Originally posted by: manowar821
No, no , NO. People pushing an agenda claim that "prior to 9/11, no one did much to combat terrorism." That is a complete lie. You may not simply claim that. This is exactly how people start believing BS stories and reasons for BS wars, and BS administrations.
The current Islamic terrorists threat to Western civilization essentially began during the 1970's - for all intents and purposes - when groups in Egypt and elsewhere began to lash out against their leadership and also the Western world. Please explain to me what Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr, or Clinton did,
that was significant, to combat this modern Islamic terrorism.
Secondly, yeah, I remember the WMD thing. I also remember not finding any, and how they changed their story a few times, as to why we ever entered Iraq in the first place.
I do not recall them "changing their story" - or at least I don't see it that way - rather, I do recall the mission being changed and adapted, according to the realities and truths on the ground, once they realized that there might not be any WMD's. Once Baghdad and Saddam were captured, the entire mission in Iraq
had to change. It was the initial attempts at adapting to the new mission that I take issue with myself. I also believe that much of it could have been foreseen, and I'm angry that there were not better plans drawn up, ahead of time, to mitigate the new threats and accomplish the new missions. Those new missions were pretty straight-forward, but exponentially difficult to implement - establishing security, rebuilding infrastructure, implementing democracy, establishing strong regional ties, etc. I too am angry that so little thought was given to each of those prior to the initial invasion.
However, unlike you and others, I am optimistic and confident in the American spirit to overcome the difficulties, adapt to each new situation, and eventually succeed in each of those new missions. The progress being made by Patreus and the surge are a good indication that I may be correct in my optimism. I just hope that we - those of us actually working the issues - are given enough time and resources to see things through.
They're full of it. Why is that so hard to believe? Or perhaps you're fully aware of that, and you are pushing an agenda, too?
I'm not pushing any agenda myself. I'm only explaining my perceptions of each issue - which are obviously different than yours.