Category — Pakistan

Let me see if I have all of this straight.  Barack Obama, who didn’t support the surge in Iraq and won’t recognize the positive results, supports a surge for Afghanistan.  Pray tell, Messiah, what makes the Afghan surge more likely to yield results than the Iraq one you never supported?

And if that didn’t make your head hurt, Obama promises to end the war in Iraq and will celebrate by starting one in Pakistan:

“Al-Qaida has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia.

“We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president I won’t,” he said.

“We must make it clear that if Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high-level terrorist targets like (Osama) bin Laden if we have them in our sights.”

So Barrack Obama is going to “restore” our standing in the international community by violating the sovereignty of a nuclear armed Pakistan.  I guess you have to believe in his messianic powers to make sense of these plans.

If this is the best he can do with a prepared speech and teleprompter, no wonder he won’t face McCain in town hall meetings.  The debates should be very entertaining when this empty suit won’t have his campaign staffers whispering in his ear.

It’s also interesting to note all these policies were developed prior to his trip overseas where he was suppose to gain some gravitas on international issues.  Of course that dog and pony show is akin to visiting Niagara Falls and claiming you’re now qualified to be ambassador to Canada.

The battlefield is about the size of Texas; four times the size of New England.  Its average annual temperature is like that of Massachusetts.  Its capital city is on the same latitude as Phoenix, Los Angeles and Memphis.  It’s mountainous, dramatically uplifted more than a million years ago by the thrust sheets of the advancing Indian subcontinent.  Roughly half of the country is contorted by its definining feature, a majestic but forbidding mountain range.  The capital is Kabul, the battlefield is Afghanistan and the mountain range is the Hindu Kush.

The Hindu Kush, translated by some historians as “Hindu Killer”, is a Himalayan extension of the Alpine system of Europe and North Africa.  It’s officially part of the Pamir-Karakoram chain of the Himalayas;  it angles southwest from Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, the Durand Line.  There are seven mountain passes which have served as highways for invaders and trade at least since 1500 BC, when invaders from Central Asia brought what linguists now call the Indo-European languages to the region.

Alexander The Great, after marching and fighting the width of Afghanistan, used the Khawak Pass to reach Samarkand in 330 BC.  He led his starving army over the 12,000 foot snowy pass, and then west back through the Khyber Pass on the modern Hippie Trail to Kabul.  Today it’s likely that Taliban and other tribal fighters use the same passes for the purpose of fighting NATO and American troops.  The blood of thousands, maybe millions, of nameless soldiers and unaffiliated warriors has been spilled here since the first Aryans arrived 5000 years ago.

Afghanistan borders six countries.  Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west and south, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China to the north.  Its China border lies at the dead end of the valley of the Wakhan Corridor.  The Wakhan is a 150-mile long, ten-mile wide geographic tendril, like an appendix, projecting northeast, between Pakistan to the south and Tajikistan in the north to the Chinese border.  It’s an atavistic survival of Britain’s Great Game with Russia, a border anomaly established to deny Russia access to the Indian Ocean.   Marco Polo used the valley almost eight-hundred years ago to travel that portion of The Silk Road.  Today it’s a remote, hostile patch, the habitat of the Marco Polo sheep, and probably the route used to smuggle drugs to China.

The short account is that humans have been scrambling over, fighting for, and surviving in this land for 50,000 years.   It was Hellenized by the Macedonians and their successors, converted to Buddhism by adherents from India, ignored militarily by the Romans but conquered and converted by Muslims, trampled by Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, by Darius and other Persians and Parthians; invaded by Turkic tribes, by the British, the Russians and Americans.  Simulataneous with low-grade warfare, it was also a web of routes for The Silk Road, the commercial paths taken by bearers of luxury goods from the east to the Mediterranean world.  The world’s first mobile shopping mall.

The material for Julius Caesar’s silk curtains probably came through Afghanistan from China, over rocky, barren trails now prowled by American Rangers and Special Forces.  Julius and other Romans who possessed silk, believed that it grew on trees.  Julius, Augustus and Tiberius had intermittent difficulties with the Parthians, who, along with the Afghan Kushans, controlled the trade routes through Afghanistan.  The Romans were not welcome there.  The Parthians left no written account of themselves, but must have known the origins of silk.  Perhaps they played the first lasting joke on the Romans.  They told them it was gathered like fruit and nuts.

