During the TV interview Ron Paul compared Iraq to Vietnam in that we have two choices regarding the quagmire: withdraw or escalate. Bush has repeatedly called for staying so the first option is out, leaving the second option. Escalation, as Vietnam should have taught us, leads nowhere. Ron Paul felt we should withdraw.

I agree considering we shouldn't have been there in the first place but I think there's a third option - the Bush option and that is to simply stay there but without escalating - yet. Just keep an American presence until the U.N. sends in forces, until the Iraqis can truly take over, or until there's nothing left to loot. I like how Bush talks about Democracy and Freedom and then tries to foist Chalabi as the new Head. Ooops, Chalabi's out. Foist a CIA crony...ooops he's out. Foist...oh the Iraqi Council voted someone in? Democracy!!!

Bush and his cronies have absolutely no idea how to handle a peace or to build a country. Bush can't even keep the U.S. going so what makes him or his cabinet experts on building other countries? Answer: What do they get out of it?

Bush's only strength for vote gathering lies in the notion that he "understands" terrorism, that he's being strong and resolute on terrorism. Ron Paul's not fooled. We're not fooled. Bush knows nothing about stopping terrorism, otherwise he'd have gone after Bin Laden and stayed after him until Justice was served. Instead Bush veered to Iraq to fulfill other priorities.

Bush doesn't understand terrorism. He understands War against Nations - that's easy. Afghanistan, Iraq - those were easy targets but terrorists are different. They can hide in nations but necessarily be supported by nations. We have had terrorists in the U.S. - Timothy McVeigh, for example. He wasn't state sponsored so the notion of going after nations harboring terrorists falls short (unless we have plans to conquer the world - Democracy Uber Alles).

That Bush doesn't understand terrorism and is only spreading paranoia plays right into the terrorists hands. For a minimum of effort the terrorists can achieve a maximum of results. 9/11 was the result of years of planning, study, and careful execution. Now with Homeland Security and their nebulous alerts a terrorist need only pick up a phone to cause an event to get cancelled or a freeway closed or a mall cleared. The terrorists only have to threaten instead of execute to achieve interruption. For a $0.35 call they can achieve millions of dollars of disruption.

Vietnam was a different type of warfare, one that didn't play by our rules. Iraq is proving the same and that Bush doesn't understand terrorism is again demonstrated by his reluctance to get us out. That Bush today compared the War against Terrorism to World War II shows that Bush is desperate. We didn't invade Germany to stop Hitler in the early 1930's. Hitler wasn't a threat to the U.S. and had many supporters in our Government. Hussein shot his wad in the early 1990's and got his butt spanked. He didn't then try to take over the Mid-East. Fact is, he said he didn't have WMDs and he was telling the truth. Bush lied to get his agenda through. Plain and simple - the bad guy told the truth and the good guy lied.

Bush: "Bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq, Bush has argued, will undercut the stagnation and despair that feeds the extremist ideologies of al-Qaida and its terrorist allies." And that's why al Qaeda is now in Iraq recruiting like crazy. Al Qaeda wasn't a player with Hussein around and now look. Al Qaeda is not feeding off despair, they're feeding off disgust. Disgust over Bush and his cronies saying one thing and doing another. Freedom! Democracy! Whoops - prison abuse (but we're not as bad as Hussein).

'"Part of winning the war on terror is spreading freedom and democracy in the Middle East," Bush told reporters at the White House before leaving for Colorado on Tuesday.' So does that mean Saudi Arabia is next? They've supported terrorists. How about Iran? They got nukes in development. How about Pakistan? They've got nukes and terrorists.

You can't stop terrorism by increasing fear, paranoia, secrecy, and military invasions. It comes through communications and openness. It comes through fulfilling hopes and dreams, instead of creating new nightmares. Bush has neglected bin Laden, a known terrorist, to pursue Iraq. Hussein was a bad boy but he could have been toppled later AFTER the capture of Bin Laden and with perhaps more valid evidence for the need that what was used.

What truly sickens me are those folks think that any criticism of Bush Policy is unpatriotic. That we should blindly support our troops in whatever endeavors. We want their quick and safe return but we deplore the policy that put them in harms way.

More Faith Needed
"The Associated Press


Presidential Revival: President Bush speaks Tuesday at the White House National Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives being held in Washington.


WASHINGTON - President Bush, trying to revive a stalled initiative, said Tuesday the doctrine of separation-of-state should not prevent religious groups from competing for government money to help the needy.


"I'm telling America, we need to not discriminate against faith-based programs," Bush told a White House conference of community leaders. "We need to welcome them so our society is more wholesome, more welcoming and more hopeful for every single citizen."


Opponents of Bush's initiative, launched in the early days of his administration, worry that government would wind up paying for religion. They also object to allowing taxpayer-funded groups to hire and fire based on religious persuasion. But the proposal is popular with religious groups, a key political constituency of Bush's, and he is pushing it as an election-year initiative.


"I fully understand it's important to maintain the separation of church and state," Bush said.


"We don't want the state to become the church nor do we want the church to become the state. We're in common agreement there."


"But I do believe that groups should be allowed to access social service grants so long as they don't proselytize or exclude somebody simply because they don't share a certain faith," he said."

And how pray-tell would the Government know whether proselytizing was happening? Would there be an oversight committee? What, exactly, would constitute proselytizing?

But wait there's more...

"Bush Promises Faith Groups Cultural Change


United Press International


President Bush Tuesday promised a change in U.S. culture to help faith-based organizations, creating three more federal centers for faith-based initiatives.


"It's hard to be a faith-based program if you can't practice faith," Bush told attendees of the first national annual White House Faith-Based Initiatives Conference in Washington.


"And the message to you is: we're changing the culture here in America," he said. "And we're making progress. We're changing the attitude here in Washington, D.C."


Bush signed an executive order Tuesday creating three more centers in federal departments -- for the Department of Commerce, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Small Business Administration.


These new centers join seven others that Bush created to help grass-roots faith-based organizations find federal funding.


"Government can't spend money on religious programs simply because there's a rabbi on the board, cross on the wall or crescent on the door. I view this as not only bad social policy -- because policy bypassed the great works of compassion and healing that take place -- I viewed it as discrimination, and we needed to change it," he said."

Noooo, the Government can't and shouldn't spend money on religious programs because they're religious programs!!! The job of the Government is to Govern, provide services for the people. A Government should not be pushing a religion, any religion. If religious institutions want to provide services, fine, let them. Keep the Government out of it.

Bush is only further opening the breach of the wall between Church and State. "In God We Trust" and "Under God" yesterday. Faith-based initiatives today. Tomorrow, public affirmations of Christianity as being the true U.S. religion? This is exactly how terrorism gets started, by eliminating Freedoms...