Innermost Thought

See msnbc article: "Pakistan conducts 2nd missile test", in its International News section.

When some nation like North Korea or Iraq or some terrorist group, gets the technology necessisary to launch a nuclear payload at the United States, you'll be so glad that that money wasn't diverted. Obviously,there are alot of very real threats to our national security. Before Sepetember 11th, which senator, congressman, or average joe would have believed that small groups of people could or would hijac passenger aircraft and fly them into a building? Apply the same rational to missile defense. Maybe Meredith will forward to you a recent E-mail I sent her.

Yeah, but it must be true, 'cause Rush sez so...

I do agree that even if the FBI warning had gotten through, I doubt the whole thing could or would have been prevented (it was planned and executed to damn well) and it's probably true that the prez hears cries of "Wolf!" all the time.

Still, while the Clinton administration may be to blame for reducing intelligence spending, the Bushites haven't done much of anything to get ready to deal with terrorism, 'cause, you know, the evil doers were going to launch missiles at us (well, untill after 9-11, then the money sturted gushing against more realistic threats). Up until two days before 9-11, Donald Rumsfeld threatened a presidential veto when the Senate proposed to divert $600 million to counterterrorism from ballistic missile defense. But that was probably somehow Clinton's fault, too.

Personally, I don't have that much a problem with the fact the government didn't prevent 9-11, as Carl says, these things do happen and I'm personally not surprised by Bush's incompetence. I have a bigger problem with the White House's stonewalling congressional investigations and claiming that there was nothing that could have given them a clue. That's lying just as much as when Clinton said he "didn't have sex with that women". Except, of course, the difference is in a few thousand dead people...

Whew. That was long, wasn't it?

Nobody said that they weren't trying to prevent terrorisim. They've said that terrorist attacks are inevitable. Which of course is true. A simple look back through history will provide hundereds of examples of assasination and terrorisim throughout the world. We're a Nation. That means that people will attempt to use violence and terror to achieve a political goal.The reason that "inevetability" statements are made is to shock congress into the fiscal action necessisary to properly maintain the agencies that fight terror activities. Rule One: Don't panic. Rule Two: Katie Couric is not a Journalist, and therefor not a reliable source of information or opinion.(same goes for the chubby dike that blamed the NRA for the Columbine shootings)
The Clinton administration is most responsible for or lack of anti-terror preparation. His gov. managed to create an illusory "surplus" by pushing through NAFTA and slashing spending for intelegence agencys. He also mannaged to place such restrictive "handeling " policies on who we could use, as to make the CIA almost entirely worthless. (Not to mention taking money from China to allow them more favorable trade status)The impeachment was never about an affair. Everybody knows presidents have affairs Jefferson Cleveland FDR JFK ect. It was about Using the office of the President to influence others on behalf of an individual in return for sex. It was about lying under oath. The President of the United States Cannot be allow to lie under oath. It completely undermines the entire judicial system and can only serve to inspire further corruption. I could forgive an affair, But not a lie. Clinton was a stupid short sighted man, and an even worse president. It remains to be seen what further dammage his administrations policies will inflict on our nation. I can only hope that people will no longer allow themselves to be pulled in by slick political double talk and the promise of market prosperity. That false sence of security is what got us to where we are today. Anyway, at least we didn't have to count on Gore to try to carry out big stick diplomacy with a mostly hostile world.