By any means necessary
Writing by treason on Wednesday, 26 of September , 2007 at 11:47 pm
“Rudy Giuliani doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about. He’s the most uninformed person on foreign policy that’s now running for president.”
– Joe Biden
“Critics are like mayors of New York; no one really wants to like them.”
– Dore Schary
I had no intention of watching the Democratic debate because it’s Wednesday and I’m committed to Kitchen Nightmares on FOX (although Ramsay’s show on BBC America is, in many ways, superior to the Americanized version) and, of course, Top Chef on Bravo. Still, I found myself giving in to my masochistic streak and watching MSNBC anyway. (Ramsay and Top Chef were DVR’d.)
In a week in which an American city, still recovering from a terrorist attack six years ago, rolled out the red carpet for the Nazi weasel, the emphasis on the legal drinking age and bans on public smoking had me bewildered. There’s just so much here that’s unsettling, but I’ll limit the horror analysis to the segments that struck me as the most horrific: the Giuliani-Iran-Israel moments.
Russert: In 1981 the Israelis took out a nuclear reactor in Iraq. On September 6th, to the best of our information, Israel attacked Syria because there was suspicion that perhaps North Korea had put some nuclear materials in Syria.
If Israel concluded that Iran’s nuclear capability threatened Israel’s security, would Israel be justified in launching an attack on Iran?
Clinton, although her answer was quite laborious, did not give the correct response.
Russert: You will all be running against a Republican opponent, perhaps Rudy Giuliani. This is what he said.
‘Iran is not going to be allowed to build a nuclear power. If they get to the point where they’re going to become a nuclear power, we will prevent them; we will set them back eight to ten years. That is not said as a threat; that should be said as a promise.’
Would you make a promise as a potential commander-in-chief that you will not allow Iran to become a nuclear power and will use any means to stop it?
Clinton continued speaking, but still didn’t answer the question. Russert tried it on Obama, who called Giuliani’s statement “irresponsible.” Russert asked Edwards and failed to get the answer again. Oddly enough it was Govzilla, the governor of Nuevo Mexico, who started off with absolutely the most appropriate answer. And it was immediate.
“Yes!”
Unfortunately, Bill Richardson spoiled the moment and did precisely what he does after every other question. He launched into a rundown of his resume and started, like the others, on a long answer about how diplomacy is the solution. Wrong answer. It’s a shame because he, compared to the other candidates, started out strong and on the right track.
“A fundamental goal of our foreign policy should be not to permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Another cornerstone of our foreign policy should be the strength and security of Israel. So you cannot deny a nation the right to legitimately defend itself.”
Precisely. If the answer is no, we don’t support Israel’s right to defend itself (which is, in essence, what the others were saying), then how do we justify our actions when we act preemptively to defend ourselves? But here’s the rub. Some will ask why it’s fair to prevent other nations to develop nuclear weapons. Who are we to put the kibosh on Iran?
Uh… because we are the voice of reason, perhaps? The only adults in the room? To be fair, Richardson’s response was the closest to correct but, again, he just missed the mark.
“Imagine the following scenario. We get lucky. We get the number three guy in Al Qaida. We know there’s a big bomb going off in America in three days and we know this guy knows where it is. Don’t we have the right and responsibility to beat it out of him? You could set up a law where the president could make a finding or could guarantee a pardon.”
One by one, the candidates explained that each would “do whatever it takes to keep America safe” which is obviously a blatant lie because none admitted that they would do whatever was necessary to get that information and save the lives of thousands – perhaps millions – of American lives.
This is precisely why I have no future in politics because I know what my answer would have been and I would hope one of the Republicans, perhaps Giuliani, wouldn’t have skipped a beat.
“Beat it out of him? With my own hands, Tim. And, of course, I’ll take full responsibility. Next question?”
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