With General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker giving their reports that a military improvement in Iraq is happening but a political solution is more problematic, the question some might ask on this very moving day of 9/11 is whether the United States should continue its efforts in the Middle East or should it engage in rebuilding infrastructure such as South Louisiana and New Orleans.
Very few can legitimately establish a direct connection between the terror of 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq other than our concern that weapons of mass destruction were hidden in Iraq and that terror groups using Iraq as a haven should we depart.
Still, this single issue which is dividing America, the Iraq War needs a full vetting and it just happens to also need a full discussion given the catastrophe on American soil in Louisiana and what can potentially can occur elsewhere USA.
With hundreds of millions spent daily in Iraq, it is hard not to feel patriotic today given that catastrophe of such a vile type wounded us, made us feel vulnerable and even took some of our finest in New York and elsewhere.
And, without doubt, nobody could feel anything but pride for the Americans who have sacrificed so much in ensuring that the fight occurs over there, not, over here.
But, despite a growing budget, it does not take a mental giant to see that Louisiana, despite its own dysfunctional politics and politicians deserve much more than what we have received to rebuild a major part of the United States.
So, while, Congress and America debate over the future of American troops, and while many of us mourn over what happened on 9/11, we must make hard decisions in America and here in Louisiana regarding the type of nation we are and the type of Governor we want--to make certain that we are not forgotten, never again.
Seriously, right-wing types, do you really think your guys have actually been competent in their own right? How?? They swore to go after Bin Laden after 9/11/2001 and had the national mandate to do it and do whatever it was going to take and still they haven't had "mission accomplished" yet on that one after, let's see, 7 years? And that's been their Big Issue. Maybe the Warren G. Harding or Benjamin Harrison administration was more utterly incompetent than the G. W. Bush administration but it would still be a really close call.
Written by Richard P.
on 9/14/2007
time for Richard P to get into rehab.
Written by LT
on 9/13/2007
I shudder to think of what a Clinton or Gore administration would have done after 9/11/2001. Competent, I think not.
Written by Sid
on 9/13/2007
Things would have been handled better in a Clinton Gore administration? I can hardly stop laughing. I guess the Gore Sr and Jr Occidental Oil connection went right past you. Funny, how cloudy your memory is when talking about "Big Oil". As far as Clinton, for starters, we all now know he had a chance to get Bin Laden and blew it,(pardon the pun). The systematic destruction of the intelligence gathering capbalities occured on his watch as did, in case you have forgotten, planning for 9/11 in the 1990's by the same Bin Laden he failed to get, no doubt as a direct result of the wall created by left leaning liberals in the congress (supported by Clinton/Gore) between the FBI and the CIA preventing them from sharing information. You see, Clinton/Gore thought all information they were or weren't receiving was to be handled as a domestic matter by local police,and not as a national security issue.We saw the results of that brilliant decision on 9/11.When Bush decided that maybe, just maybe, we should get a little more serious about it since we were actuall attacked on our own soil, and that yes (horrors!!) it might actually cost America money and lives, you liberals went to a hissy bitch fit. Am I getting to complicated for you? Oh well, La de da, you are in a little dream world my friend. Sad.
Written by poboy1
on 9/13/2007
Yes, I'll say it. In a Clinton or Gore administration things would have been handled a lot more competently. You see, with Bush and friends, foreign military adventures, taking care of Halliburton and oil and energy interests, etc., that's what they know, it's their language, they're down with that, nooo problem! OTOH competently looking after domestic infrastructure, cities, FEMA, levees, coastal restoration, that's all stuff that they, like Prissy in "Gone with the Wind," they "don't know nothin' 'bout...."
Written by Richard P.
on 9/13/2007
That's funny...LBJ and Bush as two of a kind, power-hungry Texas presidents who got this country involved in a big-time mess abroad...but not when you realize that Bush probably does think we're making substantive progress in Iraq (LBJ was enough of a realist to understand when things were in fact going wrong). Let's see... there might be some political progress there, the Iraqi police and military might, just might, be ready to handle things...in another decade or two. No more Texas presidents anytime soon, please!!
Written by Richard P.
on 9/13/2007
Sorry RP. Your perfect little liberal world where everone gets everything they wish far doesn't exist. Whining about Republicians won't work either. You remind me of a bumber sticker I once saw: LBJ'S Great Society, another decade should do it.
