Is the War on Terror Good for the USA?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Oct 18 2006, 10:48 AM) [snapback]334472[/snapback]</div>

What's a "War on Terror"?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Oct 18 2006, 11:48 AM) [snapback]334472[/snapback]</div>

*Cough* *Cough* excuse me *Cough* *Hack*
*Cough*

Technically, you're right - not ONE person thought it was a burden - SEVERAL people did.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Oct 18 2006, 03:39 PM) [snapback]334666[/snapback]</div>

It's like the War On Poverty and the War On Drugs. Since those previous battles against abstract nouns were so successful, we decided to take on an even MORE abstract one!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Oct 18 2006, 11:48 AM) [snapback]334472[/snapback]</div>

I think your level of sarcasm is way too advanced for me. The $300 billion down the tubes so far could have been spent in much much better ways. I'm sure at least 2,782 people would probably agree. I'm also having trouble seeing any "goodness" of the war on terror. I don't know that we've eliminated the causes of terrorism, or that we are not creating more "terrorists" by being in Iraq.

 

"Since not one person thought the Iraq War was a burden on the finances of the American economy, I am going to the next question located above."

Love the sophistry - did you major in rhetoric? Have you considered a career with Fox news or maybe as a White House spokesman? I especially like your subtle alteration of terms. Are you, by any chance employed by a branch of the US government - NSA, CIA, etc?

 

a "war on terror" is about as good as a war on fungus.

it's an underground network, you can't see it, and every time you take down a figurehead (er, fruiting body) there's another one waiting to sprout up and take its place. lots of work, but where are we going? sometimes this is good, ie walking on a treadmill for exercise. in this case, not so good.

and another thought: since the war on drugs was supposed to undercut the terrorists by cutting into their drug money funding... shouldn't we have a war on oil?

 

We are in a war on oil, and one weapon is the hybrid car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Oct 18 2006, 04:28 PM) [snapback]334701[/snapback]</div>

By regulating the access to psuedophedrine, haven't we outsourced our local industry to terrorists?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Oct 18 2006, 03:17 PM) [snapback]334692[/snapback]</div>

You've got to get used to dbermanmd's thought process. First think of something you want to be true. Then state it as fact. Then ignore any evidence to the contrary, and threaten people who prove you wrong with legal action for impugning your reputation.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ Oct 18 2006, 04:30 PM) [snapback]334703[/snapback]</div>

i'm not going to go far into this... but considering the nation's gratuitous use of petroleum based products with minimal efforts to reduce consumption or move to alternative energy sources... we are not in a war on oil.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Oct 18 2006, 04:42 PM) [snapback]334714[/snapback]</div>

We=prius owners.

 

ok, agreed

 

I keep wondering when we'll wake up from this Orwellian nightmare. You've been robbed, beaten, and betrayed by your own government. What was once mere arrogance has degenerated into paranoia and bullying. I'm sorry to say this, and I don't mean it personally, but it's now 'Truth, Justice, OR the American way.'

 

As a Nation, absolute power has corrupted us absolutely.

Fortunately, the good news is that we *do* have it within our power to affect change...but it will involve making some unpopular and difficult decisions.

Thing is, we're unwilling to do that; instead, our 'way of life' has somehow become inviolate and associated with values that we hold to be 'American.'

And so it remains okay for 'Patriots' to waste natural resources...because that's what we've always done, right...?

I've always wondered how our oil got under their sand.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ShellyT @ Oct 18 2006, 04:34 PM) [snapback]334709[/snapback]</div>

When drugs are outlawed, only outlaws will have drugs.

 

"War on Terror" is rhetoric. and I think we've misspent a lot of money on that. Maybe characterizing it as a "Defense Against Terrorism" might somehow make a difference in what we're doing and put the focus where it belongs.

Personally, I don't think we were justified in the invasion of Iraq, and it seems that many people now agree with me in hindsight. But it seemed to me that the events of 9/11/2001 brought us to the "War on Terror", and I remember G. W. Bush saying on national television as early as 9/12/2001 that we MUST do something to stop Sadam Hussein. Don't get me wrong - I've never considered Sadam Hussein a 'good guy'. But it seemed like a huge jump to use the events of 9/11/2001 as a reason to 'go get Saddam' when we obviously needed to 'go get Osama'. As a nation, we paid more attention to Sadam Hussein than to Osama Bin Laden and went into a war with Iraq without sufficient resources and planning because it was a priority in this "War on Terror", and didn't do enough about the people who plotted the 9/11 attacks.

Time to get off my soapbox!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Oct 18 2006, 02:39 PM) [snapback]334666[/snapback]</div>

Actually that isn't a bad question. We all assume that we know what terrorism is and where it came from. But most people do not really know for sure. A friend of mine shared with me a program produced and broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC but never given the rights to air in the USA. (go figure) It is a three part tv program which, after you see it, will go to show why the concept of terrorism even exists. I will give the link to these programs below but for those of you who do not have broadband Internet service here is the first minute from the transcript of the program. It nails and summarizes the whole issue:

Transcript:

"In the past, politicians promised to create a better world. They had different ways of achieving this. But their power and authority came from the optimistic visions they offered to their people. Those dreams failed. And today, people have lost faith in ideologies. Increasingly, politicians are seen simply as managers of public life. But now, they have discovered a new role that restores their power and authority. Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us from nightmares. They say that they will rescue us from dreadful dangers that we cannot see and do not understand. And the greatest danger of all is international terrorism. A powerful and sinister network, with sleeper cells in countries across the world. A threat that needs to be fought by a war on terror. But much of this threat is a fantasy, which has been exaggerated and distorted by politicians. It’s a dark illusion that has spread unquestioned through governments around the world, the security services, and the international media.

This is a series of films about how and why that fantasy was created, and who it benefits. At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neoconservatives, and the radical Islamists. Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. And both had a very similar explanation for what caused that failure. These two groups have changed the world, but not in the way that either intended. Together, they created today’s nightmare vision of a secret, organized evil that threatens the world. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. And those with the darkest fears became the most powerful."

======

With those with broadband service here are the links to all three episodes. It can be dry material at times but it is the most informative stuff on the subject of where the heck terrorism came from.

Here is the link:

The Power of Nightmares

I hope you get a chance to see this before the elections. I felt much more informed. And no, I have no ties with the production of this film.

 

Watching it now. Thanks Three60guy!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Oct 18 2006, 05:02 PM) [snapback]334726[/snapback]</div>

I keep wondering why otherwise intelligent people continue to spar with the unending, inane posts from this guy.

You have chosen to ignore all posts from: dbermanmd.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rudiger @ Oct 18 2006, 05:54 PM) [snapback]334800[/snapback]</div>

Good point but I feel that somebody needs to fact check this guy, otherwise some people who just aren't informed may believe his absurd claims. He lost his credibility with me a long time ago!