yotogi.net

if the recently declassified National Intelligence Estimate from April of this year is any indication, the majority belief of Americans that we are less safe due to the war in Iraq is not an opinion, but more of a fact. the unwillingness of the administration to admit that their decisions to go to war have not made the country safer (the "fight them over there, so we don't have to fight them here" argument) is dangerous.

i am angered by all of this, just in case that wasn't obvious. in the last 6 years i have not made a single post about politics or my political leanings, but i have had enough. if you are not registered to vote, shame on you. take the time to do it, take the time to research your candidates, and make an informed decision about the message that you send to the people who represent you. it is unacceptable to not be willing to admit your failures and make decisions to correct them.

note: this quote is from a press conference held by President Bush shortly after the discussion of re-interpreting the Geneva Conventions began.

George W. Bush: "If there's any comparison between the compassion and decency of the American people and the terrorist tactics of extremists, it's flawed logic. It's just, I simply can't accept that. It's unacceptable to think that there's any kind of comparison between the behavior of the United States of America and the action of Islamic extremists who kill innocent women and children to achieve an objective."

while this statement has been takes somewhat out of context by members of the media, i believe that it is more an indication of the thought process of President Bush than a slip of the tongue. ignoring the often quoted "unacceptable to think", consider the statement about "flawed logic”, the comparison that he is referring to is the comparison between our interrogators and the willingness of terrorists to kill innocent civilians. while many american people have the ability to see terrorists as non-humans and have no issue in torturing them to protect ourselves, i strongly disagree.

in my mind terrorism works by transferring the suffering of the terrorists (socio-economic suffering, lack of education and chance to better ones self) to fear on those being terrorized. this fear can manifest itself in many ways, but perhaps the two most disturbing are the willingness to let go our personal freedoms (domestic wire tapping without warrant) and an erosion of our moral fiber (supporting inhuman treatment of terror suspects).

people talk about not letting terrorists win and i agree. we must remember, however, that we walk a fine line between protecting ourselves and becoming terrorists ourselves. we must not let that happen.