Friday, April 9, 2004

IT IS NOW TIME TO DESTROY THIS THREAT

I predicted that Americans would be very impressed with the testimony of Condoleezza Rice before the 9/11 Commission.  Last night I made a speech to a group of Realtors.  When I mentioned Condi Rice's name they cheered.  Now ... another one of my generally worthless predictions.  The Democrats weren't successful in their attempts to intimidate and discredit Condi Rice before the Commission yesterday.  Now they're going to have to try a different tactic.  My guess is that if you see any significant outpouring of admiration for Rice, elements in the Democratic party will set out to destroy her.  For the initial salvo, look for statements from some commentators and reporters that she was "arrogant" and "aloof" during her testimony before the commission.  You'll hear that she tried to out-shout her interrogators, and that she was disrespectful.  We'll see if I'm right.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT

The testimony in front of the 9/11 Commission yesterday by Bush National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice finally put to rest all of the nonsense that has been out there, peddled by Richard Clarke, that Al Qaeda simply wasn't a concern or a priority for the Bush administration.  The three hours of testimony (carried on all the networks) was electric, and a political home run.  There were a few heated exchanges between Condi and the liberals on the panel...and she wasn't going to have any of it.  This woman is tough as nails.  Like I said yesterday, she could run for president in '08. Wouldn't that be something...Condi vs. Hillary?  Anyway, back to the testimony. 

Dr. Rice told the commission what the Democrats and the conspiracy nuts didn't want to hear: there was no silver bullet that could have prevented the attacks of September 11, 2001. None. Despite the best efforts of the disrespectful Richard Ben-Veniste and partisan Democrats Timothy Roemer and Bob Kerrey (who blamed Bush for not reacting to the USS Cole bombing, which happened during the Clinton administration,) there is not one shred of evidence that said how, when and where the attacks were going to take place.  So what if there is some memo that says airplanes may have been hijacked?  What does that mean?  At that point the logical assumption would have been that the airplanes would have been hijacked overseas and the passengers held pending the release of some terrorists from jails?  How many thousands of flights are there a day in US and overseas airports?  Do you think for one minute that people were in a mood to tolerate increased airport security based on vague intelligence?  Of course not.  It took what happened on 9/11 for people to quit worrying about worthless, unimportant issues and take the national security threat from Islamic terrorism seriously.  As Rice said, the nation was not on a war footing.

She also correctly pointed out that terrorism was a "gathering threat" across several administrations, and that the United States historically did not respond to gathering threats until it was too late.  You don't believe me?  Here's an example: imagine if on September 10th, 2001, President George W. Bush, citing increased "chatter" about an attack on the United States decided to shut down all airports nationwide.  Furthermore, in an address to the nation he announces that Osama Bin Laden is behind the threats and has decided to invade Afghanistan and overthrow the Taliban.  Can you imagine the response? The same people pinning responsibility for 9/11 on the Bush administration for not doing enough  would be calling for his head.  And then, when nothing happened as a result of all of these measures, people would be blaming Bush for overreacting.  Anyone who believes otherwise needs their head examined. Remember the Air France planes we grounded not that long ago? The U.S. got blamed for being too aggressive.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

And then the media is making a big deal about her not apologizing for the attacks. What for?  The type of apologizing that Richard Clarke presented during his now-discredited testimony is nothing but moral exhibitionism.  The only people responsible for the attacks on 9/11 are the Islamic terrorists in Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.  Why should she apologize?  People should have been offended by the condescending, phony theatrics of Richard Clarke's apology, but the media ate it up.

The attacks of September 11, 2001 could not have been prevented because there was not the political will to fight the war on terrorism at the time.  Period. All that can be done is to not make the same mistake twice, which is what President Bush has been doing for 2 1/2 years. 

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WHAT WAS THAT BIG FUSS ABOUT PREEMPTION?

Let's expand on some of the thoughts made in the previous section and talk about preemption.

Do you remember the controversy that erupted before we attacked Iraq?  Bush's plan to depose Saddam Hussein was described as a preemptive effort.  Democrats and their media pals were quick to oppose the policy of preemption.  It just wasn't right to strike first.

Now just what did you hear from these same Democrats on the panel yesterday?  What have you been hearing from Democratic spokesmen for weeks?  Why didn't George Bush launch a preemptive strike on Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan before 9/11? 

Typical ... damned if you do, dammed if you don't.  You just can't please those guys.

BOB KERREY BUSTED!

You have probably seen or heard about that portion of the Rice testimony yesterday when former Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey asked Dr. Rice why there had been no response to the attack on the USS Cole in that harbor in Yemen.  This was in the context of Bush's "I'm tired of swatting at flies" comment. 

Well .. we have two problems here with Bob Kerrey.  The first problem would be that George Bush was not president at the time of the attack on the USS Cole, and Condoleezza Rice wasn't the National Security Advisor.  That "why didn't we respond" question should have been directed at Clinton later yesterday afternoon, not Condi Rice.  My guess is that Bob Kerrey abandoned that line of questioning as soon as Clinton showed up.

The second problem with Kerrey's line of questioning arises from his own words.  On the floor of the U.S. Senate, on October 19, 2000, immediately following the attack on the Cole, Bob Kerrey said:

"In my opinion [the attack on the Cole] is part of a military strategy designed to defeat the United States as we attempt to accomplish a serious and vital mission.  I hope we will direct the anger and desire for vengeance we feel away from Yemen and towards Saddam Hussein ... I can think of no more fitting tribute to the 17 sailors lost on-board the Cole than completing our mission and helping the Iraqi people achieve freedom and democracy."

