A Relatively Smart Guy

Here's a Politician (R) that is truly objective. He has his beliefs but is not blinded by his hatred of things he does not understand. I fret to give you food for your Bush arguement but read what Buchannan has to say on Iraq.

Now here's a smart man I can respect. His views on Bush contridict mine but at least he's not a man that's blatantly lying to himself.

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200409/20040903_transcript.html





Tavis: Well, the Bush argument, as you well know, is
that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
He was a danger to the world. We had to hit him before
he hit us. You know the story.


Buchanan: Let me tell you, look. Saddam Hussein was
decimated in the Gulf War. We knocked out his Air
Force, his Navy, decimated his Army, took out half his
tanks, and destroyed the Republican Guard. He had
sanctions for 10 years. No new tanks coming in, no new
equipment, you really think he was a threat to the
United States of America with an economy not even one
percent of ours? Tavis, we flew 40,000 sortees over
his country, bombing, attacking his radars. He didn’t
shoot one plane down in 10 years, and this is a threat
to the United States of America? The Turks didn’t want
us to go in, but if he’s a threat to us, certainly
he’s a threat to Turkey. They didn’t want us to go in.
The Iranians didn’t want us to go in. Saudis didn’t
want us in. Jordanians didn’t want us in. If he
doesn’t threaten them, how does he threaten the
greatest nation on earth?


Tavis: I have two quick questions. One, tell me then
why you think Mr. Bush did go into Iraq? And number
two, it occurs to me, listening to you talk, that I
assume you want Bush to win more than Kerry. If Bush
didn’t have the war on terrorism to run on, he
wouldn’t have anything to run on. That’s his calling
card.


Buchanan: Well, look. The war on terrorism is one
thing. The war in Iraq, I separate that.


Tavis: Okay.


Buchanan: I think, look. When you went into
Afghanistan and you went after Al Qaeda, everybody is
behind you. Run that so and so down. Kill him, Osama
and everybody with him. Track them down all over the
world wherever they are. If they’re in the Sudan, and
the Sudan won’t let you go in, strike them with a
predator. But what in heavens name are you doing
invading Iraq? Osama bin Laden isn’t in Iraq. I mean,
he hated Saddam as a secular despot who’s crushed
Shites and religious fundamentalists. So I think this
was a distraction. The president thinks it is part of
the war on terror. That’s where we disagree. I think
we’ve inflamed the Arab world. We certainly inflamed
the Iraqi people. We’ve got 1,000 Americans dead,
5,000 wounded, 20,000 Iraqis dead. What have we got?
We got ourselves a morass in Mesopotamia.


Tavis: Never mind this election for the moment. What
does it mean that because of the way we did this, and
because of the way we have now changed our passive
military engagement to one of, essentially, preemptive
strike, we think you’re going to hit us, we hit you
first. What’s that done to America around the world?


Buchanan: Well I think the Iraq war, in particular, I
think it has exacerbated relations, and frankly, I
predicted it Tavis. I said, first what you’re going to
get is you go in there and you win the war and then
you’ll inherit your own gigantic West Bank. And from
Morocco to Malaysia, you will have Imams in Mosques
calling us the great Satan and calling for jihad
against the United States. America’s reputation and
the president’s standing in that part of the world,
according to the president of Egypt, who is a friend,
has never been lower. And I think we’ve created, you
know, a spawning pool for future terrorists by
invading Iraq. I think it was a mistake. I hope the
president is coming out. I believe he is, and I hope
he’ll get rid of all these individuals that I identify
in that book, as the neo-cons who walked him up that
primrose path.


Tavis: I’ve got 20 seconds left. Tell me why then,
after that statement, George W. Bush deserves to be
re-elected.


Buchanan: Because Kerry is wrong on everything....