Now
Available!
Dime's
Worth of Difference:
Beyond the
Lesser of Two Evils
Order Here!
Today's
Stories
September 30,
2004
Ali Khan
Dershowitz's
Jihad: Inventing Exceptions to International Law
September 29,
2004
Behrooz Ghamari
Playing
Politics with Nukes: A Collision Course with Iran?
Ray McGovern
More
Troops to Iraq...After the Election
Walter Brasch
Tinseltown
Traitors?: Applauding Only the Right Entertainers
Chris Floyd
The
Deceivers: Chronicle of a Quagmire Foretold
Stacey Reynolds
The Story of a Mercury-Poisoned American
M. Junaid Alam
Disrupting America's Fateful Non-Debate on the Roots of Terrorism
John L. Hess
They've Already Called It
Paul Craig
Roberts
Delusion
Rules: War, Outsourcing an Debt
September 28, 2004
Mike Whitney
Kerry's
Moral Compass
Fred Gardner
Pot
Shots: the Civics Teacher
Dan Meek
How Democrats Kicked Nader Off the Oregon Ballot
Greg Bates
Choking on Progressives for Kerry
Alan Farago
Jeanne in Haiti: Where is the World?
Lori Berenson
The Cajamarca Protest
Wayne Madsen
Where
is the Florida National Guard?
Robert Fisk
Why Have We Suddenly Forgotten Abu Ghraib?
Sex,
Drugs & the Blues!
Serpents in the Garden
CounterPunch's
Sizzling New Book on Culture and Sex is Now Available
Click here to purchase
September 27,
2004
Gary Leupp
The
Expulsion of Cat Stevens
Patrick Cockburn
As British Muslims Plead for Bigley's Life, US Airstrikes Pound
Fallujah
Sam Husseini
The Problem with Public Opinion Polls
Lee Sustar
Putting Bosses First: Latter Day Democrats and Labor
Dave Lindorff
A Progressive Case for (Gag) Kerry?
Norman Madarasz
Talking International: Contra Kerry
Kevin Pina
The Tragedy of Gonaives, Haiti
September 25
/ 26, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
C'mon
Ralph, You've Got Nothing to Lose
Dave Zirin
The Courage of the NBA's Etan Thomas:
"I Am Totally Against This War"
Saul Landau
The Reality of Empire and Campaign Rhetoric
Dave Lindorff
Our Heroic Baby-Killers
Brian J. Foley
Bush at the UN: the Sound of No Hands Clapping
William Blum
Progressives and the Election
Alan Maass
Why is Kerry Running Such a Lame Campaign? You Can't Blame It
All on Bob Shrum
Lucson Pierre-Charles
Haiti: Another Lost Story
Solange Echeverria
An Interview with Kevin Pina on the Floods in Haiti
Nicole Colson
What About the Supreme Court?
Justin Smith
The New Sparta
Joshua Frank
Iraq: From Clinton to Bush
Karyn Strickler
Momma, Don't Let Your Babides Grow Up to be Cannon Fodder
Michael Donnelly
Rather Disingenuous: "Remember in November"
Greg Bates
The Politics of Nader's Republican Support
Todd Chretien
Lesser Evilism: We Are Living in the Logical Conclusion
William Loren
Katz
Dire Warnings from the Past: From Wilson to Bush
Omar Barghouti
Americans, You've Lost Your Alibi!
Poets' Basement
Holt, Clarke, Albert, Laymon and Ford
Website of the Weekend
Carnival of Chaos
September 24,
2004
Dr. Teresa
Whitehurst
The
Value of One Life: Keeping Up Appearances and Leaving Hostages
to the Wolves
William S.
Lind
Destroying
the National Guard
Mike Whitney
The Bush Tent Show
Nancy Welch
What's
at Stake for Women in 2004?
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Logical Limbo
Joshua Frank
Fear Mongering 101
Victor Kattan
An Interview with Afif Safieh
Ben Terrall
Kerry and Haiti: Will He Stand Up?
Kathleen and
Bill Christison
"Finally
It Broke My Heart": Random Impressions from Palestine
September 23,
2004
Patrick Cockburn
Why
Are They Still Holding "Mrs. Anthrax?"
Christopher Brauchli
Ashcroft's "Distressing Lack of Care": Hamdi and the
Phony War on Terrorism
Derek Seidman
Fighting for a Union at Starbucks: an Interview with Daniel Gross
Michael Neumann
Three
Years and Counting? How Time Flies
September 22,
2004
Patrick Cockburn
Zarqawi's
War: the Mysterious Sadist from Jordan
Neve Gordon
The
Wall, the Court and Sharon
Joshua Frank
History Repeating: New York, 1832 and Now
Ron Jacobs
Stormy Seas on the Citizen Ship
Jack Random
Defending Dan? Rather Not
Tarif Abboushi
Kerry's Final Straw: Confessions of a Despairing Voter
Mickey Z
Stupid White Guy Quiz
John L. Hess
Faking the Difference: a Serious Debate?
Jeffrey St.
Clair
High
Plains Grifter: The House Rules
September 21,
2004
Gary Leupp
"We
Are Not Secure": Kerry's "Unwavering Commitment"
to Securing a Middle East Realm
Robert Jensen
Large
Dams in India: Temples or Burial Grounds?
Elaine Cassel
Fourth Circuit to Moussouai: Ask Your Questions; Prepare to Die
Stanley Heller
Reagan and the Killing Fields of Lebanon
Adam Federman
America Will Disappoint the World, Again
David Whitehouse
What's Behind the Horror in Darfur?
M. Junaid Alam
How to Avoid Becoming an Anti-American
Paul Craig
Roberts
Attention
Deficit America
Website of the Day
True American War Heroes: the Iraq Refuseniks
September 20,
2004
Cockburn /
Buncombe
Get
Fallujah
David Price
Relying
on Phonies: What If The Problem with Phone Polls is That They
Are Phone Polls
Dave Lindorff
How
Dems Fight: Tigers Against Nader, Pussycats Against Bush
Harry Browne
Pre-Nup at Leeds: Talked Out, But Does IRA Give Up?
Mark Wesibrot
Bush's
Ownership Society: No Taxes for Owners, Only Workers
Karyn Strickler
The Keys to the White House v. the Shrum Curse?
