[Pete]

Just finished watching the President's address to congress and was wondering what everyone thought of it. I thought the speech was riveting (if not overly informative, except for a few things). I have been very surprised by the 180 that Bush has done in his public appearances. I used to think that he was pretty much a bumbling idiot, but his recent public speeches have lead me to change my mind on that account. As for his speech, he really has committed the US to finish this. He has left no room for backing down. Still, not sure how I feel about that. I understand (and agree) with the fact that we must take decisive action, but I am concerned about what he has set in motion. Will this be a "quick and easy" solution such as the Gulf War? Or will this turn into an unwinnable war such as Vietnam? Or worse yet, have we set in motion events leading up to something bigger? I have to admit though, his speech stirred something in me. I have felt saddness, anger, pity, and somemany other emotions in the past week. His speech, lead to another emotion, pride. Yes, our country may be really screwed up, but I know of no other place I would rather live. I have felt pride in stating that I am an American citizen, something I have never truly felt before.

[Anneke]

Pete, you say: "Yes, our country may be really screwed up..". You want to hear about a screwed up country? Try Afghanistan. Let your imagination roam and think of a repressed society, a tyrannical regime, where women have no rights and children have no future. Now think of a place 100 times worse and you've got Afghanistan. I ache for those who desperately want to get out of there. Nevertheless, though it is a commendable Western value to feel compassion for all people and believe that there is a glimmer of good in every person and every country,one must also take into consideration that the Taliban (and other rogue states and repressive regimes)has fully taken advantage of our compassion and laugh at this so-called weakness of ours. Case in point, international aid was sent to Afghanistan to build a soccer stadium to 'boost morale' a few years ago. The Taliban is indeed using the facilities for entertainment of sorts: it is now the site of their public executions, where prostitutes, unfaithful wives, homosexuals etc perish regularly. When confronted with this, the Taliban's response was 'we wouldn't use the forum for executions if international aid had built us proper execution facility.' Enough said.

You mentioned the Gulf War and Vietnam, both wars that we lost, the former because we pulled out too soon as you know. We must go all the way and do whatever it takes to eradicate the evil this time. This is not a time to doubt our cause. We must choose between freedom and repression, and I'm sorry to say, it IS that simple.

I hope I haven't offended, these are just my views. After reading a bit of history, one becomes only too aware of the making of a losing battle, and I hope and pray that we can overcome this negativism and work together towards a common goal, whatever form these actions may take.

[W.DeBord]

Just a quick response...I did not vote for Bush, in fact I was extremely upset with the election and greatly worried about his ability to lead. I really didn't think he knew enough about world affairs to do the job. And I never thought I could back anything he said or did.

I've seen him mumble and stumble, read someone elses words and look like he didn't follow what he was saying in most of his speaches.

BUT I HAVE TO ADMIT I THOUGHT HE WAS BRILLIANT LAST NIGHT! One of the best speeches I can recall any President making! My husband and I sat on the edge of our seats last night watching. He as pulled off a 180!

[Pete]

Anneke, don't get me wrong. I am in full support of going after those who committed this evil. I am just making a point that Bush has set into motion something that could have far-reaching and possibly devestating consequences. There are many countries straddling the line on whether they "stand with us or stand with the terrorists", including countries with nuclear capabilities. How many innocent Afgan lives have the Taliban and Bin Laden condemned to death by their refusal to comply with Bush's demands? These are moral questions that have been raised by all of this. But I still see no other viable plan of action.

Yes, we lost Vietnam. There is no dispute to that, but the governments stand on the Gulf War is that we won that one, even though Hussein is still alive. That was a huge mistake on the part of our leaders, I believe. It's one that I hope is not repeated.

Finally, I still stand by my statement that this country is screwed up. Yes, there are countries way more screwed up than ours. There is no other place to live as far as I am concerned. But to think that we are not screwed up is hiding your head in the sand. We have childern starving in this country. How absurd is that?! We have childern killing childern for no reason. We have one of the highest crime rates in the world. We have fanatical religious groups that promote the death of entire races within our borders. I guess what I am saying is that we must act with dignity in the upcoming days. We must be decisive, make hard decisions, and, of the utmost importance, we must deliver swift justice, but we must not act self-righteously. That will only weaken our cause and the support for our cause. Just remember that our history is littered with vile acts committed against fellow humans. We like to think that we have learned from these errors and mistakes, but to many in the world these actions still speak loudly. There is a fine line here between doing what we see as "the right thing" and imposing our will on others in this world. As long as we act in accordance with "doing the right thing" our cause is just and good, if we allow this war to turn into imposing our will on others we have lost the battle and the war on terrorism. Again, this does not mean that my resolve for supporting Bush's actions is waning. It just means that I feel that we must tread lightly in some aspects and that we do not allow this to become a war of ego, such as the gulf War became. It will only weaken our cause.

[Anneke]

Excellent reply! You are welcome to the benign dictatorship of Annekeland anyday!

[bdwillms]

For the most part I tend to agree with you Pete from Chicago.

[Live_to_cook]

I thought Bush was adequate, though he did not stir me. Still, he did better than I expected, for which I am thankful.

Maybe that's because I can't think of the battles to come without thinking of my girls, and what needs to happen so they won't have to deal with this.

While I certainly agree that the U.S. must act against the authors of 9.11, I can only hope and pray that we do better than we have in the past at limiting the number of bystanders we kill.

I know that's not easy, simple, or predictable in the context of extended ground operations.

I know that we yearn for justice, and for revenge, for the innocent thousands and their familes, and for ourselves.

I also know that while the U.S. has to kill bin Laden and his lieutenants, that won't end this fight. We have to plan for the next generation, of Americans and would-be terrorists alike, guided by the knowledge that every dead child will serve as a recruiting poster for the next generation of bin Ladenites.

God grant our armed forces the skill, the tools and the good fortune to win the peace.