Letter to the Editor
Real security
Published Sunday, October 12, 2008
Digg
delicious
Facebook
Mixx
Reddit
Stumble It!Oct. 8, 2008
To the editor:
As a veteran of World War II and a retired pastor and missionary, I certainly agree with all Americans that our national security is a priority.
We all should have learned by now that our security comes not from endless wars — whether to fight “terrorism” or to secure resources and markets for our giant corporations. That only kills off more lives and devastates our economy.
Our only hope for real national security will be found in moving toward global security as we restore good neighborly relations with the rest of the nations. In part, that means being a faithful, dues-paying member of the United Nations and working to improve it.
For this reason among others, I will vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden; even though I respect John McCain as an honorable war veteran and think Sarah Palin is not the worst governor we have had in Alaska. In fact, I think we should keep her here in Alaska where she belongs.
Community Discussion
Newsminer.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full user's agreement.
Diplomacy. That is one of the best ways to keep America safe.
Those bad at diplomacy (like Bush) tend to increase the numbers and fanaticism of our enemies. Those good at diplomacy reduce the number and enthusiasm of our enemies.
Obama is far better at diplomacy and far more liked around the world than McCain.
wrong. obama is a fool and he'll be played like a chump.
Oh boy I may regret this, due to the onslaught of liberalism posted on here, but here it goes:
Morons, our borders were infiltrated and the terrorist cells that were responsible for 9/11 attacks were developed and fortified during the clintonian years, aka 1992-2000. Clinton was too busy taking credit for a positive economic cycle, and being a cigar smoking diplomat to take notice of weakening borders and lack of general security in our country.
President Bush has protected us since 9/11 pure and simple. I challenge you to name another successful terrorist attack on America since 9/11.
America put's Obama in office, and our security will again be as it was in the clintonian years.
sourdoughdiablo, shouldn't you be over here in Iraq with the rest of us instead of talking it up. You will find the majority of veterans agree with Mr. Heacock. You will also find the majority of Americans are too weak and cowardly or selfish to serve 12-15 months in a war zone away from their loved ones; diplomacy better be the way, because the military cannot sustain what it is doing WITHOUT bodies. After this deployment, I will be losing over 60% of my platoon to ETS or retirement.
We do do a good job of creating enemies. Our State Dept does a very poor job in assessing and making determination on how to handle issues in foreign countries. We need a security policy to protect us. When I am done in Iraq in 2010 I am retiring.
Not a Bush fan, but honestly all biased aside is Bush really responsible for 9-11?
Actually he was pretty reserved, he tried to use diplomacy is this all forgotten?
Like I said I don't like Bush but I wont be blinded by hate.
Bush acted reasonably considering the information he was provided IMO, in retrospect he made many wrong calls which were secondary to inaccurate collection and analysis.
Diplomacy won't work in SWA.
Armies aren't resourced or adequately trained in Nation Building it isn't their mission but I don't expect many to understand that.
There is only one thing that gets the attention of foreign sanctioned and funded terrorists and those that are indigenous to the AO that are sympathetic & provide sanctuary to them.
You won't like the answer, because America lost it's callouses long ago, America bleeds for others more than it bleeds for itself, we have lost our sense of Nationalism. We were attacked by a group of men not a Country, but they were sponsored plain and simple at various levels of foreign anti-american governments.
If you want to defeat terror you have to be better at it.
Islamabad, Gilgit, Peshwar, Karachi, Mecca, Medina, Riyadh,and Jiddah should have been heavily struck with a firestorm of conventional munitions within 72 hours after 9-11 and just leave it at that. No troops, no aid, just a strike. For every 3000+ innocent American non-combatants you allowed to be killed by not policing up your own you just lost 500-600 thousand.
They understand the abacus.... Then you put out an ultimatum to the fanatics and the their sympathizer within the Muslim world, every attack on US interests domestic and abroad will be met with ever increasing US retaliations.
Again, we aren't capable of this, which is why we will eventually be absorbed a little at a time until we are completely impotent.
I imagine someone will echo if we did that we'd be no better than them, then just ask yourself whats better breathing or not...