Uri Avnery
The Temple Mount Bombers
September 18
/ 19, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Forgeries,
Fingerprints and Forensic Fakery
Jeffrey St. Clair
High Plains Grifter: Bush's Mask of Anarchy
Patrick Cockburn
Into the Abyss: the Week Iraq's Dream of Peace Fell Apart
Fred Gardner
Pot Shots: Financial Torture (Asset Forfeiture)
Joe Allen
The Comrades Kerry Abandoned: the Real Story of Vietnam Vets
Against the War
George Corsetti
Poletown Revisited: Finally, Some Vindication
Scott Handleman
The Knock-Knock of a Sledgehammer: Sequestered in Nablus
Richard Ward
Two Weeks in Beit Arabiya
Conn Hallinan
Ashcroft and Indonesia
Lori Smith
Health Care in America: And Then I Got Sick...
Dave Zirin
Hold the Booyah!: SportsCenter Out of the Middle East
John L. Hess
Rather Will Take the Heat, As Bush's War Deteriorates
Brian J. Foley
W is for Wimp: So Why do Manly Men Love Him?
Mickey Z.
Pat Tillman and Osama bin Laden: Odd Juxtapositions
Poets' Basement
Vest, Landau & Albert
Website of the Weekend
Eye on the NYTs
Septemeber
17, 2004
Ray McGovern
Gossing
Over the Record
Patrick Cockburn
The New Iraqi Economy: Baghdad's Thriving Kidnapping Industry
Lee Sustar
The State of Working America: an Autopsy of the American Dream
Mike Whitney
John Kerry: 195 Lbs. of Political Helium, Not an Ounce of Sincerity
Victor Kattan
Black September
Ray Hanania
Israel's Demographics
Greg Bates
Nader's Victories: a Mid-Campaign Assessment
Website of
the Day
The Road to Hell
September 16,
2004
Landau / Hassen
Meet
the New Villain: Syria
Joanne Mariner
Inside
Darfur: a Photo Essay
Patrick Cockburn
US
Offers Conflicting Accounts of Baghdad Bloodbath
Greg Moses
Four Million Children Might Be News
Joshua Frank
Nader in the Battleground States
Christopher Brauchli
The Bush Drug Lottery Flops
David Himmelstein
Folke Bernadotte: a Rosh Hashonah Remembrance
Website of the Day
The Abu Ghraib Index
September 15,
2004
Patrick Cockburn
Hell
on Haifa Street
Ron Jacobs
Oppose War, Not Just Bush
David Lindorff
Blanking Out Dissent
Joanne Mariner
Talking About Darfur: Is Genocide Just a Word?
Angela Godfrey-Goldstein
An Open Letter to Madonna: Please Don't Support Israeli Apartheid
Dave Zirin
Is the NFL Ready for Us?
Yigal Bronner
"They
Are Building Walls Around Us"
September 14,
2004
Gary Leupp
The
Problem of Chechnya
Jennifer van
Bergen
What's
Wrong with Torture?
Stan Goff
Wake Up and Smell the Jungle Rot
Patrick Cockburn
The
Punishment of Fallujah: US Precision Strickes...on Ambulances
Anis Memon
Nader
in Michigan
Michael Donnelly
The Nuance Comes Off: Former Naderites Beg for Kerry Votes
Werther
Zell Miller: the Peckerwood Pericles
Website of
the Day
Osama Bin Forgotten?
September 13,
2004
Gabriel Kolko
Elections,
Alliances and the American Empire
Phillip Cryan
How Do You Say "Death Squad?": Language in Colombia's
War
Patrick Cockburn
One of Baghdad's Bloodiest Days: "I'm a Journalist! I'm
Dying! I'm Dying"
Noah Leavitt
The War on Civil Liberties
Robert Jensen
Highjacking Catastrophe: Bush, the Neo-Cons and 9/11
Mike Whitney
Alan Greenspan: Fed-Master to the Wealthy
John Chuckman
Stop Talking About the "Election"
Mike Burke
Kerry/Edwards Website Censors Discussion of Israel/Palestine
Issues
CounterPunch
Wire
The Quotations of David Cobb: "I Don't Care How Many Votes
I Get"
Website of the Day
Keep It In Your Pants: the Bush Plan to Combat Teen Promiscuity
September 11
/ 12, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Swatting
at Flies
Fred Gardner
Yet Another Prozac Scandal
Saul Landau
When Our Assassins Go Free
Jennifer Van Bergen
How to Beat Bush: a Simple Strategy for the Average American
Roger Burbach
/ Jim Tarbell
The Real Dead Enders: Iraq and the Crisis of Empire
Christopher Reed
9/11 in an Historical Context: a Minor Event When Compared to
Worldwide War Casualties
Francisc Catalin
An ABC of American Interventions
Carl Estabrook
Big Science and Government Terror
Bernard Chazelle
Anti-Americanism: a Clinical Study
Sharon Smith
Third Party Blues
Dave Lindorff
Perhaps This Time We're the Silent Majority
Mike Whitney
Fallujah: an Iraqi Beslan?
Frederick B.
Hudson
Their Sons Perished in the Flames, But Not Their Faith
Mickey Z.
Round Up the Usual Suspects: a Look Back at 9/11
Ron Jacobs
Redneck Music for the New Century
Greg Moses
Soap Opera Moments in Texas School Funding Trial
Benjamin Dangl
/ Andrew Kennis
An Interview with Leslie Cagan
Poets Basement
Del Papa, Albert, Gelman
September 10,
2004
Patrick Cockburn
Disappointment
at Samarrah?
Michael Donnelly
Democrats v. Democracy
Alan Farago
Mosquitoes in a Hurricane
Doug Giebel
Karl Rove's Terror Playbook
Mike Whitney
Bob Graham's Political Tsunami
David Domke
God's
Will, According to the Bush Administration
September 9,
2004
Joe Bageant
Karaoke
Night in Bush's America
Ed Kinane
Abducted in Baghdad
Peter Bohmer
The Cuban Revolution: Present and Future
Todd May
The Emerging Case for a Single-State Solution
Jeremy Scahill
The New York Model: Indymedia and the Text Message Jihad
Joshua Frank
Green House Party Gasses
Fran Shor
The Crisis in Public Dissent: When Protest is Considered a Terrorist
Act
Patrick Cockburn
Welcome
to the Dirtiest City in the World: Despair in Baghdad
Website of
the Day
Liberty Street Protest: No to War at Ground Zero
September 8,
2004
Patrick Cockburn
This
Doesn't Smell Like Victory: A War on Two Fronts in Iraq
Dave Lindorff
Bush Confuses; Kerry Mute: Spinning 1000 Dead
Bulent Gokay
Russian and Chechnia After Beslan
Lisa Viscidi
Land Reform and Conflict in Guatemala
Niranjan Ramakrishnan
Byrd's Eye View
Mike Whitney
Afghanistan: American's Drug Colony
Stan Goff
Body
Count: 1001
Website of
the Day
Bush and the Love Doctors
September 7,
2004
Diane Christian
Hostage Tactics: a Game of Mortal Poker
Joshua Frank
Greens
Unravel from Within
Patrick Cockburn
Fallujah
Erupts Again: US Death Toll in Iraq Nears 1000
Ron Jacobs
Bush and Putin: "We're Not Girlie Men"
Chris Floyd
Cry Havoc: Bush's Own Personal Janjaweed
Dr. Carol Wolman
No Blood for Oil at Paul Bunyan Day Parade
John Ross
The
Politics of Darkness North / South
September 6,
2004
Alexander Cockburn
An
Anti-Labor Day That Lives in Infamy: How Many Democrats Voted
For Taft-Hartley?