The historian’s routine explanation for Afghanistan’s long travail is that it lay at the “crossroads” of competing civilizations; that it was the junction between south and central Asia and the Middle East.  These designations are entirely theoretical to the historian-geographer.  They mean nothing.  The human explanation for the boiling activity in the region is that the wars of conquest that tortured Afghanistan for 5000 years were wars for local power, for goods, and to a lesser degree, religion.  They were fought for the things that fill the voids left by deprivation, insecurity and the anxieties of hard-scrabble life.   It hasn’t ended.

The communist coup staged in 1978 led to the Soviet invasion, and then to the Taliban in large part because of American indifference.  Millions were killed and exiled in the civil and religious wars of the past thirty years.  Today Afghanistan resembles nothing as much as itself of a thousand years ago.  Ghosts everywhere, in every corner of every mud hut and mountain pass.    It is our obligation to bring the country back to life. 

My understanding of Treason as a legal and ethical matter is that of a patriot layman.  I know very little about the subject.  Article III of our Constitution employs only nineteen words for Treason…(it) “shall consist only in levying war against them (the United States), or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and  Comfort”.  The Englightenment figure who composed these lines might have been Jefferson.  Another man who had something to say about Treason was Madison, who ruminated on the topic in Federalist #43.  None of it helps.

The minimalist description of Treason in Article III means, to me, that the author of the passage on Treason faced a process problem, and he knew it.  The 18th century was a time when the crime of Treason was kin to the crime of Heresy from a few centuries earlier.  Heresy was a thought and speech crime of disloyalty, and in the European hereditary monarchies, Treason was nearly the same.  America,  the new country aborning when our Constitutional author wrote his portion of Article III, had no room for either of these crimes.  They just didn’t fit.

So he didn’t mention the thought and speech crime of disloyalty, which is what Heresy and Crown Treason is.  He mentioned only an act.  An act of betrayal, and a pretty narrow one at that.  He knew that one can be disloyal without betraying one’s country if one doesn’t act upon it.  The example of disloyalty in action is John Walker Lindh.  He was probably disloyal for the entire segment of his life that he spent with the leftists cranks who raised him.  His spiritual journeys to Pakistan and Afghanistan are what got him into trouble; not thoughts of disloyalty but joining the Taliban.

Lindh wasn’t charged with, or prosecuted for, Treason.  Hardly anyone ever is.  He was charged with conspiring to kill Americans, and with supporting terrorists, although he pleaded to the lesser charge of carrying explosives to the Taliban.    That’s what sent him to jail for twenty years, and sent his ridiculous father into a frenzy of belated support for his son.

Now, there’s a body of law which governs the matters of espionage, sabotage, disclosure of secrets, that kind of stuff.  I don’t know where Lindh’s statutory problems come from, but it clearly isn’t Treason, even though he certainly fits one description of a treasonous slug.  His legal difficulties, then, cloud the matter of Treason even more.  If we can’t decide what Treason is, then what is a traitor?  No American is subject to punishment for disloyal thoughts, moods or attitudes.  Treachery is not necessarily treasonous.

History is of little use in clarifying the matter.  50,000 presumed “traitors” were executed in France after the liberation, either by the sham legality of French courts, or through revenge killing, because they supported the Vichy government.  De Gaulle himself was ruled a traitor by the same government.  Lord Haw Haw was executed after WWII because, as a British subject, he openly supported The Reich.  Hitler’s potential assassins were found guilty of treason because they didn’t support The Reich.

The problem, at the moment, is that Treason no longer matters.  It’s been erased by new targets for our loyalties. The old ways have been shattered by the suspect aims and bogus ambitions of early 21st-century American life.  It’s impossible to sustain loyalties to a welfare state,  to a nation without self-respect, or to the UN, to a mall or product line, or to any of the ideas supported by the idiot persuasions of the political class.  Unrealistic and fantastic, American politics is a silly pantomime of national purpose.  The human response is to find other things worthy of our loyalties.  Organizations of all kinds are our surrogates for the national family we no longer have.

