Lindberg vs Helprin
Reader comment on item: Has America Learned from 9/11?

Submitted by Vijay Dandapani (United States), Nov 2, 2004 at 10:41

Daniel Pipes is only partially right about a future Kerry administration's perspective. Few would credit Mr. Kerry's new found belief in free states, a stronger army (at least rhetorically), or a muscular response to Bin Laden to be a part of his DNA.

However, should Kerry be elected, his presumed Secretary of State is no push-over and is unlikely to give either Iran or Syria free rein and could be expected to follow through on Kerry's campaign charge of Saudi Arabia being held accountable.

While President Bush has without question defined the nature of the war against terrorists and their state sponsors, he has, partly by necessity, given the two principal actors who spawned terrorism (Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) a mere figurative slap on the face.

Incidentally, it is no accident that the Bin Laden tape surfaced in Islamabad. Nevertheless, there is good reason to expect a second Bush term to be considerably more energetic in pursuing not just terrorists, but also nuclear proliferation.

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