Written by poboy1
on 9/13/2007
Hey...Bush and his cronies have been in power since Jan. 2001, have been in complete power with GOP control over Congress for the majority of the time and pretty much a mandate after Sept. 11, 2001 to do whatever he wanted. Not only that but they have pushed the envelope and pushed it hard as far as the exercise of that power. Nixon might be proud of them; he might even be embarassed. The buck can't stop anywhere else. The U.S. has never come closer to emulating some sort of military dictatorship, this one with the generalissimo being a chicken hawk. The fact: only a small fraction of the figure that Bush likes to bandy about as what's been disbursed has actually been disbursed in regard to recovery needs. The large majority of it was in regard to immediate-aftermath aid and was spread among several states. And then there's the red tape. What a contrast: when it comes to Louisiana, it's "oooh we'd better be careful about waste and corruption and make sure there are tight controls if somehow we need to be spending this at all...." but with Iraq and Halliburton, it's "let the good times roll!!...."
Written by Richard P.
on 9/12/2007
About the war in the Middle East...does anyone in here honestly believe if that were not happening...NOLA and LA Land would have made any real progress? Does anyone in here actually think that any "recovery" would be further along? If the U.S. Treasury was emptied..and just given to this "recovery"...do you really think that there would be any progress? If you do...then you need a 12 step program. It's not about the funding...sorry...it's about the people in place that are supposed to be in charge of the planning. Of course...that's the government's fault...Bush's fault. Please people...you're smarter than that...or are you?
Written by LT
on 9/12/2007
Left wing...right wing...wingless. Who cares? The money is there for Louisiana's "recovery". The sad fact is and remains..the state and local government have no plan to have a "recovery". I have thought that there might actually be someone in Louisiana that could formulate something. It is time for LA to become a complete welfare state. It seems to be the only hope. Section 8, food stamps and WIC...the best way to go. As for as the valued dems...I have yet to read or hear a plan for LA Land...they use LA Land for sound bytes and bumper stickers...talk about useful idiots. What a waste.
Written by LT
on 9/12/2007
What Richard P. said, only in all caps.
Written by Tee Dub
on 9/12/2007
The right wing never, ever whines and complains? Oh please!! On what planet do they never whine? Not this one. They whined and complained constantly since 1991 that in Gulf War I we didn't go all the way to Baghdad and overthrow Hussein, for one thing. OK, so now they've gotten their way on that and what a mess for all of us. They whined ad nauseam about Clinton, spending millions to go after him when everyone's focus really needed to be the emerging terrorist threat. They whine and complain about gay marriage and morals when their guys are out there soliciting for a hook-up in public restrooms or being serviced by the world's oldest profession. They whined about the Supreme Court for the longest. They whine and complain about holding the line on spending for recovery in La. when the administration is throwing billions into a foreign country while, yes, there are serious, legit infrastructure needs here and all across the domestic U.S. They've whined about a great deal and now that they've actually gotten much of what they've wanted, they've had total power with the Bush White House all these and both houses of Congress most of that time look where we stand with the military overstretched, Iraq a mess, Bin Laden and Al Qaida still at large, the federal debt mushrooming and the economy getting ready to head into recession. History will regard the Bush presidency as one of the worst.
Written by Richard P.
on 9/12/2007
It is past time for all concerned to resist the urge to link New Orleans' many problems with the war on terrorism,such as it is , and the situation in Iraq.Would you ignore a leaky roof on your home because you also have a bathroom that has broken plumbing. A not so apt analogy but think about it. The situation in New Orleans goes far beyon Katrina.I don't remember any local politician or any of our congressman, Senators or local politicians presenting a case before the government about weak levees despite repeated warnings from individuals that there were problems.We all now know that many of them were concerned more about #1, and enriching themselves. How do we sit here now and complain about not getting enough from the government.We all knew that those levees were not built on bedrock (and still aren't)and yet is was never a priority.The government is dysfunctional at many levels and to now lay all the blame at their feet is dishonest. For some it will never be enough. They are content for the government to take care of them from the cradle to the grave.Whining and complaining has become an art form aided by outsiders who hope to gain notority and money for themselves.They care about as much for New Orleans as a weekend tourist at Mardi Gras.
Many mistakes were made in the Iraq situation(there's that dysfunctional government again) but it is also dishonest to start saying that any money fighting wars would better serve New Orleans. Of course it would, but that's not the way it works. The money spent on many ridiculous,frivolous government programs far less important than fighting people sworn to kill us, would also benefit New Orleans.Do we do away with all of it because New Orleans' levees broke? It just doesn't work like that.
Bottom line: the war in Iraq has little to do with what New Orleas is or isn't getting from the government for Katrina issues.
