Here is a link from Framed Discourse and Debate about who won the 2nd Republican Debate last night. The blogs author is James Trumm. I am copying his work on Rudy Guiliani and Ron Paul because it highlights my previous post, Why are we at war. James goes into a little more detail about the exchange and I think he does a great job in highlighting the scenario. You should also check out his blog (Title Link) for the rest of his reactions to the debate winners and losers.
Rudy Guiliani:
Giuliani didn't. He was doing fairly well--calling the Democrats' plan to get out of Iraq a "timetable for retreat," and handling the abortion questions much better that last time--until Ron Paul suggested that just maybe U.S. policies in the Middle East had something to do with motivating the 9/11 terrorists. Rudy went borderline apoplectic about this and took off after poor little Ron Paul like a rabid badger. It's a pretty basic rule of debate that you don't pick fights down; you can only hurt yourself. That's what he did. He overplayed his 9/11 hero cred and wound up looking like a bully--and not a very bright one at that.
Ron Paul:
Paul didn't, though as noted above, he probably benefited from having Rudy the Rabid charge after him. He could have gotten an even bigger boost had he not seemed to physically shrink in the face of Giuliani's bullying. He had the virtue of offering the most coherent philosophy. He had the courage to advocate dismantling the Department of Homeland Security, saying we didn't need another layer of bureaucracy to fight terrorism. He zinged the other candidates who used the term "enhanced interrogation techniques," saying it sounded like Newspeak. Yesterday I noticed that "Ron Paul" was the top Google search of the day, and his performance last night will probably keep him on top of those rankings for a while. Still, his repeated references to "my argument is . . ." made him seem like he was competing in a high school debate contest, not a Presidential primary. People don't vote for arguments.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
A NWO Blog--Who won the 2nd Republican Debate
Posted by
John Spalding
at
11:28 AM
0
comments
Labels: Iraq War, Republican Debate, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Terrorism
Why are we at war?
Here is a post from the New Republic discussing the difference between Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul regarding the War that Bin Laden has waged with the US.
I like what Ron Paul has to say about this war. His views are opposite of Rudy Giuliani who believes Islam does not like us because "freedom and women's rights."
Ron Paul believes that America's presence in the Middle East is because of
(1) US Involvement in the Middle East, (2) Palestine, and (3) Sanctions on Iraq as reasons why he has declared war
To me, just by reading the differences in thought Ron Paul's assessment seems more realistic. But just for probings sake I "scoured the internets" to see what else I could dig up on Bin Ladens reason for declaring War on The US. Here is what I found:
Here is a PBS transcript of the original FATWA (declaration of war) against the US
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html
Here is a transcript in Osama's own words discussing his anger about the occupation of the Holy Land and our relationship ($$) with Israel.
http://www.wethepeoplefoundation.org/UPDATE/Update2007-05-07.htm
Here is some video of the Republican debate last night where Rudy blasted Ron Paul about his beliefs for our occupation and the reasons for war. Again using 9/11 as "the day the world changed" But more importantly it is a great compassionate compelling reason to really ask "Why do they hate us"
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YWMyMTBjOTMzOWY5NmIyYTRjNjAzNWYwY2NiYTVmNTg
What I think is sad is the fact that Ron Paul got a few claps and relieved cheers and Rudy got a raucous applause for his one liner.
To me it seems clear that we (the United States) have had a vested interest in the Middle East. We do fund a lot of projects in Israel, we do have a president with huge ties to Saudi Arabia, we have a desire to gain cheaper access to foreign oil. We have been in the middle east for as long as I remember. I think Rudy Giuliani is wrong by dismissing and attacking Ron Paul for his viewpoints and so are people who believe that the US is innocent in what it is strategically implementing overseas. Our actions have angered people and will continue to do so until we have a government that is able to take a look at itself and evaluate what is really best for our country. An American Embassy in Iraq that is bigger than the Vatican, should not be a priority.
Posted by
John Spalding
at
6:42 AM
0
comments
Labels: Bin Laden, Debate, Iraq War, Middle East, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani