Is America safer since 9/11?

[JUGGERNAUT]

This morning admist the scandal facing Israel's administration we now know that Israeli Intelligence was convinced that Saddam had WMD's.

 

Before we debate whether WMD's will ever be found in Iraq, let's keep in mind that Iraq is a BIG country with lots of places to bury things. What we know is that Saddam has used chemical/bio WMD's on Kurdish rebels in the past. This is an indisputable fact.

 

Now, let's put that debate aside for a minute because there is a MUCH more important one that without question has made America safer since 9/11. That debate is about Libya. Today we also learned that Israeli intelligence was clueless on Libya's WMD program. Now I'm focusing on Israeli intelligence because this is considered the leading intelligence agency in the world today.

 

Libya's WMD program was/is a fact. It was a surprise to the US, Britain, & Israel as to how far along it was. It not only included bio/chem WMD's but also missile/nuclear.

It is also a fact that Libya surrendered it's WMD program as a direct result of the Iraqi war & the swiftness in which Saddam's regime was defeated.

 

It does not surprise me that congress does not want to mention this in either party because the last impression they want to give is that the best defense is a strong offense. But the facts are clear on this subject.

 

Likewise, the cooperation now coming from Pakistan is not only helping to defeat Al-Queda but MORE importantly diffusing the battle that was waging between Pakistan & India. This is arguably MORE important than N Korea because both of these countries are nuclear powers both in defense & industry. Pakistan & India relations are better than they have been in the last 20 yrs as a result in US involvement in aligning itself with Pakistan for the hunt for Bin Laden.

 

Finally, let's not forget that the Clinton administration is directly to blame for N Korea's nuclear program. This administration took a prevent style defensive measure in beleiving that if it gave up yardage it would prevent a score. Unless you have HIGHLY disciplined players, the prevent is a like plugging a dam with a finger to keep it from bursting. Needless to say, the tough stance that Bush has taken has N Korea leaning to making a similar decision like Libya.

 

So in my opinion the facts of the matter clearly indicate America is safer since 9/11.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Safer from Lybia, sure maybe. I haven't seen the details of what you cited, was their missile program long range? Could they hit us? Of course they could have hit our overseas sites and interests but I woudl be surprised if they could target the US mainland.

 

Safer against N. Korea? Same situation as above, really. Their fledgeling nuclear missile program doesn't put the US mainland at risk.

 

Suggesting that relations between India and Pakistan are anything close to stable or even leaning that way is erroneous.

 

As far as mainland US, our overseas sites and interests, and our world allies actually being safer OVERALL from terrorist threats as a result of our unilateral, preemptive, lie-predicated, war on Iraq, that is clearly not true. What did Spain get for supporting us? At the national level, we talk a good game and we demant state and municipal governments sheel out huge amounts of money for homeland security meaures, aned it is breaking the local governments because almost no federal assistance is being provided. Obviously we will have to stand down at the local levels sometime soon because local agencies and governments are not being given resources to keep the security level at full alert. Then think of the rest of the world that we have dragged into our war on terror (I am not suggesting terrorists shouldn't be ferreted out). They do not have teh kind of resources to throw into civil defense that we do, and they are not located an entire ocean away from the most volatile players liek we conveniently are. Spain was an easy target, and don't think the other US-friendly European countries did not see that. Our handling on things led to that attack and that government change-over by the will of the voters. Tony Blair's cooperation will very likely be the end of him politically. Every country that questioned siding with us on Iraq is in part vindicated, and every country that sided wityh us is wondering when they will be targets of terrorist retaliation.

 

The world is less safe as a result of the administrations mis-handling of Iraq and the war on terror.

[Rex Kickass]

I'm sorry, but when did I miss the Libya developments. It was my understanding that El-Baradei said that Libya was several years away from nuclear capabilities. As for Chemical and Biological weaponry, it seemed - when inspections first began that their delivery systems and programs were pretty crude and not nearly that well made.

 

Pakistan fighting Al-Qaeda elements in their own country may be a temporary help to the US, but it also came out this year that Pakistan, a state that the Clinton administration placed fairly tight sanctions on were selling nuclear technology to rogue states.

 

North Korea's agreed framework was never fully funded by the Republican congress. We, in fact, reneged on that agreement before the North Koreans. By their own admission, they did not seriously pursue a nuclear weapons program until 2001, after the Bush inauguration took place. A point in which you could see a shift in attitude towards the North Koreans from the US government. Then North Korea said: we are reprocessing our fuel rods unless you talk with us. The Bush administration would not. Now North Korea has nuclear weapons - although a delivery system is not adequate to their needs at the moment. How did the Bush administration by waiting nearly two years to speak with the North Koreans and create some sort of understanding regime make the US safer?

 

The Pakistan/India situation is cooling off in the same way that the US/USSR situation cooled off in the 1970s. The proliferation of Nuclear weaponry within both states seems to have created a Mutually Assured Destruction regime which, in my view, seems to be growing in a similar fashion to the US/USSR regime of the 60s and 70s during Cold War II. This has little to do with US influence.

 

Is the US safer? Probably not. Are we safer? Probably, because September 11th made us more aware of the risks of living freely in the world. In some ways, this is the strongest weapon against terror available. But that is something that the government can not provide for us.

[Texsox]

We're at yellow aren't we?

 

As long as we have that nice color coded system I feel so much safer.

[Heads22]

We're at yellow aren't we?

 

As long as we have that nice color coded system I feel so much safer. 

Tom Ridge answering Bush's question about the terror level:

 

No, I think we're at turquoise. Maybe magenta. SpongeBob yellow? God, I don't know! I knew it was the wrong move to have the terror levels sponsored by Sherwin Williams!

[Pale Hose Jon]

I feel more vulnerable now than before. A few sections of the patriot act are more of a threat to my freedom than any terrorist.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I feel more vulnerable now than before. A few sections of the patriot act are more of a threat to my freedom than any terrorist.