Well, folks.  Isn't that exactly what we're doing right now?

How many examples can we find of Democrats, and that would include the one about to receive his party's nomination to run for president, stridently demanding the ousting of Saddam Hussein before George Bush was elected president?  The number of such statements is surely in the hundreds ... and you just heard another one from Bob Kerrey.

RICHARD CLARKE ON THE RUN

Everyone who bought Richard Clarke's book should want their money back right about now.  In her brilliant testimony yesterday, Condi Rice shot down Clarke left and right...and did in such a masterful way.  She used his own words against him.  Even Clarke, when interviewed on ABC, could say nothing except compliment her for "a very good job."  So what now?

For weeks, the Democrats and their buddies in the media have advanced the idea that the Bush administration did nothing about Al-Qaeda for 7 1/2 months, and somehow undid all of the Clinton administration's work in this area.  But yesterday, Dr. Rice blew that nonsense out of the water when she detailed how at first, the Bush administration continued the Clinton policies while developing their own. She recounted several meetings that took place with other cabinet officials, as well as the President himself.  Of course, the media, having propped up Dick Clarke as their Bush-hating poster boy for weeks, will give him a free pass.  He won't be held to the same standard of truth they reserve for the Bush administration.

The bottom line: Richard Clarke is a liar...and he lied under oath.  I wonder if they'll prosecute him for perjury? I wouldn't hold my breath.   

sKERRY IS LOST ON THE SIDELINES

The Kerry campaign knows that Americans trust the president on national security, and that his response to 9/11 was widely admired.  They can't make any political hay out of it...and their response yesterday was very telling.  Not a peep about the commission, its hearings or the ongoing testimony.  All sKerry could muster was this: he said it would be wrong to comment on Rice and the commission before all the testimony was completed. Not bad. Of course, he had to change the subject, so he immediately started talking about Iraq.

The Kerry campaign has a problem....they don't know what their message is.  One minute, sKerry is droning on and on about the jobs lost during the Bush administration.  Then positive jobs news comes out and shoots that down.  Then he starts talking about the situation in Iraq...but that doesn't work either, because the American people support the troops.  Then he complains about the price of gasoline ... but the people are informed of his support for a 50-cent a gallon tax on gas, and he can't score any points there, either.  This is the basic problem of the Bush-haters: they don't stand for anything. All they can hope for is that the economy gets worse, we fail in Iraq, or some other situation befalls the president.  They have no ideas --- they're just waiting for bad news.

Dick Morris could be right...this could be a blowout in the making. They're expecting people to vote for Kerry because he is not Bush...and that just isn't going to be enough.  Then again, the election is 7 months away.

WHERE WAS THE APPLAUSE COMING FROM

There were 80 seats reserved for family members of 9/11 victims at yesterday's hearing.  The applause?  Look at those 80 seats.  Remember the September 11th Families for a Peaceful World?  That is a group made up of a few wives and family members of 9/11 victims.  This group is leftist in its political viewpoint, and is stridently anti-war and anti-Bush.  Don't expect the media to identify these people as members of a left-wing anti-war group.  To the media, they're just family members of 9/11 victims.

HOWARD STERN ... VICTIM

Do I listen to Howard Stern?  No.  Did I watch his television show? No again.  No doubt he's an effective and entertaining broadcaster, but putting your hand in your armpit and making little fart sounds just doesn't hold my attention for that long.  I am alarmed, though, at news that Clear Channel has permanently removed Howard Stern from the broadcast lineup at any station it owns.  Clear Channel is running scared.  The Federal Censorship Commission, formerly known as the Federal Communications Commission, is on the prowl.  Clear Channel isn't the only radio group that's frightened ... so are civil libertarians and other radio station owners.

When are you going to start to become alarmed?  This is government censorship.  Don't give me this nonsense about sexual content.  Howard Stern isn't saying anything that your children don't hear behind the gym on any given day.  All radios have at least two knobs .. and a simple twist of either one will quiet anything you find offensive.  This witch hunt has gone on long enough.  It's time for Americans to worry about where the FCC, and it's government bosses, will head next.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

This Wall Street Journal editorial says that the Democrats on the 9/11 Commission have actually served to underscore the successes of the Bush White House.

Here is the full, unedited transcript of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's testimony before the 9/11 Commission.

This shows you just how successful her performance was yesterday...even the New York Times was praising Dr. Rice.

George Will compares Condoleezza Rice with Richard Clarke....and concludes, there is no competition.

A spokesman for the 9/11 Commission is saying they are going to reconsider Richard Clarke's statements, given all of the discrepancies. It's about time.

Representative Roy Blunt, the House Majority Whip has written an excellent column in USA Today about how tax cuts are not "spending." Check it out.

Charles Krauthammer looks at the war on poverty over the last 40 years, and explains how to really end hunger.

Paul Greenberg asks: are we serious in Iraq?  He talks about the Coalition's decision to shut down that newspaper in Iraq.

Bruce Bartlett wonders if John Kerry is a born again conservative...and inquiries as to what  his budget plan might be.

Mona Charen wonders if we are tough enough to endure in Iraq. If terror succeeded in Spain, why not Fallujah?

Oliver North asks whether Teddy Kennedy was thinking about the Marines in Fallujah when he compared President Bush to Richard Nixon.

This is so incredible, it almost seems like a joke. A former member of Tony Blair's cabinet is suggesting that the United States and Britain should open a dialogue with Osama Bin Laden.

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