Ralph Nader
The
Cruel Legacy of Taft-Hartley: a Labor Day Call for Rights for
Working People
Lee Sustar
What's Driving the Attack on Pensions?
Kathleen and
Bill Christison
Dual
Loyalties: the Bush Necons and Israel
September 4-5,
2004
Alexander Cockburn
Elephants
and Gramsci
Ted Honderich
The
Way Things Are
Sasan Fayazmanesh
The
Holy Empire: Who We Are and What We Do
Douglas Valentine
What the World Should Know About Guantanamo
Patrick Cockburn
New Iraqi Police State Flexes Its Muscles
Gary Leupp
Neo Cons Under Fire
Fred Gardner
Pot Shots: the Hempstead T-Shirt
William A.
Cook
The
Day of the Lemming
Dave Zirin
Kobe Bryant and the Price of Freedom
John Chuckman
The Day the World Ended
Karyn Strickler
God Save the Endangered Species Act
Vanessa Jones
Bad Day with an Ikea Cup
Mike Whitney
Kerry: the "Better" War Candidate
Mark Donham
Dear John (Kerry): Start Explaining and Fast
Mickey Z.
McBypass Nation: Feeling Clinton's Pain
Alan Farago
Can the Everglades be Fixed?
Poets' Basement
Landau and Albert
September 3,
2004
Jeffrey St.
Clair
High
Plains Grifter: Jesus Told Him Where to Bomb
Rahul Mahajan
Bush's RNC Speech: an Annotated Response
Carl Estabrook
The
Book of Slaughter and Forgetting
Joshua Frank
The Florida of the Northwest: Oregon Dems Sabotage Nader Again
Gary Leupp
Music to My Ears: Sunday's March
James Hollander
Deja Vu in Manhattan: Assisted Political Suicide?
Mark Engler
Republicans
Among Us: a Week at the RNC, Inside and Out
Jesse Sharkey
Making Students and Teachers Pay for the Crisis in Education
Jane Stillwater
Calling the Cops on Your Own Kid
Stephen Green
Serving
Two Flags: the Bush Neo-Cons and Israel
September 2,
2004
Jeffrey St.
Clair
High
Plains Grifter: Part 3: More Pricks Than Kicks
Max Gimble
Et Tu, Menchu? Extrajudicial Killings and Clandestine Graves
in Guatemala
James Petras
President Chavez and the Referendum: Myths and Realities
Christopher
Brauchli
Bush and the Afghan Electoral Model: "If They Want to Vote
Twice, Let Them"
Todd Chretien & Jessie
Muldoon
Will the Democrats Expel Zell Miller?
Jack Random
Spite and Venom Day: the Turncoat and the Profiteer
Alan Maass
The Real Vietnam
Christa Allen
Contre Bush
Website of
the Day
[Redacted]
September 1,
2004
Alexander Cockburn
The
Stench of Doom
Kathleen and Bill Christison
Poor Larry Franklin
Dave Lindorff
Kerry's Litmus Test
Josh Frank
Protest in White: Not All of New York Rises Up
John L. Hess
Moles, Scoops and Flip Flops
Mike Whitney
Deconstructing Arnold
Jack Random
Kindergarten Night at the RNC
Andrew Wilson
War on the Pachyderms: Why Do Elephants Hate Us?
Jeffrey St.
Clair
High
Plains Grifter: Part Two: Mark His Words
August 31,
2004
Joseph Nevins
Escapism
and Global Apartheid: The Dominican Republic & the NYTs
Matt Vidal
Beyond
Bush's Rhetoric on the Economy
Neve Gordon
Kerry and the Middle East
Dave Lindorff
Bush
the Peace Candidate?
Mike Whitney
NPR Leads the Charge for War Against Iran
Jack Random
Opening Night: Playing the War Card
Jeffrey St.
Clair
High
Plains Grifter: the Life and Crimes of George W. Bush (Part One)
CounterPunch Photo of the Day
Pete Seeger in NYC
August 30,
2004
Justin Podhur
The
Disappeared Mayor
Shaun Joseph
The
Hypocrites at TheNaderbasher.com
Mike Whitney
Israeli Moles in the Pentagon: What More Could They Possibly
Want?
Ron Jacobs
Live, From New York: the Majority of Protesters Claimed No Candidate
David Lindorff
Sunday in Manhattan: the Sound of Marchin', Chargin' Feet, Boy
Dave Zirin
USA Basketball: The Team White America Loved to Hate
Sam Husseini
Israeli Spying on the US: a Long History
August 28 /
29, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Zombies
for Kerry
Patrick Cockburn
Najaf Ceasefire Good for Iraq, But Weakens Allawi and US
Ray McGovern
Blowing Smoke on Intelligence
Dr. Juan Romagoza
From El Salvador to Abu Ghraib: Reflections of Torture Survivor
Ray Hanania
An Israeli Spy in the Pentagon? Ridiculous!
Fred Gardner
Eddie Lepp Busted by DEA: Facing Life for Growing Medical Pot
Diane Christian
Big Men: the Better Leader Lets You Live
William S. Lind
The Desert Fox
Paul D'Amato
The Left Takes a Dive for Kerry
Joshua Frank
Greens at the Crossroads
Mickey Z.
Media Declares War on Anti-War Protests
Winslow T. Wheeler
Sen. McCain's Pork Chops: an Exchange
Justin E.H.
Smith
The New Age Racket and the Left
Thomas St. John
Burning Slaves at the Stake: On "Sinners in the Hands of
an Angry God"
Ali Tonak
Help the NYPD?
Mark Engler
New York Says "No"
Justin Felux
Haiti: the Attica of the Americas
Poets' Basement
Gelman, Albert, Ford and Hamod
August 27,
2004
Gary Leupp
Neocon
Musings
Robin Cook
The
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Diane Christian
Disarming
Michael Donnelly
Situational Democracy: the Show Me the Green Party?