Sometimes in this search for loyalties, things go wrong.  The robed law lords expect loyalty to some codes and not to others, which is why Libby is in jail and Berger is free. It explains a droning dolt like John Conyers and his calls for impeachment, or the free-immigration fanatics whose loyalty has fixed upon abstractions about compassion and not about a mature concept of citizenship.  Politicians are loyal to the frauds of their own propaganda.  The list is very long.  Loyalty is a personal issue, not a national issue.

Treason can only exist where the nation is understood, by its citizens, as a family.  For me, that includes liberals and the crazy left, even if we’re estranged.  I love the flag.  If called upon I would go again, to fight and die for it, anywhere, anytime, at any age, and for everyone who lives under its snap and flutter.   No law requires this of me or anyone else.  The country that offers this dispensation is worthy of our loyalty as nothing else in life can be. 

The Brits with the unbridled insistence on PC behavior are going to get their own country. What will they name it?

Voting With Their Feet

At Immigration Watch International they have the numbers for those fleeing Britain:

Britain is facing a mass exodus of people looking to escape the crime and grime of modern living. The country’s biggest foreign visa consultancy firm has revealed that applications have soared in the last seven months by 80 per cent to almost 4,000 a week. [snip]

They are almost all young professionals and skilled workers aged 20-40. [snip]

Like any situation in which there is a lack of resources, enterprising individuals step in to fill the gap:

Liam Clifford, a former immigration control officer, set up globalvisas.com as a one-man band 12 years ago. He now employs 60 people and is in the process of opening new offices in both South Africa and Australia. [snip]

Mr. Clifford says about his customers:

“And time and time again they are saying to us they don’t want to be seen as racist because they are quitting because of immigration. We tell them of course they’re not.”

There is no emoticon after that last sentence, so I’m not sure how Mr. Clifford wants us to take this last statement. Since he is obviously making a great deal of money from his clients, it would behoove him to remain diplomatic. I don’t think it’s racist to feel pushed out of a once beloved neighborborhood that has become unfamiliar and dangerous. No one signed on to live in what appears to be an oupost of Pakistan. And who’d want to be on the tube when some zealous “youth” decides to blow himself up whilst sitting next to you? [snip]

If the rate of emigration continues at the existing rate, about 15,000 less than a ¼ million young Brits will leave by year’s end. Tell me that’s sustainable. The only “refill” is the heathens from Pakistan and other Mideast Musselmen.

They better hope Gunga Din is somewhere in the Cotswold’s with his bugle. Provided any non-criminal has a weapon and a desire to join the fray.

The unintentionally funny and nearly defunct LA Times reported on July 15th that about “45% of all foreign militants in Iraq……are from Saudi Arabia”.  15% are from Syria and Lebanon, with 10% from North Africa.  The stats came from “US military figures, and were made available to the Times by the senior officer”.   Nearly half of the 135 detainees in US military custody are Saudis. 

What can we deduce from a sample of 135 cage-hangers?  Thousands of troublemakers are in Iraqi custody, many of whom might even lie about their names and country of origin. So the LA Times report is based on a sample of 135 guys, half of whom have Riyadh Planet Hollywood ID cards.  I have information from a reliable participant in the war that Chechens even fall out for morning terrorist formation, and stray Pakistanis, Westerners and lots of others.   Iranians, too, are a small but vocal minority shouting  “HERE!”.

The same enigmatic “US military figure” said that 50% of all  Saudi fighters in Iraq go there as suicide bombers.  An interesting statistic, to say the least. To derive it, one needs to poll all of the free-range “Saudi fighters” about their life plans, and whether they have round-trip tickets.   It’s fair to say they don’t show up for interviews.

But the Times  raised two worthy questions, probably intentionally.  We are “allied” with the Saudis in the inaptly-named War on Terror, and Bush Herbert Walker and Bush George Dubya are unashamedly friendly with figures in the disgusting monarchical House of Saud.  Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the royal’s “national security advisor” is a pal of the House of Bush, as is King Abdullah.   

