How sad. Sorry,bout your life.
So essentially the Dept of Homeland security is responsible for bringing crime to historic lows and eliminating such things like black outs and salmonella outbreaks, which can ‘scare’ people.
What do you propose they do differently?
Again, I’m not saying “we haven’t had another attack, so they must be doing everything right”, at all. I’m suggesting that along with an entire laundry list of other factors, it’s possible that the DOHS could be doing a thing or two correctly.
Not really an epoch-shattering assumption.
Let me get this straight, you are celebrating two horrific terrorist attacks?
Here’s an excellent summary of how badly Bush is failing in what were supposed to be his crowning achievements of making America safer.
http://www.time.com/time/columnist/karon/article/0,9565,477355,00.html
elf6c
That’s a pretty weak article for the basis of your statement. A News Analysis article in the Washington Post ciriticizes Bush? Not exactly “man bites dog”. Basically the writers have said: “Spineless Democrats have stuck their collective wet finger in the air and determined that public sentiment might allow them to attack Bush on foreign policy matters.” If they had any cojones to begin with, they’d take a principled stand either for or against and not be so worried about public opinion. But we are talking about Polticians here.
minty green, thanks for the cite. I’m disappointed that someone of your high intelligence has such respect for Karon’s article, which is merely a crude hit piece. E.g., here are some problems with the article.[ul][li]Three times it ties the war on terror into “going into the election season this fall.” First of all, Bush won’t be in the election season until the middle of 2004, since he has no primary opposition. Even if the war on terror were going as badly as Karon asserts, the election is a year and three months away. []Also, the war on terror succeeds or fails on its own. It’s not an election gimmick. []Karon says, “That victory in Afghanistan has been partial, at best.” The phrase “at best” is a false slur. It implies that there may have been no victory at all in Afghanistan. We did overthrow the Taliban and al Qaeda. The government in power is one we like. Rights are being extended to women. Al Qaeda isn’t using the country as a staging area for world terrorism. Many serious problems remain, but it’s ridiculous to imply that we might not have even had a partial victory.He claims that, [/li]
“The resistance appears to diverse and growing, feeding on religious and nationalist resentment at the occupation and the anger of ordinary Iraqis at the failure of the U.S. to ensure security and restore such basics as electricity and water.”
Why would ordinary Iraqis feel anger at the US? We’re working to improve the services, whereas the people we’re fighting are sabotaging them. Shouldn’t that lead ordinary Iraqis to support us and oppose our enemies? Karan evidently believes that Iraqis are idiots – that is, he believes they think like him. Basically, the article downplays all the US victories and overestimates the difficulties. It follows standard anti-Bush talking points, which you may find comfortable. But, a lot of assertions are untrue or wildly exaggerated. [/ul]
What I have “seen” being done to make me and mine safer is all dog and pony shit; to include some legislation that takes away personal liberties.
What I have been “told” is being done does seem to be having an effect; mainly the tracking of foreigh nationals and actuclly looking at what some of these people are doing. I believe that 9/11 chould have been avoided = I find it amazing that no one effectively questioned that flight training.
What I fear is continued erosion of my personal liberties at the hands of Bush/Ashcroft because of politics and/or insanity.
Mister Credibility launches the same tired and useless lies. Fuck off, december, you lying shitbag.
Sad. It’s already election season, and some would point out that it’s always election season even for, and perhaps especially for, incumbents careful on managing their image. Also, Bush’s actions/inactions certainly do have an effect on the Democratic campaigns.
Bullshit assertion here, too. You certainly know it’s not unreasonable to claim that he’s been shielding himself from all kinds of criticism by using the term.
Etc. from the usual RW blogs. What about outside downtown Kabul? What you say is factually incorrect - or, since we’re in the Pit, you’re either a fantasist or a fucking liar.
You’re responding with what you think “they” should feel. Karon reports what “they” do feel. There is ample reporting from almost any other source to support his assertion. There is essentially none to support any other view. There is no basis at all for thinking the people who live there and see what’s happening are less informed about their own lives than some pitiful schmuck sitting at a computer in a suburban tract house.
Typical weaseling from you when confronted with reality - try to change the question. Unfortunately for you, most of us are at least as smart as you, and we recognize your fucking lying weasel tactics. It does get very, very tiresome having to continually take out the garbage when you insist on bringing it back into the house to spread it around some more.
