When a trajedy like this happens I don't think we are Conservative, Liberal or Independent, instead I think we are all Americans just as on 9/11 we were all New Yorkers. This is the cards we are dealt, whether we like it or not. For those who hate Bush and all that he has done- what do you think it'd be like if Gore had won the Election w/ Lieberman as VP? It would not have changed the Islamic Fanatics goals one bit. These ppl are just looking for an excuse to justify their hatred.
I fully agree w/Dogs, AR, etc. in the sense that where are the Arab Leaders speaking out against these atrocities? We are our own worst enemy as we try to win a war against ppl who follow their own rules such as killing women & children, not just the men of what they consider to be the Infidels. Trying to reason w/fanatics will never work as long as we fight on our terms, not theirs. Most ppl think that we can't win the war on 'Islamic terror' by destroying al-Qaeda, but by eradicating the mindset which causes the terrorist to exist in the first place. OK- So we have humiliated innocent Arab men by implied photos & actions and they execute Westerners on tape. Where the f*ck do we start?
And , we don't even know who, what or where Al-Qaeda is anymore as evidenced by UBL still on the loose. We see 'Islamic Terrorists', and we lump every single one of them under the banner of 'Al-Qaeda' while they unite by lumping in all non-believers as the enemy or 'The Great Satan.'
We have a diverse and free society, but events like these make me question the Hollywood types, (Michael Moore, etc.), who show such contempt for our way of life, but it seems like they hardly ever speak out against the 'Terroist Perpetrators' during these times. As for me I'll stick w/vigilance and a strong Military.
As I said, we are our own worst enemy.
Constituent Relations
DANIEL L. DOW of Fremont, California was upset with his Congressman, Pete Stark. So he sent him a fax:
I am appalled that you voted against today's House Resolution 627, Roll Number 150. This measure would have shown publicly that you condemn the abuse of the prisoners in Iraq while simultaneously commend the service of the fine men and women who are serving in Iraq that bring honor to the uniform that they wear and to the Nation that they serve...
Much to Dow's surprise, Congressman Stark called back a few hours later, and left a message on his machine:
Dan, this is Congressman Pete Stark, and I just got your fax. And you don?t know what you?re talking about. So if you care about enlisted people, you wouldn?t have voted for that thing either.
But, probably someone put you up to this, and I?m not sure who it was, but I doubt if you could spell half the words in your letter, and somebody wrote it for you. So I don?t pay much attention to it.
But I?ll call you back later, and let you tell me more about why you think you?re such a great God-damned hero. And why you think that this general and the Defense Department who forced these poor enlisted guys to do what they did, shouldn?t be held to account. That?s the issue.
So if you want to stick it to a bunch of enlisted guys, have your way. But if you want to get to the bottom of the people who FORCED this AWFUL program in Iraq, then you should understand more about it than you obviously do.
Dow, who is himself a Staff Sergeant in the US Army, sent the recording to San Francisco talk radio station KSFO, who have been playing it on the air. Over, and over, and over again.
Good luck in the upcoming election, Congressman.