Jack Random
4F and Other Heroes: an Army of War Resisters
Mike Ferner
"To the Swift Boats!"
Mazin Qumsiyeh
7000 Palestinian Political Prisoners
Veronza Bowers, Jr.
"You Won't Be Leaving Tomorrow"
August 26,
2004
M. Shahid Alam
The
Clash Thesis: a Failing Ideology?
Diane Christian
War
Rules: Bush is No Sun Tzu
Derek Seidman
"They're As Bad As Wal-Mart:" Starbucks Workers Get
Organized
David Lindorff
Court to RNC Protesters: Drop the Rally
Christopher
Brauchli
Signs of Dissent: the Bush in the Bubble
Stew Albert
Reporting Suspicious Activity
Mark Donham
Judgement in Athens: Give the Koreans Their Day in Court
Saul Landau
Pinochet:
the Al Capone of the Southern Cone
Website of
the Day
The Kerry 527 Ad You'll Never See
August 25,
2004
Amelia Peltz
Can
I Have 9.8 Seconds of Your Time?
Noah Leavitt
Defining and Redefining Torture
Ron Jacobs
Takin' It to the Streets: It's Not About the Election, It's About
Democracy
James Brooks
Coronado Crosses the Jordan
Akiva Eldar
How to Win the Jewish Vote: Turn Gaza into a "Mini-Afghanistan"
Gemma Araneta
Chavez's New Brand of Populism
Philip Cryan
Uribe's Boys: the Death Squads of Colombia
CounterPunch Wire
Cheney Opens the Closet Door
August 24,
2004
Jeremy Scahill
John
Kerry: the Warchurian Candidate
Gary Leupp
"We
Want Them to Go Away"
David Domke
God
Willing: an Echoing Press and Political Fundamentalism
William Loren Katz
The Meaning of Hugo Chávez: Black and Indian Power in
Venezuela
Jonah Gindin
With Chavez? Reading the International Private Media
Fran Schor
Denying Atrocities: From Vietnam to Fallujah
Joe Bageant
Driving
on the Bones of God
Website of the Day
The Great America Lockdown: a Primer for the RNC
August 23,
2004
Winslow Wheeler
Don't
Mind If I Do: Porkbarrel and the War on Terror
John Pilger
Bush
May Be the Lesser Evil
Stan Goff
Swift
Boat Dogfight
Bill and Kathleen
Christison
Notes
from the West Bank: Build, Demolish, Rebuild
Mike Whitney
The Unraveling of Afghanistan
William Blum
Brave
New World of Iraqi Sovereignty
Ralph Nader
A Letter to the Washington Post: a Shameful and Unsavory Editorial
August 21 /
22, 2004
Cockburn /
St. Clair
"They
Want Blood:" The Bi-Partisan Origins of the Total War on
Drugs
Landau / Hassen
Failing
the Mission? Form a Commission
Brian Cloughley
The
Bush Team in Iraq: Moral Cowardice, as Practiced by Experts
Josh Frank
Nader as David Duke? The ADL Wants You to Think So
Mike Whitney
Reincarnating Mengele: the Torture Doctors of Abu Ghraib
Ron Jacobs
Day Labor Blues
Mickey Z.
Shooting at Whales: 40 Years After Tonkin
Fred Gardner
Dr. Wolman Comes Out: The Cannabis Consultants
Dave Zirin
Uprising in Athens: Iraqi Soccer Team Gives Bush the Boot
Josh Saxe
Witnessing Police Brutality in LA
Yanar Mohammed
Letter from Baghdad: a Democracy of Killings and Bombings
Helen Williams
Ali's Story: a Taste of Reality from Baghdad
Michael Donnelly
Elemental and NaturalForests, Fire and Recovery
Elizabeth Schulte
The Crisis in Affordable Housing
Poets' Basement
Adler, Albert, Virgil, Ford and Krieger
Hot Stories
Alexander Cockburn
Behold,
the Head of a Neo-Con!
Subcomandante
Marcos
The
Death Train of the WTO
Norman Finkelstein
Hitchens
as Model Apostate
Steve Niva
Israel's
Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings?
Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams
CounterPunch Exclusive:
20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians
Steve
J.B.
Prison Bitch
Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber
True Lies: the Use of Propaganda
in the Iraq War
Wendell
Berry
Small Destructions Add Up
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
Click
Here for More Stories.
|
September 30, 2004
The Case for
Bush and Kerry
I
Dreamed They Had a Debate
By
NIRANJAN RAMAKRISHNAN
"...truth is
great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper
and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from
the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural
weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous
when it is permitted freely to contradict them. "
--Thomas Jefferson
Moderator: The first question goes to Pres.
Bush. What would you do to get American troops out of Iraq, and
how soon do you think they can get out?
Bush: We all want to get the troops out as soon as
we are able. But I know and believe we have a strong and vital
role to play in Iraq, and we certainly cannot leave a vacuum
for the insurgents to take over. We are engaged in a conflict
from which America cannot afford to cut and run. We must be steadfast
in this endeavor, upon which depends not only our future but
that of the entire modern world. I will be guided by the military
in the exact logistics of withdrawal, but politically, it is
our aim to see that a democratic Iraqi government takes over
in Iraq, serving as an example to the Arab and Muslim worlds,
and leaving us free to come home. About the time frame, people
have to understand that this is a long-term investment. We are
talking about our future, after all, and a few years is very
little in the big picture. It might be, it is, painful in the
interim, but it is, I believe, essential for America and the
world. My own sense is that it will take anywhere between 3 to
7 years overall. But that will be only be determined by the facts
on the ground. But I know we will not stay one minute more than
necessary.
Moderator: Senator Kerry?
Kerry: I disagree with almost everything Mr. Bush has
said in his answer, except for his mention of the long-term.
We do have to take the long-term view. And long term, the question
to ask ourselves is whether America should attack others pre-emptively,
whether she should embroil herself in wars far away from our
soil, and try to bring democracy by force to the rest of the
world. Even accepting Mr. Bush's explanations of our motives
for a second, something which is contradicted by all the administration's
words and actions, this is a question we must first answer. And
I believe it is both unwise and even wrong to interfere in the
affairs of other nations. This is a basic difference between
us. Indeed, if we are honest, we will see that this is one of
the reasons for 9-11...
Moderator: Mr. President, your rebuttal?
Bush: On 9-11, we discovered that we cannot escape
from the world. To me personally, this was a life-changing experience,
and I realized, as did all Americans, in a way that is impossible
to describe, that we were not protected by the two oceans. It
was necessary to eliminate threats before they showed up on our
doorstep. I agree with my opponent that we should not be getting
caught up in far away wars. But I believe Iraq was central to
our war on terrorism. A brutal dictator who had gassed his own
people and had the potential to build weapons of mass murder...
