I agree that she over reacted also.

The chilling thing though is that, if it had been terrorist practice or even
an attack, it probably would have appeared far less obvious and threatening
until the moment of execution.

Once the bad guys are on the plane - in the tunnel - in the harbor - next to
the chemical plant - in the country, it's probably too late.

The terrorists have to be stopped at the source which is overseas. Unless we
are prepared to simply take over every nation on earth militarily, we have
to have the help and earnest cooperation of almost all of them.

Sadam had to go. But, by doing at a time and in a way ****ed off just about
every friend we have in the world and inflamed and emboldened our enemies,
while stretching our military to its limits, we have made ourselves far less
safe than we were before 9/11.

Because of my criticism of our response to terrorism, I've had my patriotism
questioned and attacked here and elsewhere. Anyone who understands what made
our country great well enough to be a true patriot should realize that
questioning someone's patriotism because their views do not coincide with
yours is just about the most un-American thing you can do.

Let me put in pilot's terms. Patriotism is essentially about what you want
for your country, a nation of freedom and opportunity that doesn't need to
worry about having its citizens randomly killed by wackos from overseas for
example. Think of it as a destination. Call it Chicago.

You're going to fly right seat with someone to Chicago. It's hard IMC. The
PIC says is IFR currency has elapsed and some of the equipment isn't working
so he's just going to turn the transponder off and fly NORDO to an
uncontrolled field nearby. Oh yeah, the turn coordinator isn't working so if
the vacuum pump goes, he'll just duck under and scud run.

If you object, it does NOT mean that you don't want to go to Chicago. On the
contrary, it means that you very much DO want to GET to Chicago and not to
some smoking hole in the ground half way there.

The problem with Iraq is not that we did it but how. I believe that we did
far, far too little. If it was Chicago, we should have gotten the IFR
currency restored first and fixed the TC. Sadam wasn't going anywhere. Our
election cycle was the only urgency.

Just look at the numbers of the troop deployment situation, the reserve
extensions, and the situation on the ground. The scale of what needed to be
done demanded full participation from a much larger group of nations.

The PIC who headed NORDO off into the fog of war because of his personal
agenda (getting re-elected and appearing resolute), has gotten us in a real
pickle.

Don't get me wrong. I want to go exactly where he wants to go but I want to
GET there. Kerry may not be the best guy but, at this point, I'd vote for a
yellow dog just for the fresh start that will give us a chance to rebuild
the alliances we need.


--

Roger Long



"Mike Money" wrote in message
...
I'me with you Gary.

I read the original article and believe Annie over-reacted. I was
surprised the editor permitted her biased opinion to be printed.

Mike $$$