I know that I'm going to catch alot of flack on this one!! As a contemporary of 'Dubya' as Hardmn2like says, and being from Texas a great portion of my life, then add to that being a born-again Christian' (you unbelievers can roll your eyes!). I believe that he is sincere in his leading of the country (add to that his Dad's contempt for the media). I do not believe that he lied!! That is just a cheap copout for the Libs (after the fact!). If you can believe that, then throw away my Christian beliefs. I know what his claim is and the vulnerabilites surrounding his outward statements of belief! You become an easy target for the cynics and unbelievers! But you wont see ME backing down from what I believe, EVER!! I'll take the slings & arrows, gladly. I'll take your best shot...! Because when you're 'convinced' of what you know & believe, then death or persecution is no big deal!!

For all you speculators out there about how Bush, Demo congress, and middle east war is going to end up, here’s how it's going to be! Bush is going to be ‘hamstrung’ by the Dems for the next 2 years so as NOT to win the war over there. The Dems will try to look good by bringing the U.S. troops home, but in disgrace. The timing will be such that the Dems will take over the Presidency. At that point, the middle east will unite in some form of Jihad/Muslim confederation and start to be a super power since they control the majority of the world’s oil and will have nukes. And, at that point, the middle-east confederation will go against Israel so as to complete the confederation with Palistine. The U.S. will back off due to it's will being broken in Iraq/Afghanistan, and don’t forget Viet Nam! End time revelation talks about “an army of 200 Million coming from the East against Israel.” The Arabs have that now, just not united!
(Note: ppl used to think to get an army that size over in the east, that it would be China---not so, this is an ‘old spiritual war’ going back to Abraham!).

Then you got your eventual Armageddon……..

George W. Bush will then be looked at as having been a strong leader who was cut down by unforeseen circumstances and his own nation. Ppl who bailed over his handling of post 9-11 ‘taking the war on terror to the enemy,’ will admit that they sand-bagged his noble & lofty goal, and by giving up in Iraq/Afghan/Iran, etc. all these things were set into motion. Where ‘W’ missed it was that Armageddon is going to happen, and NO man can stop it!!

Bush didn't lie. He was wrong, that's all. One commentator yesterday on the radio pointed out that it probably never occurred to him that Iraq didn't have WMD - especially given the fact that they had already used gas.

He may be able to pull of a success in Iraq. Maybe. But in the future, I'll be in favor of assassination from the air like Reagan tried with Khadafi.

heh, heh....On April 15, 1986 that loudmouth ####### woke up with an F-111 in his tent! And it got real dang quiet in Lybia after that, too.

Good post.

War is war. Whatever it takes to win.

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When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries all disappear, and life stands explained. Mark Twain

.......but dont the libs see how it could get worse if we just pick up and leave? They are not thinking beyond "bring the troops home". WHAT HAPPENS THEN?
I saw Hanoi Jane and Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins at the "peace rally". What a joke. The reporter asked simple questions which they couldnt answer. Simpletons. BTW Jane is starting to show her age. Hey, why doesnt she volunteer to go to Baghdad and help some suicide terrorist bombers? Just like the old days.

AND I predict that your prediction is right. Its hard to argue with truth. And history has proven this.

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When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries all disappear, and life stands explained. Mark Twain

The liberals can say anything they want today, but everybody, including Bill Clinton and the Democrat leadership considered Iraq a grave danger to the United States before Bush was even elected President. All the previous intelligence and evidence suggested they still had stock piles of biological weapons. It' pretty obvious what has happend, the Iraqis were able to transfer these weapons to either Iran or Syria.

When the liberals call Bush a liar they are grasping for straws. They know their President, Bill Clinton was a liar, and a disgrace. So any chance they can call Bush a liar they will. It's the only thing they have. The Liberals aren't use to having a President that tells the truth, and doesn't try to hump everything that comes within 5 feet of him, like Clinton.

If u knew very much about Khadafi, u would know that the govt. influenced media has made him look a lot worse than he really is. The only thing he has ever been guilty of is creating the wealthiest economy in all of Africa, in the country of Libya. He hates the U.S. yes, but has absolutely no ties to terrorism, and is anti-U.S. only bcuz we didn't want to see Libya or any countries in Africa develop a steady economy.

There's no doubting that George W. Bush has been one of the most controversial Presidents that we have seen in quite some time. He is either loved for his strong points, or hated for what can be coined his weaknesses.

A fact in all of this is simply that to determine that someone has lied, the person has to know that it was a lie when it was uttered. The issue of WMD's has been coined by many as having been one of the biggest lies ever told to the American People. It was never a lie.

The weapons referred to in the intelligence may not have been found after forces took control of Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein, but the proof that they once existed are clearly documented, and Hussein hung by his neck until it broke for his mass murdering of Iraqi citizens. He used examples of WMD's on Iraqi citizenry many times, mainly Kurds, several times as simple tests of their effectiveness.

Many, if not most of the prominent politicians that are grandstanding today in protest of the invasion of Iraq, are those that supported the invasion to begin with. Now some people may be fooled by all of this, but anyone with a brain can see that there are those in Washington that stand their ground, despite criticism, and there are those that will turn their backs to the wind when it begins to make their face uncomfortable.

WMD's are not, nor have they ever been the only reason that we went into Iraq. It's the popular reason cited, and possibly the only flawed reason, at the time unknown to the President when it was mentioned. He, and all of those that have since recanted all of their support for the war, were placing their faith in our intelligence gathering system, and made decisions based on what was presented. Okay, so it turned out that there were no weapons to be found, although not every inch of earth has been dug up to find them yet, but the stipulation has been made by the President that they are not there.

So what?