Then there’s The Carlyle Group, in which Bush Herbert Walker is a  prospering partner.  Those interested can investigate it on their own.  It’s the most powerful ethical missile in the left’s arsenal of accusations about the Bush family’s relationship with the Saudis.   The Carlyle Group has wide access to Saud investment funds.  There’s also Herbie’s lecture tours in Arab lands, paid for by the Saudis, and generous gits to his Presidential Library for scholarships to Andover, Dubya’s prep school.

It is, at this point, obligatory to mention that 15 of 19 hijackers on 911 were Saudis. Bin Laden is a Saudi.  Saudi Arabia has lots of sand and oil (although the oil power might be shaky).  Saudi Arabia is profligate with walking-around money, and has a national strategy of buying off enemies and buying up friends.  There’s a lot more, none of which is particularly damning for the Bush family, but appearances are everything.   The Saudis are low, self-seeking, and devious; relationships are contaminated by their presence in them, and our leaders should know it.

True, the Saudis have been fighting Al Qaeda, but for reasons of personal survival.   The ethical issues associated with advancing Wahabbism by subversion and Madrassa remain.  True, also, that the Saudis are troubled by Dubya’s strategies, worred about their extensive Iraq border and Persian ambitions.  This is a convergence of interests, ours and theirs.   They are not our friends. 

The reality is this:  We are allied with a vicious, reactionary, repressive Arab regime in our pursuit of liberalization of the Middle East.  We should be troubled by the first proposition in that last sentence, because they Saudis are troubled by the second.  The two can’t come together, and Dubya appears not to know it.

Secular and religious Pakistani officials, silent on the 1989 Khomeini fatwah issued against Rushdie, are outraged over his knighthood. This response to his knighthood has enhanced understanding of the religion of peace a great deal.

From Musilms, British knighthood for Rushdie is insensitive, but having Rushdie murdered brings crashing silence.

The jihad against knighthood and cartoons is a illustrative moment in history. According to the Religion of Peace Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul-Haq, some suicide attacks might help you see the error of your ways.

The Religion of Peace adherents are exposed by this voluble indignation more than they realize; the liberal West will miss its meaning entirely.

[snip] Salman Rushdie with his wife Padma. Rushdie was awarded an OBE this weekend, but Pakistan has demanded it be withdrawn.

Iranian conservatives attacked the Queen over Salman Rushdie’s knighthood, with a top MP saying the British monarch lived in a dream world and a newspaper labelling her an “old crone.”

“Salman Rushdie has turned into a hated corpse which cannot be resurrected by any action,” Mohammad Reza Bahonar, first deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, said in an address to the house.

“The action by the British queen in knighting Salman Rushdie, the apostate, is an unwise one,” he said, to loud cheers from MPs.

“The British monarch lives under this illusion that Britain is still a 19th century superpower and that bestowing titles is something still deemed important.”

Hard line daily Jomhuri Eslami also launched a scathing attack on the queen, describing the monarch as an “old crone” whose action was a “grimace to the Islamic world.”

“The question is what the old British crone sought by knighting Rushdie, to help him? Well, her act only shortens Rushdie’s pathetic life,” it added. [snip]

[snip] “Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Mr. Rushdie’s knighthood would hamper interfaith understanding and that Islamabad would protest to London.”

[snip] Pakistani Islamists chant slogans in front of a burning effigy of Indian born author Salman Rushdie during a protest in Karachi. Muslim radicals have burned an effigy of Queen Elizabeth as Pakistan summoned the British ambassador over Rushdie’s knighthood and Iranian hardliners turned their fury on the monarch. (AFP/Asif Hassan) [snip]

[snip] Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul-Haq on Monday said the award for Rushdie justified suicide attacks, prompting outrage in Britain, although he later withdrew the remark.

Pakistan’s senate on Tuesday condemned the “blatant disregard for the sentiments of the Muslims by the British government by awarding (a) knighthood to Salman Rushdie, who committed blasphemy against the Holy Prophet.”

Legislators in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, which is ruled by an alliance of hard line Islamists, called for Pakistan to sever diplomatic ties with London.

Around 150 hard line protesters in the eastern city of Lahore torched an effigy of the British queen and called for Rushdie to be handed to a Muslim country and dealt with by a Sharia court, witnesses said.