The problem with your relations with this board’s participants and management isn’t with everyone else; it’s just you. But you’ll never even consider that possibility, will you?
Do you have a cite that Hamid Karzai governs only in downtown Kabul?
Karzai’s government is now the official government of the country, e.g., for UN representation. Before the war, the Taliban were the official government. That’s reality.
DNFD.
You do read GD, if not the news, D. You know the answer to the first. To the second, “Official” don’t mean dick on the ground if the people actually in charge aren’t them - you know that too.
You don’t have an answer for anything else I’ve given you, and it wasn’t hard at all for me either.
Who the fuck do you think you’re fooling with this continuing trollery? Repeat, the problem is you.
I don’t think that was his point. If the reason we haven’t seen any new terrorist attacks really was because the DOHS has made terrorism so much harder, then we shouldn’t be seeing two guys driving around DC randomly sniping people for weeks without getting caught.
That may hve been an exaggeration, although it is the commonly used shorthand for the situation:
Retired Brig. Gen. David Grange on CNN (February)
Paul Knox, Globe & Mail, Canada (May)
Ron Synovitz, Radio Free Europe (May)
Finally, in just the last week the news has shown some sign of improvement: Washington Post: Afghan Governor Resigns As Karzai Asserts Control Although the story does note that
It will be nice if this turns out to be evidence that Karzai is finally in control (although, given Afhanistan’s history, we may want to see a few more of these events before we stop holding our breaths).
I would imagine that most of their resources are looking at securing against events that could kill a shitload of people. This means securing airports so we don’t have a repeat of 9/11, triple checking truck drivers who have hazmat licenses, keeping an eye on someone who picks up 1000 pounds of fertizer, increasing security at our nuclear power plants, etc.
As horrible as it sounds, I’m worried about the people who killed 3,000 people in an hour, not some nut that killed 10 people over the course of a few weeks.
One other thing, the DOHS must have done something right, because IIRC Malvo is in custody. 
Who knows, maybe I’m just paranoid. Getting daily reports on the status of and vulnerabilities in our nations critical infrastructure from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI as part of my job may have colored my perceptions. I’m just saying that, as a fairly well-informed guy, I’ve got some worries that I see Mr. Bush making ineffectual progress towards resolving. Admittedly they’re sticky issues, but progress should be possible.
OTOH there is Read_Neck, who is living proof that ignorance is bliss. Six of one, half a dozen of the other I guess.
Enjoy,
Steven
So if there is an attack on the “homeland” by foreign terrorists that only kills 10 people, still the DOHS is succesful?
Malvo is in custody because he was stupid enough to park in a public rest area in a car littered with ammunition and guns, and then go to sleep. More importantly, he was captured because the police officers in the metro DC area worked very well together and they had help from law enforcement agencies across the country. The DOHS didn’t run the show.
We are really comparing apples and oranges here, because for one the Beltway sniper was not a foreign terrorist. Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until we have a foreign terrorist sniper on the loose before we have this ridiculous discussion?
Terrorist snipers? Zero
Domestic terror attacks? Zero
Assumption?
Easier choice of targets overseas.
Regrouping of terror cells has hampered abilty to carry out new domestic attack.
New agencies created since 9/11 have twarted a couple of possible attacks, intentionally or unintentionally.
Conclusion?
We have no fucking idea other then that someone is either doing their job, or someone is not doing it.
**
He is also in custody because of a vicious manhunt and the intelligence infrastructure that was put in place to capitalize on any mistake he made.
**
Well the purpose of the DOHS is to defend the homeland against a terror attack right? Other law enforcement agencies still exist and they obviously performed their jos well.
**
Good for them, there was no need, this wasn’t a terror attack.
The ugly truth, I suspect, is that BinLaden and the boys will hit the US when and where they chose. That they haven’t chosen to hit us again means, I suspect, only that they haven’t chosen to hit us yet. When the Homeland security people can tell us that they have thwarted a real scheme to do the US bad, whether it be a oil pipe line somewhere in the Middle East, or the Sears Tower, or the Golden Gate Bridge or the Bridges of Madison County, or an embassy in East Africa, I’ll accept the idea that we are dealing with something more than very elaborate and expensive window dressing.
Thank God, a content-less personal attack from the drive-by king. I was sad for a while that you didn’t think my thread was worthy of your world-class debating skills.
But seeing you have graced us with your style and wit, all is right in the world. Bless you!
:rolleyes: