Kerry's Latest Comments

[Sakai]

See Rule #4

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by lasersailor184
I don't read much Ann Coulter, but she did have one good point that always is brought up by Liberals.

McCarthyism.

Liberals have failed to produce one person who was falsely accused of being a Communist.



They have just gone to say that McCarthyism was a whacked out which hunt.

Show me exactly where in our laws or even the constitution that states being a communist is illegal?

[Sakai]

Originally posted by john9001
so, you studied revisionist socialist history in college, that explains your attitude toward America.

Some right wing folks will never learn anything because you don't seem to accept the possibility that when the world and all of history says you're wrong, that might be accurate.

There is no review of Ann Coulter that accepts what she has written as anything but inaccurate and revisionist (including arch-right wing man David Horowitz, I might point out), therefore challenging such dialogue is actually a-revisionist, correct?

Any understanding of history readily indicates that nationalism and patriotism are two separate things and those who don't bother to educate themselves as to that fact are doomed to be washed away in the falsehoods of tyrants.

That's what America stands for, not blind and unthinking rhetoric and demagoguery as evidenced by the likes of AC.

Sakai

[Sakai]

Originally posted by lazs2
I think it is important to note that...

Allmost every one of the liberals on this board that are crying big crocadile tears for the "troops" and wanting to bring them home.... would consider the troops themselves (if they met them) to be moronic rednecks fit only to be the butt of their jokes by some sissy liberal comedian...  

The "troops" would not be the kind of people that the bleeding hearts here would hang out with in any case....

simply more liberal "we love humanity but hate people" bs.

lazs

This is inaccurate in my case:

My nephew is a marine mechanic pressed into service as a chopper Door Gunner (and a fine one I'd add) and perhaps I simply want him to live now that he's served two tours.

I'd say what you wrote was offensive in the extreme and not really worthy of thoughtful dialogue.

Why would you wish to suppose such things for others?

This is an extremely offensive and spurious accusation on your part,

Sakai

[Dago]

Originally posted by Stringer
He goes on to say "Mission Accomplished", when we are far from it.

If Bush said "mission accomplished", I missed it.

I did hear him say "major combat operations are over", and they were and are.  The major combat operations were against the Iraqi Army and Republican Guard, and lets face it, we whipped their butts.

When did he say "mission accomplished"?  I really missed it and would like to read about it and find out exactly what he was talking about.  Do me a favor and post a link to that speech if you can.  Thanks

[storch]

stringer your logic on this issue seems flawed to me. the attitudes/values championed by the liberals such as MT may effectively cause us to collectively lose the will to fight this tough fight just as what occurred in vietnam.  notice that the outcome of the vietnam debacle is we now have 3/4 of southeast asia firmly in the communist fold, confirming the much maligned "domino effect" theory has become fiat.  unless china modifies it's communism then that monster can once again rear it's repressive head. if we do not continue to press those that would harm our people on their territory then the front lines will once again be here.  this conflict began in yemen and in kenya.  clinton allowed them to hit us at the tip of manhattan, the current president pushed it to the other side of world once again.  do you guys not understand that we need to fight these guys on their turf?  weigh the alternatives.  there is no appeasing these guys, there is no negotiating with them.  they hate us because we are.  they will not stop until we make them stop.  if you guys don't understand this fundamental truth you are deluded.  if you guys regain national power then we are doomed.

[storch]

Originally posted by Sakai
This is inaccurate in my case:

My nephew is a marine mechanic pressed into service as a chopper Door Gunner (and a fine one I'd add) and perhaps I simply want him to live now that he's served two tours.

I'd say what you wrote was offensive in the extreme and not really worthy of thoughtful dialogue.

Why would you wish to suppose such things for others?

This is an extremely offensive and spurious accusation on your part,

Sakai

really?  speaking in generalities it seems to me that lazs has hit the nail on the head.  aside from your kin, how do you feel about the others currently in service?

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by Dago
If Bush said "mission accomplished", I missed it.

 Thanks

[

[Stringer]

Dago,
I'll give you a hint....he arrived wearing a flight suit standing on a carrier with a BIG sign that stated "Mission Accomplished".

Not being a smartass, but how could you have missed that staged press op?

EDIT***...doh, MT posted the pic as I was posting.

[midnight Target]

Originally posted by storch
notice that the outcome of the vietnam debacle is we now have 3/4 of southeast asia firmly in the communist fold, confirming the much maligned "domino effect" theory has become fiat.  