“The punishment for a blasphemer is death,” Shahid Gilani, who heads the youth wing of Pakistan’s radical Jamaat-e-Islami party, told the crowd. [snip]

As we saw before, JFK and his administration set a new course for foreign policy, characterized by “flexible response” and use of “graduated pressure.” This policy “worked” in the Cuban Missile Crisis, so it would “work” elsewhere. Towards making the military a more adaptive and surgical instrument, JFK created a brand new unit, the Special Forces, popularly known as “the Green Berets.” The motto of the new unit was a latin phrase: De Oppresso Liber, roughly translated: To liberty, out of tryanny. The purpose of this unit was to further liberty and security in places unsuited for U.S. conventional military forces. In Vietnam, our Green Berets would write in blood, whole new chapters in that long and storied volume of AMERICAN MILITARY GLORY.

When the French Foreign Legion was surrounded at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, France turned to Eisenhower for help. America had been supplying the French for some time, but now the French asked for more than material assistance. The French needed us to lift the siege at Dien Bien Phu. Eisenhower declined to rescue them and the Foriegn Legion capitulated, {and then were summoned home to Algeria, where they would engage in another brutal, fierce, ten year losing effort, but thats another story, which we will get into later, by the way}.

Following the French pull out of Indo-China, Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel. At the time of the demarcation, OVER A MILLION VIET refugees fled south, rather than trust the Communist Viet Minh, who now controlled the North. Elections were to take place throughout all of Vietnam, to decide who would control the ultimate reunification process. Those elections were never held, because nobody trusted the Northern Communists not to tamper with the results. Around 1960, the North decided to take over the South through a guerilla war, an insurgency. To this threat of a communist takeover, JFK would “flexibly” respond. The Green Berets would go in, and train indeginous forces to counter and thwart the insurgency.

Ngo Dinh Diem was then the Premier of South Vietnam. He was corrupt, but not wholly incompetent. While waging the war, he resorted to tough and repressive measures. This caused problems for the JFK administration, who concluded that Diem had to go. They orchestrated a military coup against him. Advising against the coup were the JCS, {Joint Chiefs of Staff}, and Vice President Johnson, who quipped that it was “playing cowboys and indians in Saigon.” But the coup went forward on November 1, 1963, and Diem was assassinated. 21 days later, JFK was to be assassinated too.

Diem’s demise greatly overjoyed and encouraged the enemy. Diem would prove far easier to displace however, than he would to replace. No fitting successor for Diem was found until Thieu, and that was much later, and Thieu was not without his problems either. General Maxwell Taylor, famed former commander of the 101st Airborne, was sent to Saigon several months afterwards as the American Ambassador. He wrote to Johnson that “no adequate replacement for Diem is in sight.” And that nobody “appreciated the … political forces kept under control by his iron rule.”

The murder of Diem reduced the reputation of our country in the other Asian nations. When Richard Nixon for instance visited Pakistan as a private citizen in ‘64, the Pakistani President told him that the murder meant three things to Asian leaders: “That it is dangerous to be a friend of the United States, that it pays to be neutral, and that it sometimes pays to be an enemy!” Removing Diem was a huge victory for the enemy. In the year that followed, five South Viet administrations were created, only to collapse. Nobody had the stature of Diem.

The U.S. removed Diem, so we were obligated to step into the vacum created. But the Johnson administration was not unnerved by this eventuality. Vietnam was to get the developing world version of his domestic “Great Society” program. McGeorge Bundy, National Security Advisor called it the “full fledged Pax Americana Technocratica.” Id est, American know how would solve all problems, from bridges, utilities, crop rotation, irrigation, economic development, insurgencies, you name it, we would advise them on it. And we did, rice production for example, would SOAR under our advice, {naturally it would PLUMMET once the clueless communists took over}.

In March of 64, the JCS told LBJ to either get in and win the thing, or get out. A Pentagon study concluded with almost crystal ball clarity that half measures would not win the war. The study was titled SIGMA I, and it said that Special Force advisors would be followed by air strikes, which would lead to ground troops in significant numbers. These troops would still not solve the problem, because the North would respond by INCREASING the number of guerillas they sent to infiltrate the South. The JCS and their studies were dismissed. McNamara had his own plans, his own aides, “the Whiz Kids,” his own studies and his own stats.