There is a huge difference we didn't start it, but we can easily finish it. We don't need to conquer, we don't need boots on the ground, we just need to win by overwhelming submission.
darkstar,
Majority of veterans agree with what portion of what Mr. Heacock said?
"You will also find the majority of Americans are too weak and cowardly or selfish to serve 12-15 months in a war zone away from their loved ones".
p.s. comments like the above do NOT help...you might throw down with that on here thinking no one will check you. I am. Our (yes, plural) service is something to be respected and honored...but don't come on here and spout off smegma like the above. It detracts, not adds. Respect goes both ways (civilians to military AND vice versa). Off the soapbox.
I like the plainer burkas. Not as sensual as colorful ones.
In which direction should we kneel, when we are forced to pray to Allah? After we send our foreign policy to the tinhorn despots represented in the UN by their corrupt ambassadors.
Oct. 8, 2008
To the editor:
"As a veteran of World War II and a retired pastor and missionary,"
Minus the WWII stuff isn't that how the Reverend Wright started out too. All these evangelist, preachers, and priests, involved in politics scare the JESUS right out of me, almost Taliban like don't you think? Ole Reverend Wright is a winner thats for sure and in the name of God to boot.
What was it ole Huckabee said, I left evangelism not to be a politician but to bring GOD to Washington-- or words to that effect...
I've met the author, Mr. Heacock. He's a good man and he is correct about endless wars not being the key to our security. However, Obama has emphasized the need to go to war in Pakistan, to send more troops to Afghanistan and flip flops on Iran. He is just another interventionist war hawk; he is just a tool for the banking interests that own this country. In fact, he gets 3 times the money from wall street as McCain. McBama is the banker/war ticket.
Why couldn't the Democrat groups support someone like Kuccinich, when he was running. He's not perfect, but he's a million times better than Obama. I hope people will just get out of the box and vote third party. Stop putting the rest of us through this crap. Don't vote McBama.
Chuck Baldwin or write in Ron Paul '08
Yes, diplomacy has worked so well with North Korea and Iran.
If I recall, the North was building nukes behind our backs while Clinton's "diplomats" were wining and dining in Pyongyang.
wow, all you conservatives sure have respect for our veterans, i see.
shameful that you can't just accept that he has a certain opinion formed after years of experience which he has properly broadcast on an OPINION page and that you can't just accept he has an opinion without calling him a moron or other derogatory names.
glacierles, as usual, you're logic is juvenile. you would rule through fear if you could. diplomacy is not for the immature so i can see how it wouldn't appeal to you and you would think it "weak".
You were a pastor and missionary? And you think we should increase our involvement in the United Nations? You need to read Revelation again. Also, you are not concerned about the pro-choice/pro-life issue? Interesting.
Yeah, the UN has been so effective. Like stopping the genocide in Rawanda or the former Yugoslavia, enforcing arms control measures in North Korea, or stopping warlords from pilfering food relief and other stocks in Somalia. Yeah, we should really support the UN.
As I posted 2 weeks ago, Rumsfield sold nuclear technology to North Korea who was already known to be trading weapons tech with Pakistan for decades. But since al-qaeda was formed in Pakistan with funding from our friends the Saudi's and the CIA, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised to realize there are nefarious activities going on behind the curtain. Perhapses our real enemies are running Washington? that question is rhetorical, by the way.
Isn't it amazing, when our "leaders" (criminals) sell technology to China or NK for their own profit, they claim "how were we to know" when that communist nation blows off their first nuke. Then, when our "leaders" (criminals) want to lock up oil fields or prevent someone from dumping the dollar (Iraq, Iran), to preserve their own wealth, they come up with fake evidence for nukes that don't exist. Isn't "plausible deniability" a wonderful thing for our security, It sure is for Clinton's and Bush's and Cheney's and Rummy's bank accounts.
Suggestions for increasing national security:
Resign from the UN, and toss them out of our country. Isolationism is a much better security tactic than involvement.
Bring our troops home and use them to gaurd our borders. "Good fences make good neighbors".
Remove ourselves from the coming "one-world order". Self-sufficiency equals stability, and this includes production of goods and services.
