How can anyone say the Bush Administration is doing an effective job at countering terrorism, with all this flip-flopping going on? Finally, let's not forget the biggest flip-flop of all: moving the WOT from Afghanistan to Iraq. Or, if that wasn't a flip-flop, I guess that shows it truly was a planned-for inevitability.
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