Bush's Conspiracy
So, you're advocating abrogating our civil right just in case?
Or, are you agreeing that it would be the right thing to have
happen if we are hit with a larger attack?
"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
You are correct. Another point that needs to be made
is it's a sign of a competent leader to surround himself
with high-quality people. Mr. Bush has certainly done
that. His staff consists of some of the best minds
to ever work under a President. Mr. Bush understands
the benefits of delegating tasks. It is one of his
better leadership qualities.
Unlike Mr. Clinton who surrounded himself with Rubes
in order to make himself stand out, President Bush is
more concerned with getting the job done than building
a legacy. The country is the better for President Bush's
leadership. (Not to mention the world!)
S.Simon
"N1EE" wrote in message
om...
General Franks is a man of keen insight.
This is worth printing and saving.
Bart Senior
"Bobsprit" wrote
Friday, Nov. 21, 2003
Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon
of
mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will
likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government. Franks,
who
successfully led the U.S. military operation to liberate Iraq,
expressed his
worries in an extensive interview he gave to the men's lifestyle
magazine
Cigar Aficionado.
In the magazine's December edition, the former commander of the
military's
Central Command warned that if terrorists succeeded in using a weapon
of
mass destruction (WMD) against the U.S. or one of our allies, it would
likely have catastrophic consequences for our cherished republican
form of
government.
Discussing the hypothetical dangers posed to the U.S. in the wake of
Sept.
11, Franks said that "the worst thing that could happen" is if
terrorists
acquire and then use a biological, chemical or nuclear weapon that
inflicts
heavy casualties.
If that happens, Franks said, "... the Western world, the free world,
loses
what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we've seen for
a
couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call
democracy."
Franks then offered "in a practical sense" what he thinks would happen
in
the aftermath of such an attack.
"It means the potential of a weapon of mass destruction and a
terrorist,
massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world - it
may be
in the United States of America - that causes our population to
question our
own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to
avoid a
repeat of another mass, casualty-producing event. Which in fact, then
begins
to unravel the fabric of our Constitution. Two steps, very, very
important."
Franks didn't speculate about how soon such an event might take place.
Already, critics of the U.S. Patriot Act, rushed through Congress in
the
wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, have argued that the law aims to curtail
civil
liberties and sets a dangerous precedent.
But Franks' scenario goes much further. He is the first high-ranking
official to openly speculate that the Constitution could be scrapped
in
favor of a military form of government.
The usually camera-shy Franks retired from U.S. Central Command, known
in
Pentagon lingo as CentCom, in August 2003, after serving nearly four
decades
in the Army.
Franks earned three Purple Hearts for combat wounds and three Bronze
Stars
for valor. Known as a "soldier's general," Franks made his mark as a
top
commander during the U.S.'s successful Operation Desert Storm, which
liberated Kuwait in 1991. He was in charge of CentCom when Osama bin
Laden's
al-Qaeda attacked the United States on Sept. 11.
Franks said that within hours of the attacks, he was given orders to
prepare
to root out the Taliban in Afghanistan and to capture bin Laden.
Franks offered his assessment on a number of topics to Cigar
Aficionado,
including:
President Bush: "As I look at President Bush, I think he will
ultimately be
judged as a man of extremely high character. A very thoughtful man,
not
having been appraised properly by those who would say he's not very
smart. I
find the contrary. I think he's very, very bright. And I suspect that
he'll
be judged as a man who led this country through a crease in history
effectively. Probably we'll think of him in years to come as an
American
hero."
On the motivation for the Iraq war: Contrary to claims that top
Pentagon
brass opposed the invasion of Iraq, Franks said he wholeheartedly
agreed
with the president's decision to invade Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein.
"I, for one, begin with intent. ... There is no question that Saddam
Hussein
had intent to do harm to the Western alliance and to the United States
of
America. That intent is confirmed in a great many of his speeches, his
commentary, the words that have come out of the Iraqi regime over the
last
dozen or so years. So we have intent.
"If we know for sure ... that a regime has intent to do harm to this
country, and if we have something beyond a reasonable doubt that this
particular regime may have the wherewithal with which to execute the
intent,
what are our actions and orders as leaders in this country?"
The Pentagon's deck of cards: Asked how the Pentagon decided to put
its
most-wanted Iraqis on a set of playing cards, Franks explained its
genesis.
He recalled that when his staff identified the most notorious Iraqis
the
U.S. wanted to capture, "it just turned out that the number happened
to be
about the same as a deck of cards. And so somebody said, 'Aha, this
will be
the ace of spades.'"
Capturing Saddam: Franks said he was not surprised that Saddam has not
been
captured or killed. But he says he will eventually be found, perhaps
sooner
than Osama bin laden.
"The capture or killing of Saddam Hussein will be a near term thing.
And I
won't say that'll be within 19 or 43 days. ... I believe it is
inevitable."
Franks ended his interview with a less-than-optimistic note. "It's not
in
the history of civilization for peace ever to reign. Never has in the
history of man. ... I doubt that we'll ever have a time when the world
will
actually be at peace."
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