Non-interventionism, rather than isolationism is the best tactic for security. We must get out of the UN, as you said, Denaliguy. We should guard our borders, rebuild our manufacturing, trade freely with friendly nations. Fences are also for keeping people in, not just out, so no fences. Most importantly, return to the Constitution and NEVER allow private banking interests to have control of the issue of our currency again. The coming one world order is a creation of the money powers, which control govt's, which is why they must never be able to issue our currency or put us in debt.
I have read alot of good things in this post and alot of non-sense. My comment is to the military people in this post that are planning on voting for the Dem's. That is not a wise choice, no matter who is running. The Dem's have done more damage than good for our military- like close bases & cut benefits. If you are truly worried about this great nation and it's security, look at past track records of the Dem's and look at how anti-military they have been, the look at what the Rep. party has done for our military members. I have lived through to much, and want more for my family than that. You do not want to worry about how to pay your bills because they won't raise your pay, or if your base/post will be there when you return from a deployment, or how you are going to pay for you medical bills because they keep cutting your benefit's. Do your homework before you vote!!!!!
The UN is as worthless as the ACLU....YOU want security....Don't fix what's NOT broken. Get back to GOD, COUNTRY and a STRONG MILITARY. You are free because people died saving your arse.
To outspoken~
Do you realize that McCain, the POW that he is, the "war hero" that he is, the wounded soldier that he is, has voted against nearly every bill that has intended to improve the health care of veterans? Have you read the tons of articles regarding the abominable conditions in the veteran's hospitals? Why isn't anyone that claims to support the troops so heartily bitching about THAT?
Peace
does anyone else wonder how our neighbors to the east (canada) are able to stay off of the world's s**t list? they haven't tried to be world police lately or ever. diplomacy anyone?
Diplomacy at any costs? Or more specifically how we got into Iraq? Want to know where you want to go with this.
Since you chose to attack me Darkstarr, I'll reply with this. What did the military do to protect the United States on 9/11? From my memory, a plane full of CIVILIANS were the only ones to foil any of the 4 attempted attacks.
I have respect for the women and men of our military, but I do feel that civilians play a role in protecting our country as well, including paying the military's bills.
Hey sourdough - get off of darstarr! He is over in Iraq putting his butt on the line for this country while you sit here spewing garbage.
Richard Clark, a high profile intelligence head, responsible for collecting data on Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden and who worked in the Clinton and Bush terms has clearly said that Clinton's administration loudly warned the incoming Bush administration about putting bin Laden on the TOP OF THEIR THREAT LIST. The Bush administration purposefully ignored these warnings. When the WTC was attacked, the Bush administration engineered the escape of the bin Laden family and other Saudis from this country, while the rest of us were grounded. They later outed a covert CIA agent who was responsible for finding and undermining bad guys who deal in weapons of mass destruction. They've also turned the entire world against us by acting like a pack of idiotic blowhards (actually, for Bush, it isn't an act) so that we have few friends with which to stand in hard times.
You think we're more secure under a Bush administration? You, sourdoughdiablo, are a fool.
War is inevitable for national security when the population of a country is too lazy to communicate as a people with other peoples in the form of trade and finding open common interests.
A president can do "bleep" all with diplomacy when most Americans are more interested in being entertained and gratified, than producing things that interest other peoples. Volume exchange of real goods and services (not fake financial services crap) has historically suppressed terrorism, religious extremism, piracy, and banditry. War and military operations against such elements are bandaids. They are in fact symptoms of a country dying.
Note: Being mainly a consumer -- like what America is now -- was partly why Aristocracy and Monarchy historically became unpopular as government forms. So seek not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Chestbeaters will argue with me. They haven't killed enough human beings "because there is no other way" till they become sick of it.
That's my opinion. Please try hating or mocking me for expressing it.
Stuart Thompson
Fairbanks
icarian, i'm saying we should be a diplomacy first country before we go talking tough and acting macho. we haven't been doing ourselves any favors lately. it might be time to rethink our strategy. when push comes to shove, we might just have to flex our military muscles, but i right now believe that should be a last resort.
sourdoughdiablo: "I challenge you to name another successful terrorist attack on America since 9/11."
Uh, how about the anthrax attacks?
AKpatriot: "Diplomacy. That is one of the best ways to keep Am