Reading the head lines today what struck me was the lack of discussion of violence in Iraq yesterday during the nation wide election. This is the best image we can have of Iraq, much better than the staged pulling down of Hussien's statue when the US troops entered Baghdad. It is also encouraging to hear that there was close to 70% turn out (kind of makes the turn out for US elections look pathetic, maybe we have forgotten what it really means to have the freedoms we take for granted) as well as high participation from the Sunnis.
However, let us not allow this to lull us into a false sense of success and of "mission accomplished." Much remains to be done. US troops should still be expected to manage Iraq's security for many more years...for as long as it takes. What happens next year will go a long way to determine the future for Iraq. Let us hope that the politics of Mid-term elections does not cloud our decisions for Iraq
Friday, December 16, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
The 911 report
The final 911 report came out this week and overall it gave the efforts of the US government as abyssmal. While I may be overstating the grade I think it should give us all reason to pause and think. Since the horrible events of Sept 11, 2001 we have seen the US government invaded 2 sovereign nations and create great debate around the future of the Middle East as well as the global system. However, what has the government done with regards to ensure that the United States does not suffer another catastrophic attack? From the 911 report it would appear that not enough.
I find it interesting that the Bush administration was not on the White House lawn commentating on the report, rather they had a spokeswoman who had the gall of saying, (this is not a direct quote): "The Bush administration has been doing a good job with Terrorism, we have not suffered an attack since 9/11." Of course this statement is completely misguided and actually extremely reckless. Terrorists do not think in time frames of 2 or 4 years, they think long term, generations, etc. The fight against extremists will last much longer than this President's term. It is reckless to try an convince the American populus that all is fine, what happened on 9/11 will change the way we live for the rest of our lives as well as those of our children. I think the 911 report points that the Government has not taken this to heart. Shame on them, both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have misguided leadership focusing on overseas "problems" while avoiding the hard decisions and actions needed to make this nation safer. Why are we protecting bomb sniffing dogs as well as those picking up the garbage (air conditioned trash trucks) rather than our sea ports, containers, airports, etc? The Republicans are showing poor leadership in this area, the Democrats are showing no vision or ideas. They are too busy hounding the Republican party rather than leading the country with ideas for how to make this "war on terror" winnable.
Shame on both sides. Maybe this report will give both a kick in the pants to get things done...unfortunately being a year out from midterm elections I highly doubt it.
I find it interesting that the Bush administration was not on the White House lawn commentating on the report, rather they had a spokeswoman who had the gall of saying, (this is not a direct quote): "The Bush administration has been doing a good job with Terrorism, we have not suffered an attack since 9/11." Of course this statement is completely misguided and actually extremely reckless. Terrorists do not think in time frames of 2 or 4 years, they think long term, generations, etc. The fight against extremists will last much longer than this President's term. It is reckless to try an convince the American populus that all is fine, what happened on 9/11 will change the way we live for the rest of our lives as well as those of our children. I think the 911 report points that the Government has not taken this to heart. Shame on them, both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have misguided leadership focusing on overseas "problems" while avoiding the hard decisions and actions needed to make this nation safer. Why are we protecting bomb sniffing dogs as well as those picking up the garbage (air conditioned trash trucks) rather than our sea ports, containers, airports, etc? The Republicans are showing poor leadership in this area, the Democrats are showing no vision or ideas. They are too busy hounding the Republican party rather than leading the country with ideas for how to make this "war on terror" winnable.
Shame on both sides. Maybe this report will give both a kick in the pants to get things done...unfortunately being a year out from midterm elections I highly doubt it.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Intelligent Design?
The debate on Intelligent Design scares me. The United States is constantly loosing when it comes to the hard sciences, more and more degrees being earned by foreign students as well as our overall scores constantly drop with regards to the rest of the world. Yet, there are some school systems that are looking to institute "intelligent design" as an alternative to Darwin's Theory of Evolution. I respect those that belief in faith and believe in what the Bible says, they are and should be protected to preach and spread their beliefs, but not in public schools, the schools that are suppose to ensure our students are prepared for global competition.
There is a reason for seperation of church and state....
I fear that as we spend time debating such issues the rest of world catches if not widens their lead in the hard sciences. Hard to imagine the United States maintaining its hegemonic status if we lose the education battle.
There is a reason for seperation of church and state....
I fear that as we spend time debating such issues the rest of world catches if not widens their lead in the hard sciences. Hard to imagine the United States maintaining its hegemonic status if we lose the education battle.
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