Moderator: Sorry Mr. President, your time has expired.
The next question is for Sen. Kerry. Senator Kerry, many people
are unclear about your exact position on the War (laughter).
You voted for the Senate resolution authorizing the use of force
in Iraq. Did you not expect the president to go to war? Subsequently,
you have said you supported the War, then later that it was the
wrong war. You said you supported the bill to fund the war before
you opposed it. Can you clarify to the American people where
exactly you stand?
Kerry: I'm glad you asked me that question. My position
on the war has changed over time. I don't see stubbornness and
clinging to positions once you see their error as a great virtue
in a president. To answer your question, it is true that I voted
for the Senate resolution, as did the majority of Democrats.
We did so because we believed our President when he declared
that Iraq had weapons, and that it was an imminent threat. Of
course, we did not know the inner discussions in the White House
which cast doubt upon the existence of these weapons in Iraq.
One expects to be told the truth by the President of the United
States in all matters, and especially in matters of war and peace.
As time went and facts were revealed, I have had to reconsider
my position. What remains unchanged is the principle, which
is that we do not launch wars without overwelming reasons, and
overwhelming alliances, and without overwhelming force, none
of which the President did in launching this war. And that is
why we are in the mess we're in now, with an administration which
has deceived the people, disdained its allies, and deserted its
men in combat (applause). As to the 87 billion dollars, my words
were taken out of context. Every senator, Republican and Democrat
alike, has voted in favor of bills that were not 100% to his
or her liking, or opposed bills which contained things that they
supported. This is a matter of compromise, which we cannot expect
an extremist administration to know anything about (applause).
This administration...
Moderator: Senator, your time has expired. Mr.
President, your rebuttal...?
Bush: Senator Kerry has added one more position now
(laughter). The principle I believe in is the principle of protecting
our nation. I believe that the United States has the right to
attack any country it views as a threat at a time and place of
its choosing. As commander-in-chief I cannot risk another attack
on our country like 9-11. If it means taking the battle to the
enemy that is exactly what the United States will do. I'm sorry,
but I have no regrets for taking out a regime which gassed its
own people and had attacked two of its neighbors, and held hostile
intentions towards the United States. In fact one of Senator
Kerry's positions (and you should ask him if he still believes
in it) was that the Iraq war was brilliant.
Moderator: Thank you, Mr. President. Senator
Kerry, your rebuttal...
Kerry: We can see why Mr. Bush is called a fine debator.
Unfortunately, thunderous words and applause lines do not change
the facts one bit. It was Donald Rumsfeld who shook Saddam Hussein's
hand in Baghdad in 1983, long after he had gassed his own people.
And it was the Bush Administration which gave 43 million dollars
to the Taliban in 2000, I remind you, long after it was known
as the protector and host of one Osama Bin Laden. And when I
said the war was brilliant, it was a tribute to our troops and
the generals, an accomplishment in the face of constant meddling
by an incompetent administration which refuses even to provide
our troops with proper body armor! (Applause)
Moderator: Thank you. The next question, for
President Bush. Mr. President, nearly 1100 troops have died in
Iraq alone. Americans have died and in Afghanistan. Thousands
more have been injured, many with lifelong disabilities. Do you
think you and your administration bear any responsibility for
this, and do you ever wonder why we are in this situation?
Bush: No president ever puts American lives at risk
without a terrible sense of responsibility. And no American ever
hears or reads of a soldier's death without saying a silent prayer
for the dead hero or thinking of the grief of the family and
friends. Every young man or woman who dies represents a life
with its own dreams and plans, extinguished so suddenly. But
all said and done, it is our responsibility to see that (1) we
never put our troops in situations where they are subject to
unnecessary risk, and (2) we give them all our support at all
times. This is why people are distressed when we see my opponent
and his running mate run down the war in Iraq and second-guess
how it's going, because we know it has a bad impact on the morale
-- of the GI under fire in Falluja or the marine facing killers
in Najaf. We know it is a tough choice. In war, people die. But
when we refuse to confront the enemy, we will face the enemy
in New York and Washington, as we did on 9-11. As for responsiblity,
of course we stand by our decision to go to war on Iraq. President
Kennedy said that friend and foe alike should know where America
stands. Under my administration, they do. As for my opponent,
I guess he'll keep our enemies guessing, because he himself won't
know where he stands.(Laughter and Applause).
Moderator: Your turn, Senator...
Kerry: Fine words again from President Bush. We all
die a little when we hear of young men and women killed or maimed.
That is why war should be the last resort. Unfortunately, this
president did everything to make sure we rushed to war, and nothing
to see if we could prevent it. He made it his first choice. The
duty of the president, especially of a great power like America,
is to the exact opposite. War is terrible. I know. I've been
there. It is not enough to lament the loss of life, when we know
we have not done enough to avoid it. And it is simply tragic
to continue on a course involving greater loss of life, American
and Iraqi. This is why we will find a way to end the war in Iraq
as quickly as possible (Applause). Finally, the president should
know the difference between criticizing the war, criticizing
the administration, and letting down the troops. We are being
Americans when we hold our government to account. We are being
false to our troops when we send them to a needless war, betraying
their trust when we shortchange them on protective equipment,
and cheating them when we silently cut their benefits, as this
administration did. You might also want to ask the president
why his administration prevents the media from showing the caskets
of dead soldiers arriving back at Dover Air Force Base.
Moderator: Mr. President, you have 60 seconds...
Bush: This administration knows how to safeguard our
people. Protecting the American soldier is and will be the first
priority of our government. As for our fallen men and women,
we believe we should respect their privacy. Let me also say one
other thing -- the senator knows very well that we went to the
UN, and we tried weapons inspectors, only when Saddam would not
comply did we take the ultimate step of going to war.
Moderator: Thank you. Senator Kerry, what exactly
would you do differently from the President on Iraq? Would you
go ahead with Iraqi elections as they are currently planned?
We know you have laid out a four-point plan, but your opponents
say your four points are already being done.
Kerry: The key difference is that I am not George Bush
(Applause). This president has antagonized so many nations around
the world, a task that a lesser man would have found impossible
(laughter). Consider our situation on September 12, 2001, the
morning after 9-11. Our neighbors Canada and Mexico, Latin America,
Europe, China, India, the Middle East, everywhere in the world,
people stood with America, outraged by the crime that was committed
against the greatest, noblest, country in the world. Within six
months, our president had squandered this unprecedented goodwill,
and converted it into a near-universal fear and loathing.