Communist countries in Southeast Asia

1. Viet Nam
2. Laos

Took a while for both dominos to fall huh?

lol

[Stringer]

Originally posted by storch
stringer your logic on this issue seems flawed to me. the attitudes/values championed by the liberals such as MT may effectively cause us to collectively lose the will to fight this tough fight just as what occurred in vietnam.  notice that the outcome of the vietnam debacle is we now have 3/4 of southeast asia firmly in the communist fold, confirming the much maligned "domino effect" theory has become fiat.  unless china modifies it's communism then that monster can once again rear it's repressive head. if we do not continue to press those that would harm our people on their territory then the front lines will once again be here.  this conflict began in yemen and in kenya.  clinton allowed them to hit us at the tip of manhattan, the current president pushed it to the other side of world once again.  do you guys not understand that we need to fight these guys on their turf?  weigh the alternatives.  there is no appeasing these guys, there is no negotiating with them.  they hate us because we are.  they will not stop until we make them stop.  if you guys don't understand this fundamental truth you are deluded.  if you guys regain national power then we are doomed.

Your logic is definately flawed....I'm not a liberal or even a registered Democrat.

The Clinton reference, while not original, is persistent.  Funny thing, I voted for Bush Sr. in '92 and Dole in "96.

I am, however, able to sift through the bull**** to think for myself.

[Dago]

Again, didnt Bush say "Major Combat Operations are over" in regards to Iraq?

Who put the sign up, Bush or the Aircraft Carrier personnel?  And when you get down to it, wasnt the carriers mission accomplished?  Could that be what the sign is saying and who it is saying it to?  They were given a mission, and they accomplished it, as did all our armed forces, because after all, wasn't the mission of defeating the Iraqi armed forces accomplished?  I think it was.  Their army ceased to exist as a fighting unit, same could be said for any Navy or Air Force they had.  Saddams regime has been removed, are now on trial, and a new democratic government has been elected.  That mission is accomplished.  

I do not remember Bush yet saying that terrorism has been defeated, that all insurgents and terrorists had been eliminated.

Maybe this line of thought doesnt fit in with the "Bush bad, Bush bad" mentality of those who cant think beyond their own obsession, but thankfully many can and do have the ability to form independant thought and conclusions.

dago

[Dago]

Originally posted by Stringer

He goes on to say "Mission Accomplished", when we are far from it.

 

Decided to review what he said, wanted to be fair and accurate, so I found the transcript on the aircraft carrier, here it is, still dont see the "mission accomplished" that Stringer says Bush said.  I do see where he says "the mission continues".

Thursday, May 1, 2003 Posted: 9:48 PM EDT (0148 GMT)
   

President Bush on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln


ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CNN) -- The following is an unedited transcript of President Bush's historic speech from the flight deck of the USS Lincoln, during which he declared an end to major combat in Iraq:

Thank you. Thank you all very much.

Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.

And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country.

In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty and for the peace of the world. Our nation and our coalition are proud of this accomplishment, yet it is you, the members of the United States military, who achieved it. Your courage, your willingness to face danger for your country and for each other made this day possible.

Because of you our nation is more secure. Because of you the tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free.

Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision and speed and boldness the enemy did not expect and the world had not seen before.

From distant bases or ships at sea, we sent planes and missiles that could destroy an enemy division or strike a single bunker. Marines and soldiers charged to Baghdad across 350 miles of hostile ground in one of the swiftest advances of heavy arms in history.

You have shown the world the skill and the might of the American armed forces.

This nation thanks all of the members of our coalition who joined in a noble cause. We thank the armed forces of the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland who shared in the hardships of war. We thank all of the citizens of Iraq who welcomed our troops and joined in the liberation of their own country.

And tonight, I have a special word for Secretary Rumsfeld, for General Franks and for all the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is grateful for a job well done.

The character of our military through history, the daring of Normandy, the fierce courage of Iwo Jima, the decency and idealism that turned enemies into allies is fully present in this generation.

When Iraqi civilians looked into the faces of our service men and women, they saw strength and kindness and good will. When I look at the members of the United States military, I see the best of our country and I am honored to be your commander in chief.

In the images of fallen statues we have witnessed the arrival of a new era. For a hundred of years of war, culminating in the nuclear age, military technology was designed and deployed to inflict casualties on an ever-growing scale.

In defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Allied forces destroyed entire cities, while enemy leaders who started the conflict were safe until the final days. Military power was used to end a regime by breaking a nation.

Today we have the greater power to free a nation by breaking a dangerous and aggressive regime.

With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve military objectives without directing violence against civilians.

No device of man can remove the tragedy from war, yet it is a great advance when the guilty have far more to fear from war than the innocent.

In the images of celebrating Iraqis we have also seen the ageless appeal of human freedom. Decades of lies and intimidation could not make the Iraqi people love their oppressors or desire their own enslavement.

Men and women in every culture need liberty like they need food and water and air. Everywhere that freedom arrives, humanity rejoices and everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.

We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We're pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime who will be held to account for their crimes. We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons, and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated.

We are helping to rebuild Iraq where the dictator built palaces for himself instead of hospitals and schools.

And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by and for the Iraqi people.

The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done and then we will leave and we will leave behind a free Iraq.

