Rumsfeld's remarks at the American Legion are a pre-meditated and calculated attempt to take back the offensive on National Security. But the debate is no longer a monopoly for Republicans. And Rumsfeld is not listening to the people.
But Rumsfeld asserts that he has figured out what Americans who criticize the Bush Administrations Policies are thinking.
This is a turnaround tactic, another classic Republican ad hominem attack on the character of those who oppose and question the Bush Administration Policies, while disregarding the real issue.
RUMSFELD MUST GO.
The debate isn't about appeasing terrorists.
The debate is whether the American Public has lost confidence in Rumsfeld and his poor decisions regarding the Invasion of Iraq. This is rhetoric that must be addressed immediately.
The Democrats would do themselves a favor and take the high road. By taking the high road, the Democrats should not let the debate get taken off course. A change in leadership is what is needed to further the cause of fighting terrorists. Fighting foreign countries while depleting America's resources is a tactical mistake.
Rumsfeld noted in his speech,
We need to consider the following questions, I would submit:
With the growing lethality and the increasing availability of weapons, can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?
Can folks really continue to think that free countries can negotiate a separate peace with terrorists?
Can we afford the luxury of pretending that the threats today are simply law enforcement problems, like robbing a bank or stealing a car; rather than threats of a fundamentally different nature requiring fundamentally different approaches?
And can we really afford to return to the destructive view that America, not the enemy, but America, is the source of the world's troubles?
These are central questions of our time, and we must face them honestly.
First, of all no one is trying to appease vicious terrorists.
Secondly, I have not heard of any "folks" wanting to negotiate a seperate peace with terrorists.
Thirdly, We cannont afford to listen to pretend that there are WMD's and al-Qaeda links even when our intelligence pre-Iraq war dispute that very premise.
And lastly, no one is suggesting that America is the source of the world's problems. Anti-war activists are suggesting that the Bush Administration and Donald Rumsfeld is the source of the world's problems.