The second important difference
is that when President Bush sees America, he sees only a military
superpower. I see a moral and idealistic beacon. Mr. Bush may
talk about democracy all he wants, but it is not democracy to
wilfully disdain and heap scorn on world opinion. We do not command
moral leadership by starting pre-emptive wars. After all, isn't
that why we went to war against Saddam Hussain when he invaded
Kuwait?
If President Bush is elected,
the world will see that instead of punishing him for earning
America the hatred of the world, we were rewarding him. His continued
leadership alone would make mending fences and building back
our trust in the world practically impossible. The third difference
is that this administration's word is not trusted any more. When,
during the Cuban missile crisis, President Kennedy sent an envoy
to President DeGaulle with photographs of the missiles, DeGaulle
waved the photographs away, saying, "I trust the word of
the President of the United States". That was then. When
Colin Powell sits at the Security Council brandishing evidence
which turns out to be false, when the President speaks to the
nation about non-existent yellowcake from Niger, which his own
CIA knew to be untrue, when Donald Rumsfeld says that he knows
exactly where the weapons are, and then it turns out there are
none found, what credibility does our country have left? (Applause).
Whatever my merits, I would think these facts alone disqualify
Mr. Bush from election (Applause).... [after a wait] I would
have said re-election if he had won fair and square the first
time (Long Applause).
Moderator: Mr. President, your turn...
Bush: Thank you. I'd like to answer that. First of
all, it will come as a surprise to the United Kingdom, Italy,
Poland, the Cameroons and all those countries, big and small
that have stood alongside us in Iraq, some losing lives, to hear
Senator Kerry say that they don't count for anything. Second.
Moral leadership means promoting universal values like freedom,
liberty and democracy. I have said that Liberty is not the United
States' gift to the world, it is God's gift to mankind. We need
to change the nature of the society in the middle east from one
which breeds terrorism to one that is free and peaceful. Third.
We weren't the only ones to say Saddam had WMD's. The UN thought
so. My predecessor in the White House thought so. So did the
senate. And mind you, we're still not done looking. (Laughter).
Moderator: Senator Kerry...
Kerry: Liberty and human rights are American ideals
already enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in the UN, not President Bush's gift to the world. I know the
president is fond of bashing the UN to get a round of applause
whenever he can, but the fact is that nothing long-lasting can
be achieved by cowboy-style shoot-from-the-hip attitudes and
clever soundclips like 'Wanted, Dead or Alive' or 'Bring 'em
on'. These may sound good in Westerns, but in the real world,
building alliances and persuading other countries is the only
way to achieve great things. So long as we live by the ideals
of our nation, the UN and the nations of the world will follow
us. If we behave as outlaws, we can say little when other nations
do the same.
Moderator: Next question to President Bush.
You took the country to war saying that that Iraq was central
to the war on terror. After a year-and-a-half, there are more
insurgents in Iraq now than there were before the War. How can
you say your policy is succeeding?
Bush: When we got rid of the dictator, we fully expected
that some people in his Baathist party and others who hate America
would try to resist the approach of democracy. You see, they
hate our way of life and know that if freedom and liberty come
to the Middle East, their message of hate will have no place.
The people of Iraq are happy to have been rid of the tyrant,
and glad that their long nightmare has ended. But we knew it
would not be easy.
Iraq has long borders with
other countries, including Syria and Iran, and some terrorists
have come into Iraq from these countries. So the road is long
and arduous, but at the end, we will prevail over the terrorists.
The future of the Middle East, and of humankind, is freedom.
The other day, the Prime Minister
of Iraq was visiting me in the White House, and I asked him how
he managed to go to work everyday with so much negative publicity
about his country. He said he dreamed of the day when Iraq would
be another US in terms of a free press, free speech, freedom
of religion, a place for everyone would have a good life. That's
what real Iraqis are talking about, and which never gets reported
in our press. The Prime Minister told a news conference that
there were only three or four districts that there were insurgents,
and the rest of the country was free. Now that's the Prime Minister
of Iraq talking. We're making progress, despite what everyone
says, and every step takes us closer to the day when a free and
democratic Iraq takes its place in the family of nations.
Moderator: Senator Kerry?
Kerry: The President's answer will certainly be a surprise
to his own vice-president. Do we remember how Mr. Cheney kept
telling us that we would be welcomed as liberators? He also kept
telling us that Iraq had a link to 9-11. And that he had no doubt
Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. But members of this administration
have always given accuracy a wide berth.
The simple fact of the matter
is that we planned for the invasion, not for anything else. We
had too few soldiers to secure the country, something that Gen.
Shinseki warned about, and for his candor he was rewarded with
early retirement by this administration. Just consider the consequences.
We saw widespread looting just as soon as we occupied Baghdad,
including the looting of mankind's most ancient artifacts at
the Baghdad Museum. Now Mr. Bush may not care about our heritage,
here or in Iraq, but it is an irreparable loss to all of humanity.
Equally tragic, the Iraqi army was allowed to dissolve into the
ground, allowing the disappearance of all its weaponry into unknown
hands. Nuclear facilities were not guarded either. And there
was certainly no way we could secure the borders with such a
small strength of soldiers.
So this administration squandered
the peace and blundered the post-war situation. Bluster and high
talk will not change the facts. Ask Senators Hagel and McCain,
both Republicans and war veterans. Both have said that Iraq is
a mess. In Iraq today...
Moderator: Sorry Senator Kerry, Mr. Bush's rebuttal.
Bush: It is a slur on our armed forces to say that
they did not do their duty guarding Iraq. Our armed forces are
the best in the world, and as Commander in Chief I will keep
it that way. It is difficult to guard a long border, especially
when confronted by an enemy who hates us. They have tried to
frighten us by kidnappings and beheadings, but they know that
we are resolved, and they cannot break our resolve. We will win
this war (applause). In my acceptance speech I spoke about post-War
Germany and Japan, which took years to set right. I'm sure that
in Iraq, the people will thank America in the decades to come.
Moderator: Senator Kerry, many people say our
relations with the Islamic world will never be good unless we
address the Israeli-Palestinian issue. When Gov. Howard Dean
said we should be even in our dealings with both sides, you criticized
him during the primaries. How would you address this issue, and
how would your plan be different from the President's?
Kerry: To answer your second question first, almost
any approach would be different from the President's, because
he has none. (Applause).