The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001 and still goes on.

That terrible morning, 19 evil men, the shock troops of a hateful ideology, gave America and the civilized world a glimpse of their ambitions. They imagined, in the words of one terrorist, that September the 11th would be the beginning of the end of America.

By seeking to turn our cities into killing fields, terrorists and their allies believed that they could destroy this nation's resolve and force our retreat from the world.

They have failed.

In the battle of Afghanistan, we destroyed the Taliban, many terrorists and the camps where they trained. We continue to help the Afghan people lay roads, restore hospitals and educate all of their children.

Yet we also have dangerous work to complete. As I speak, a special operations task force lead by the 82nd Airborne is on the trail of the terrorists and those who seek to undermine the free government of Afghanistan.

America and our coalition will finish what we have begun.

From Pakistan to the Philippines to the Horn of Africa, we are hunting down Al Qaida killers.

Nineteen months ago I pledged that the terrorists would not escape the patient justice of the United States. And as of tonight nearly one half of Al Qaida's senior operatives have been captured or killed.

The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We have removed an ally of Al Qaida and cut off a source of terrorist funding.

And this much is certain: No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime, because the regime is no more.

In these 19 months that changed the world, our actions have been focused and deliberate and proportionate to the offense. We have not forgotten the victims of September the 11th, the last phone calls, the cold murder of children, the searches in the rubble. With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States, and war is what they got.

Our war against terror is proceeding according to the principles that I have made clear to all.

Any person involved in committing or planning terrorist attacks against the American people becomes an enemy of this country and a target of American justice.

Any person, organization or government that supports, protects or harbors terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent and equally guilty of terrorist crimes. Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilized world and will be confronted.

And anyone in the world, including the Arab world, who works and sacrifices for freedom has a loyal friend in the United States of America.

Our commitment to liberty is America's tradition, declared at our founding, affirmed in Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms, asserted in the Truman Doctrine and in Ronald Reagan's challenge to an evil empire.

We are committed to freedom in Afghanistan, Iraq and in a peaceful Palestine.

The advance of freedom is the surest strategy to undermine the appeal of terror in the world. Where freedom takes hold, hatred gives way to hope.

When freedom takes hold, men and women turn to the peaceful pursuit of a better life.

American values and American interests lead in the same direction. We stand for human liberty.

The United States upholds these principles of security and freedom in many ways: with all of the tools of diplomacy, law enforcement, intelligence and finance.

We are working with a broad coalition of nations that understand the threat and our shared responsibility to meet it.

The use of force has been and remains our last resort. Yet all can know, friend and foe alike, that our nation has a mission: We will answer threats to our security, and we will defend the peace.

Our mission continues. Al Qaida is wounded, not destroyed. The scattered cells of the terrorist network still operate in many nations and we know from daily intelligence that they continue to plot against free people. The proliferation of deadly weapons remains a serious danger.

[Dago]

The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. Our government has taken unprecedented measures to defend the homeland and we will continue to hunt down the enemy before he can strike.

The war on terror is not over, yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide.

No act of the terrorists will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter their fate. Their cause is lost; free nations will press on to victory.

Other nations in history have fought in foreign lands and remained to occupy and exploit. Americans, following a battle, want nothing more than to return home. And that is your direction tonight.

After service in the Afghan and Iraqi theaters of war, after 100,000 miles on the longest carrier deployment in recent history, you are homeward bound.

Some of you will see new family members for the first time; 150 babies were born while their fathers were on the Lincoln. Your families are proud of you, and your nation will welcome you.

We are mindful as well that some good men and women are not making the journey home. One of those who fell, Corporal Jason Mileo, spoke to his parents five days before his death. Jason's father said, "He called us from the center of Baghdad, not to brag but to tell us he loved us. Our son was a soldier."

Every name, every life is a loss to our military, to our nation and to the loved ones who grieve. There is no homecoming for these families. Yet we pray in God's time their reunion will come.

Those we lost were last seen on duty.

Their final act on this Earth was to fight a great evil and bring liberty to others.

All of you, all in this generation of our military, have taken up the highest calling of history: You were defending your country and protecting the innocent from harm.

And wherever you go, you carry a message of hope, a message that is ancient and ever new. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "To the captives, come out; and to those in darkness, be free."

Thank you for serving our country and our cause.

May God bless you all. And may God continue to bless America. [/quote]

You can find the transcript at Transcript

[Dago]

Originally posted by Stringer
Dago,
I'll give you a hint....he arrived wearing a flight suit standing on a carrier with a BIG sign that stated "Mission Accomplished".

Not being a smartass, but how could you have missed that staged press op?

EDIT***...doh, MT posted the pic as I was posting.

Why not be a smartass, your already wrong.

BTW, my son was part of that 82nd Airborne hunting down Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan Bush mentioned when this took place.  I am proud of him.