3/19/03 - "After war has ended, the U.S. will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq."

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

The general unease surrounding this war is not just due to "orange alert." There is a pervasive sense of rush and risk and too many questions unanswered. How long will we be in Iraq? What will be the cost? What is the ultimate mission? How great is the danger at home? A pall has fallen over the Senate Chamber. We avoid our solemn duty to debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in Iraq.

What is happening to this country? When did we become a nation which ignores and berates our friends? When did we decide to risk undermining international order by adopting a radical and doctrinaire approach to using our awesome military might? How can we abandon diplomatic efforts when the turmoil in the world cries out for diplomacy?

Why can this President not seem to see that America's true power lies not in its will to intimidate, but in its ability to inspire?

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

1. and, if you want to puke:

the warmonger's response - so mavericky!:

Madam President, there is one thing I am sure of, that we will find the Iraqi people have been the victims of an incredible level of brutalization, terror, murder, and every other kind of disgraceful and distasteful oppression on the part of Saddam Hussein's regime.

And contrary to the assertion of the Senator from West Virginia, when the people of Iraq are liberated, we will again have written another chapter in the glorious history of the United States of America, that we will fight for the freedom of other citizens of the world, and we again assert the most glorious phrase, in my view, ever written in the English language; and that is: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The people of Iraq, for the first time, will be able to realize those inalienable rights. I am proud of the United States of America. I am proud of the leadership of the President of the United States.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Remarks_by_John_McCain_prior_to_the_U.S._invasion_of_Iraq

[Faygo Kid]

2. +1

[midnight]

3. What has happened to my country? We let corporations be defined as people...

We let homeless people be defined as criminalized. And we let money trump peace....

[pacalo]

4. I've transcribed the first video...

I believe in this great & beautiful country. I have studied its roots. I have gloried in the wisdom of its magnificent constitution & its inimitable history. I have marveled at the wisdom of its founders & its framers. Generation after generation of Americans has understood the lofty ideas that underlie our great republic.

I have been inspired by...(break in audio)...the very sacrifice & their strength, but they (break in audio)

I watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America -- one of strong, yet benevelent peace keeper. The image of America, Madame President, has changed. Around the globe our friends mistrust us. Our word is disputed. Our intentions are questioned.

Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have succeeded in isolating ourselves.

We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few but feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place.

We fought our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN security council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split.

After the war has ended the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America's image around the globe. The case that this administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents & circumstantial evidence.

We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason: This is not a war of necessity, but a war of choice. There is no credible information to connect Saddam Hussein to 9/11 -- at least, up to this point.

The Twin Towers fell because a worldwide terrorist group -- Al Quada, with cells in more than 60 nations -- struck at our wealth & our influence by turning our own planes into missles, one of which would likely have slammed into the dome of this beautiful capitol, except for the brave sacrifice of some of the passengers who were on board that plane.

The brutality seen on September 11 & in other terrorist attacks we have witnessed around the globe are the violent & desperate efforts by extemists to stop the daily encroachment of western values upon their cultures. That is what we fight. It is a force not confined to territorial borders. It is a shadowy entity with many faces, many names, & many addresses.

But this administration has directed all of the anger, fear, & grief which emerged from the ashes of the Twin Towers & the twisted metal of the Pentagon towards a tangible villain -- one we can see...& hate...& attack. And villain he is -- but he is the wrong villain & this is the wrong war.

If we attack Saddam Hussein, we will probably drive him from power, but the zeal of our friends to assist our global war on terrorism may have already taken flight.

The general unease surrounding this war is not just to orange alert. There is a pervasive(ness) of rush...& risk...& too many questions unanswered.

[AustinSanders]

5. Interesting

Interesting