This administration abandoned
the promising negotiation tacks that were put in place by the
Clinton administration, and departed from a settled foreign policy
plank of the United States for at least four decades, namely
its role as an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Our first task in the area
is re-establish our credentials, once again an impossibility
under the current administration. We need to talk to all the
players in the area, not because we agree with them, but because
they play a role. Our aim is what it has always been, the establishment
of a safe and secure border between the two nations. To the Israelis,
we must say that their only hope of long-term survival is not
an indefinite arms buildup and dependence on the US, but the
establishment of good relations with their neighbors. To the
Palestinians, we must say that they need to think of a future
where they are known for their great business talents and skills,
not their suicide bombers.
I will also add that the Israeli
methods of assassinating Hamas leaders is troubling to me. Assassination
is a double-edged weapon, and not a permissible tool in the realm
of international affairs. If they have charges, let them arrest
the people concerned and try them. As a democracy, Israel should
consider whether its methods enhance or reduce its moral standing.
Assassination, kidnappings
and suicide attacks have become too much the standard operating
procedure in the Islamic world. So much so that the name of Islam
itself has been diminished in the eyes of many people. It is
the responsibility of all of us, and particularly those in the
Islamic world who care about their religion, to rescue it from
its increased association with violence. My administration will
work with all parties in the Middle East to make this a top priority.
Moderator: Mr. President, you have 90 seconds.
Bush: When Prime Ministor Sharon faces suicide bombers
killing schoolchildren in buses and young people in cafes, it
is not our place to tell him how to deal with the killers. These
are fanatics and fundamentalists who hate Israel for what it
is. We have said that as long as Yasser Arafat is in power, the
Palestinian leadership has no credibility. We have called upon
the Palestinians to choose a leader who will give them bread
and jobs instead of guns. I hope, for their sake, Mr. Arafat
understands that his part in the play is over, and exits the
stage gracefully. It will be his best service to his people.
(Applause)
Moderator: Senator Kerry, 1 minute.
Kerry: You know, as I was listening to Mr. Bush, it
occurred to me that so much he said about Arafat is true of him.
An unelected leader, offering his people guns instead of jobs,
food and medical care, and with hardly any credibility left...
(Loud Applause).
[Waits for applause to die down]
And I do hope he takes his own advice to Arafat -- leaving the
stage gracefully, realizing his time is up. (Loud Applause).
But as for Mr. Arafat, whatever
his past services to the people of Palestine, he has not, in
my view, been effective for some years. That said, it is for
the Palestinians to choose their leadership, and I would not
presume to say whom they should or should not choose, just as
I would not tell Israel...
Moderator: Sorry Senator, we need to move on.
Our next question is for President Bush. Turning to our relations
with our allies, how do you see the United States in relation
to the European Union and Russia? It is no exaggeration to say
that we have had a bumpy relationship in the last four years.
What would you change?
Bush: With the EU, our relations are long-standing
and strong. We have always said that friends can disagree but
still remain friends. In fact, Germany has helped us a great
deal in Afghanistan, and France has been very forthcoming in
some new initiatives in bringing Iraq back to the fold. About
Russia, we have continued to improve relations with President
Putin. I visited the Russian Embassy to sign the condolence book
in the wake of the horrific school hostage situation there in
Beslan. The Russian people understand, as we do, and are waking
up to its horrors as we did on 9-11. We will work with Russia,
as we are now, and with the European Union, to build a strong
alliance to fight terrorism across the globe.
Look, a stable Middle East
is in everyone's interest, most of all the Europeans, who are
their neighbors. So we will call upon Europe, as we have continued
to do, to work with us in building a strong force for democracy
in Iraq. We are all in this together. The fight against terrorism
is not limited to America. Europe, Russia, Indonesia, Australia,
the Phillipines, all have had their share of it, and all the
leaders have been very cooperative in our efforts. But it is
for America to lead, and we will.
Moderator: Senator, ninety seconds.
Kerry: Thank you. President Bush should look at his
record. His administration refused to fund an effort to secure
the Russian nuclear facilities in the post-Soviet era. This is
the greatest danger to non-state nuclear proliferation. In Europe,
we have come across as arrogant and self-important. Look, no
one needs to demonstrate America's position in the world. Everyone
knows it. And yet, members of this administration have set back
our historical relations with the major nations of Europe by
dismissing them as 'Old Europe' and spurning their advice and
counsel.
President Bush is correct in
saying that all nations must work together in the war on terror.
He has a good speech. But has he followed it with actions? Just
look at his record. The way he and his colleagues talk about
the United Nations is not calculated to win friends or influence
countries. The way he went about deriding the Kyoto accord and
the SALT treaty soon after assuming office was hardly the way
to establish a relationship with the powers of the world. It
is not enough to say when we are in a crisis -- please work with
us now. When I am president, building international relations
with our friends and allies will be an ongoing process, not a
blow-hot blow-cold approach.
I would also add that foreign
policy does not begin and end with terrorism, as this administration
appears to believe. (Applause).
Moderator: Mr. President, 60 second rebuttal.
Bush: My opponent seems to think being 'sensitive'
to the UN is the cornerstone of foreign policy. I refuse to subordinate
the interests of the United States to any body, UN, EU or anyone
else. (Applause).
Moderator: Senator Kerry, you have supported
going to war in Afghanistan. The Afghan elections are coming
up soon. What will a Kerry administration do in Afghanistan,
and how will it differ from the Bush administration?
Kerry: Very different, Jim. It is true that I supported
going to Afghanistan, but let us remember the reason for that
war. It was to capture Osama Bin Laden, and getting rid of the
Taliban. We have, unfortunately, failed on both counts. Bin Laden
is busy producing videos, and even if he is to be captured today,
he has had three years to reorganize and morph his deadly structure
into innumerable groups across the globe. I accuse this administration
of wanton neglect of this main objective in their pursuit of
Saddam Hussain, a man whose whereabouts we knew. As for the Taliban,
their leader, Mullah Omar, is still in circulation, and the Taliban
have been very active in Eastern Afghanistan. In the rest of
the country, the story is not much brighter. Mr. Karzai travels
little beyond the confines of Kabul. Even the other day there
was a rocket attack on his entourage when he was on a rare tour
outside the capital. Fortunately he survived, though others were
killed. The administration's record on the one foreign policy
they said they were focused on is a tale of unrelieved failure.
And this failure is due to a blinkered arrogance to which there
is no cure except to throw them out of office. (Loud applause).
You asked me how a Kerry administration
would do things differently. First of all, we would have to undo
the damage done by this administration by its ineptitude and
miscalculations. We would have to win the hearts and minds of
the Afghans, but it has to be a long-drawn-out process of engagement
at the civil, cultural, military and political levels. Right
now, warlords control most of the country, and the poppy production,
which was the one thing the Taliban appeared to check, is back
way up. This must be tackled on a war footing, which we will
do.
