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Bush or Kerry, who would be worse for defense?
Reader comment on item: Capturing Osama

Submitted by Maryallene Otis (United States), Mar 9, 2004 at 16:11

Mr. Kerry repulses me with his hippocrisy and his dishonesty. Nevertheless, I question whether our national defense in better hands with George W. Bush and his administration. President Bush is seen by so many as a representative of both freedom and capitalism, and yet, he is neither, and therefore harms both.

Despite some inspiring speeches, the current Bush administration has been largely one of appeasement and missed opportunities. While we were justified in attacking Iraq, because of the threat it posed to the United States, Iran and it's support of so many Islamic terrorist organizations is a far bigger threat, and should have been our first target. Also, Iran is now actively sponsoring homicide bombings in Iraq, which the administration knows. We participate in negotiatians with North Korea (which has concentration camps) and with Iran. We maintain diplomomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, a proven state sponsor of terrorism. We chide Israel for not trying harder to "make nice" with the Palestinians who want to destroy them, rather than supporting Israel in defending itself. Colin Powell, the reincarnation of Neville Chamberlin, is still Secretary of State.

On the domestic front (granted, national defense comes first), President Bush's strongarm tactics in pushing through his expansion of Medicare tells us that he is not a supporter of economic freedom, i.e. capitalism.

No one has yet convinced me that President Bush is a better choice than John Kerry come November. Sadly, George W. Bush gives national defense, one of the highest priorites of national government, a bad name. Which is worse, a president who says he supports national defense and then doesn't, or someone like Kerry who could at least generate a backlash he is so anti-American?

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

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Reader comments (29) on this item

Title By Date
Islam and Militant Islam, same thing [451 words]K JacksonMar 22, 2004 13:25
Bush is neither fighting a war against global terror nor is he a friend to Israel [583 words]Dafna YeeMar 20, 2004 13:22
Virulent ideology [66 words]Elie KhawandMar 16, 2004 09:46
Osama factor is less important [301 words]Nirmal AkashJul 20, 2006 03:41
Global Integrity and consistency are more vital in terror fighting [376 words]Shushil BatashJul 25, 2006 02:37
Steps necessary for destroying Islamic Terrorism [489 words]Shunil PrantorJul 26, 2006 02:32
the real cause of terrorism [444 words]samreenJul 17, 2008 16:14
Sorry Mr. Kerry, The Spanish beat you to it. [205 words]YonasonMar 15, 2004 18:33
Capturing Osama [100 words]S.C.PandaMar 15, 2004 04:29
re: Kerry and terrorism [106 words]James A. BushMar 12, 2004 23:15
The Size of Jihadism [91 words]Timothy RobertsMar 11, 2004 20:16
I Agree [149 words]Mohamed Ahmed BerrayMar 11, 2004 08:58
You are right [190 words]YoniMar 10, 2004 16:27
Great points [9 words]Ray AtwoodMar 10, 2004 13:17
Islamism [237 words]John McClainMar 10, 2004 11:53
Killing Osama only short term benefit [179 words]Darwin BarrettMar 9, 2004 19:28
The battle of ideas [90 words]Martin LindeskogMar 9, 2004 17:12
EU pandering [87 words]Daniel MiddlemanMar 9, 2004 16:23
support for bush reelection [18 words]Jack GoldbergMar 9, 2004 16:18
⇒ Bush or Kerry, who would be worse for defense? [281 words]Maryallene OtisMar 9, 2004 16:11
Islamic Radicals, the Modern Neanderthals [291 words]Joseph E BentzelMar 9, 2004 13:20
Endorsement of Bush for President? [451 words]lee CharendoffMar 9, 2004 12:59
Political Stupidity [187 words]JimSMar 9, 2004 12:23
no point in gratuitously antagonizing a possible next president [88 words]Marvin RabinovitchMar 9, 2004 10:45
Spinning Capture of Osama [55 words]alan septimusMar 9, 2004 10:26
Thank you [230 words]BrettMar 9, 2004 09:55
Capturing Bin Laden & Re-Election of Pres. Bush [126 words]Tova MatteroMar 9, 2004 08:24
The bigger threat [304 words]Vijay DandapaniMar 9, 2004 08:11
Getting Bin Laden [137 words]Peter J. HerzMar 9, 2004 06:55

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Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.

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