He has stood there for three years, and taken responsibility for what has been done. He didn't have to do it. Had he taken the path that so many others have done and point fingers elsewhere, he could have launched a full blown investigation into who passed on the bad info, and fired a few people. But that's not what was done. He instead took the heat, and amended the system of intelligence where there is at least some centralized oversight, rather than to have several agencies not working in unison. President Bush stood his ground. He still stands that ground. He knows that what we are doing over there was and still is needed.

The people of Iraq deserve at least a decent chance to govern themselves, and live in a free society. Saddam Hussein had to go. Yes, the United States created a monster, and they had to eradicate that threat. Like so many other dictators throughout history, they didn't all start out bad. They became drunk with power, and evolved into what they eventually became.

The "civil war" that has broken out over there, since we deposed Hussein is not for control over the country. They want control of the oil. Oil means money. The United States wants to see that ALL citizens benefit from the wealth that the country can produce from the sale of it's oil. Believe it...don't believe it. It's a matter of choice. The United States has not taken one drop that it did not pay the market price for, and it never will.

May we as a nation benefit at some point if we stabilize that nation and possibly have a steady source of oil? Absolutely. And what is wrong with that? We sure can't depend upon Citgo's Chavez, or other Arab entities to continue to supply us, and not at some point threaten or carry out an embargo. Our own EPA prevents us from harvesting sources of oil in areas we already own, either due to risks to our coasts, or because the oil is not environmentally friendly.

So...even if you think that this war is about oil, you still need to thank the President. Why? Because think for a minute how you might feel if tomorrow, an announcement came on the morning news that in a week, the nation would likely have no gasoline. We as truckers would not like to find that in a week, we had better be home, because that's it...you're on your feet, you're out of a job, and it may be a long walk home if you are not.

Think about what a complete disruption of our oil supplies could mean to this country. We import 60% of the oil consumed in this nation each and every day. We take it for granted. We expect every station to have gas in those pumps when we pull up to them. They rarely disappoint us.

If you ask me, even if there is a shred of truth to the idea that this war is over oil, then I say....maybe it ought to be. Outside of Canada, the nations we import our oil from, don't largely have to depend upon the United States any longer for their sales. China is fast becoming thirsty for oil. OPEC might decide at some point to ditch us.

Iraq is said to have enough oil to supply the United States for fifty years or more. Having them as an ally certainly can't hurt...can it? Let's face it...there isn't a great supply of bicycles on hand for Americans to ride. Horses are even in shorter supply. And a 30 mile commute isn't so great on either, especially in inclimate weather. Oil is going to be needed for quite a few years, even if we start popping out electric cars tomorrow in mass numbers. They are hardly going to be affordable, practical, or without problems for years to come.

GWB is not a well spoken man. He irritates most people. I am one of those people. He inserts his foot quite often when he opens his mouth. But if you look past all of that, there is a man who may have not been what most people consider experienced enough to lead this nation, but has surprisingly done a fine job of doing just that.

Me? I'd have quit. I'd have thrown up my hands and said...."Fine...you dumbo's run it yourself. Who needs this crap?" I cannot recall any President that I have ever read about, that has had to endure more negative press, more protestings, more bickering among politicians, and more unjust criticism, than what GWB has taken. And yet...he still stands and takes it. That's a leader in my opinion. He's much more of a man than I am. The difference between myself and so many others, is that I will freely admit that. I have a high threshold, but not THAT high.

There has never been a war in this nation where all the citizens stood squarely behind it. There are those who will scream at the top of their lungs that all war is wrong, and that's absolutely true. When anyone has to resort to violence, the battle is lost before the first bullet is fired. Someone failed in their efforts to deter what has happened effectively. But the fact remains, sometimes you just can't talk your way out of a conflict.

I guess the bottom line is simple. GWB has taken a lot of heat. Some may be justified, but most of it is not. We live in a nation where most people seem to think that the President is responsible for everything. About the only thing I haven't heard him blamed for, is someone's pet being hit by an SUV. Let me help out on that one. Remember the tax break Bush imposed for business buyers of SUV's to boost the auto industry back in 2001? There 'ya go. Blame him....if all those SUV's had not flooded the market, maybe "Fluffy" would still be breathing...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. History, in the future that is, will be kinder to GWB than what he presently endures. I may not like to hear him speak, but he's definitely earned my respect, if for no other reason than for the fact that he's never waffled, bowed to public opinion and polls, and stood for what is right, even when the vast majority of the people being allowed to voice their opinions where he might hear it, don't express their support.

I was thinking the other day about how those in other countries would view our nation, the free society that it is, where someone can get on national TV and call the President anything he wishes, and he is not hauled off to jail. I was sure that they would be impressed to listen to all of the argumentative dialog on our nation's news outlets, where people cannot agree on anything politically. Surely they smile when they see that so many want to abandon the efforts in Iraq, and pull everything out and let the chips fall where they may.

I doubt that those that are counting on us this time to finish the job, and to not pull out like we did under Bill Clinton, are smiling. They are probably very fearful of what will happen to them and their loved ones, if that happens again.

Very well said, TT. AS always your take on this mess is accurate, informative, & relatively unbiased. I've long wondered why anyone would want the job as president. I am so tired of monday morning qb,s. You gather whatever info you can & go from there. Who has not made decisions based on info later found to be faulty? If I knew then what I know now, Please. what a bunch of garbage. I certainly don't agree with all GWB's decisions, either, but at least his resolve remains firm. I am so tired of wishy-washy people who always expect instant gratification.JMHO.
BTW, Welcome back, YOU were missed!

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Wind me up, turn me loose & watch me run,
I ain't NEVER had too much fun!!!!