Moderator: Mr. President, you have 90 seconds.
Bush: Senator Kerry seems to have forgotten what
has happended in Afghanistan. Remember the Taliban regime, which
kept women at home, banned movie theaters and soccer games, and
conducted public executions? Well, it is gone. It was replaced
by a president chosen by a committee of people drawn from all
political factions in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is now a free
country, and 10 million people have registered to vote. You see,
people want to participate in democracy all over the world. It
is wrong to think that just because some country is Muslim, they
cannot be democratic. Afghanistan has now got 200 new school
buildings and 25 hospitals. This is what most people would call
progress. Who knows, tomorrow, Mr. Kerry might change his mind
(Laughter).
This was a country devastated
by war for a decade and a half. We are building it up, but things
take time. We have the help of the entire international community
and this country is making steady progress. Under President Karzai's
leadership, a new phase in Afghan history is taking shape. The
Afghan people are a proud people, and they are grateful to the
United States for freeing them from the scourge of the Taliban.
Moderator: Senator, your one-minute rebuttal.
Kerry: I tell you what I have not forgotten. I have
not forgotten that the Bush administration gave the Taliban 43
million dollars. I have not forgotten that when Mr. Bush was
governor of Texas, the Taliban leaders were welcomed to his state
and given a royal treatment. And let me tell you what else I've
not forgotten. The words, 'Tora-Bora'. It was there that Osama
Bin Laden was trapped, and could have been killed or captured.
He was allowed to escape, with his lieutenants like Ayman Zawahiri,
because Mr. Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld chose to rely on Afghan warlords
rather than on the US armed forces. This is worse than incompetence.
And after this stunning 'success', Mr. Bush and his friends wanted
to divert forces from Afghanistan to Iraq. Senator Graham has
written about it in his recent book. It is a shoddy...
Moderator: Sorry to stop you, Senator. There
is only time for the closing statements. Mr. Bush, you first.
You have two minutes.
Bush: I want to thank you, Jim, for conducting this
debate, and I want to thank all those who organized it. I also
want to thank my opponent for a spirited exchange.
This election is unlike any
other we have had in our history. On September 11, 2001, our
nation was changed, perhaps forever. As president, I too was
changed, and the entire meaning of the presidency was altered
permanently. No longer could we afford to be complacent about
the world we lived in. Nor could we expect that our innate sense
of decency, goodwill and kindness to others would always be reciprocated.
And, what is most important, our military power and oceanic fortress
was not enough to protect us from determined enemies the likes
of which we have never faced before.
In these circumstances, the
most important need is to have a steady hand at the wheel, one
which does not deviate from its purpose depending on which way
the wind blows. The task of keeping America safe and secure in
an uncertain world falls heavily on the president. This is not
the time to have someone learning on the job.
It is the men and women in
our administration and all across our great land, who have worked
day and night, most of them whose names you and I will never
know, who protect this country of ours and keep its people safe.
They need to know that they are led by a person of steady vision,
strong resolve, and solid beliefs.
My fellow Americans, I believe
I am that man. May God Bless America. Thank you. (Thunderous
applause)
Moderator: Senator Kerry, your closing remarks...
Kerry: I want to thank the organizers, and you, Jim
for a fine job. I want to thank President Bush for his participation.
When the nations of the world
look upon the United States, they see a country which has achieved
what they would all like to become one day. Whether it is in
the field of science, art, music, agriculture, politics, economics
or war, the United States is the leader.
America has everything most
countries envy. A Constitution which is the treasure of mankind,
a strong military, natural resources of every kind. Above all,
as Tocqueville said, a good people, which is what makes us great.
This is our inheritance. I
ask myself, will we pass this along to our children, or will
our generation be the one to lose what is most precious about
our country?
We need a leader with perspective.
Yes, 9-11 was a vicious attack on our country. But does it mean
everything this country stands for, is respected for the world
over, has fought for throughout its glorious history, all become
meaningless? Only someone who does not recognize the glory of
America might think so.
Yes, we will fight terrorism
as we fought the Fascists and the Nazis, the Communists and their
surrogates. We will fight anyone who wishes to impose a totalitarian
system upon a free society, and we will always prevail. But we
will not do so with a fear-stricken administration which seeks
to deprive us of freedoms in the name of 'defending' us from
the terrorists, who also seek to deprive us of our freedoms.
We need a leader who has a
sense of balance, an understanding of the ebb and flow of history
and a sense of our country's unique place in it. This is a foreign
policy debate, and you cannot conduct foreign policy without
a sense of what we are fighting for. And any President who can
reduce the conduct of this country's affairs to a morning's attack
by a bunch of demented fascists does not, in my view, understand
what this great nation is all about.
As to changing hands midstream,
someone should tell Mr. Bush, because Mr. Ashcroft probably didn't
(laughter), that is exactly what the Constitution intends. And
as to moving with the winds, he who does not trim his sails to
the wind is destined to crash his vessel.
Ladies and Gentlemen, great
challenges confront our great nation. We seek to meet them by
rising to the task, not by defining our country down. Thank you,
and good night. (Thunderous Applause)
Niranjan Ramakrishnan is a writer living on the West Coast.
His articles can be found on http://www.indogram.com/gramsabha/articles.
He also has a blog, http://njn-blogogram.blogspot.com.
He can be reached at njn_2003@yahoo.com.
Weekend
Edition Features for September 18 / 19, 2004
Alexander Cockburn
Forgeries,
Fingerprints and Forensic Fakery
Jeffrey St. Clair
High Plains Grifter: Bush's Mask of Anarchy
Patrick Cockburn
Into the Abyss: the Week Iraq's Dream of Peace Fell Apart
Fred Gardner
Pot Shots: Financial Torture (Asset Forfeiture)
Joe Allen
The Comrades Kerry Abandoned: the Real Story of Vietnam Vets
Against the War
George Corsetti
Poletown Revisited: Finally, Some Vindication
Scott Handleman
The Knock-Knock of a Sledgehammer: Sequestered in Nablus
Richard Ward
Two Weeks in Beit Arabiya
Conn Hallinan
Ashcroft and Indonesia
Lori Smith
Health Care in America: And Then I Got Sick...
Dave Zirin
Hold the Booyah!: SportsCenter Out of the Middle East
John L. Hess
Rather Will Take the Heat, As Bush's War Deteriorates
Brian J. Foley
W is for Wimp: So Why do Manly Men Love Him?
Mickey Z.
Pat Tillman and Osama bin Laden: Odd Juxtapositions
Poets' Basement
Vest, Landau & Albert
Website of the Weekend
Eye on the NYTs
/
|