The “Whiz Kids” did not think they needed any advice on winning a war from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Which made sense in a way, since Roger Hillsman, {former State Dept official then} said that “Kennedy preferred to treat the problem as something OTHER than a war,” {my emphasis}. So if its not a war, then there is no need to consult the war professionals. LBJ throughout 1964, likewise preferred to treat Vietnam as “something other than a war.” The purpose of force was to send the message to the North to give up their plans of taking over the South. It was all about communicating with your enemy, not vanquishing him.

Robert McNamara, former Ford Auto executive, LOVED stats. He had wall charts all over his office. “Every quantitative measure we have shows we’re winning,” thats the type of line McNamara is famous for delivering. It was he who made body count a measure of victory, besides weapons captured, patrols made, air sorties launched, river patrols executed, shells fired, bombs dropped, ordinance type expended, etc., etc., etc., When McNamara was later asked if more troops meant an escalation, he replied: “Not at all. It is merely an incremental adjustment to meet a new stimulas level,” {you could search all of the statements made throughout the war, and not come up with a more pithy description of “graduated pressure” in action than that one}. And of course, he would “flexibly” respond to this “increased stimulas,” with a carefully measured and calibrated “pressure” to “communicate” to the enemy the proper “message.” Curtis Le May, former SAC Commander, Air Force Chief of Staff, would say of McNamara and his ilk: “The most egotistical people that I have ever seen in my whole life. They had no faith in the military at all. They felt that the Harvard Business School method of solving problems would solve any problem in the world.”

The Harvard Business School method would soon receive its comeuppance in the rice paddies of South Vietnam.

1964 was a Presidential election year. So naturally LBJ desired to keep Vietnam off of the political radar screen, so to speak. In August however, American Destroyers were reported to have engaged North Vietnamese Torpedo Boats in the Gulph of Tonkin. Tonkin would prove a turning point, and will be reviewed in my next post.

Dick Morris likes the Bush campaign’s “Wolves” TV ad.

Bush’s media man Mark McKinnon raises the level of concern about terror to realistic proportions in an advertisement that features wolves closing in on an unsuspecting and distracted America. As the wolves close in, McKinnon’s narrator lists the cuts in intelligence funding, weapons systems and defense spending that Kerry has backed during his Senate career.

It’s the best negative ad since media genius Tony Schwartz showed a mushroom cloud as a little girl picked petals off a daisy to derail Barry Goldwater’s 1964 crusade.

The wolf ad has sparked an amazing surge in Bush’s support to the point where every poll but one shows him well ahead of his Democratic rival. It perfectly captures the odd juxtaposition of seeming peace and tranquility at home and the looming danger from abroad.

9/11 began as a beautiful day, too. We woke up to crisp fall air in a sky without humidity or clouds. But the terror planes were taking off from our airports and flying over our city, circling our buildings, closing in with stealth and cunning.

Just as the wolves in the Bush ad do.

Kerry & Co. denounce Bush for running a campaign of fear. But we could have used a bit more fear when Bill Clinton failed to prepare us for the threat of terror. If only he had been more afraid of terror, he might have given the go-ahead to the 1998 CIA plan to kidnap Osama bin Laden or not tipped off the Pakistanis - and through them bin Laden - to our cruise missile attack in 1998 or given the green light to fire missiles at Osama in 1999 when the CIA said we had the best chance ever to get him.

A little fear back then would have helped a great deal.

The Manchester Union understands why Bush needs to be re-elected:

IN THE PRESIDENTIAL campaign, the foreign policy focus has centered almost entirely on Iraq. John Kerry and the Big Media have done a masterful job framing the debate around the day-to-day operations in Baghdad, Fallujah and other trouble spots. Nearly forgotten have been the big successes of the past three years.

President George W. Bush’s critics begrudgingly credit him with deposing the Taliban, but are quick to note that Osama bin Laden remains at large and we have serious problems in Iraq. It is important to step back and look at the big picture.

The Taliban fell because Bush assembled a coalition that included Pakistan, which had been an enabler of the Taliban, a leaker of nuclear secrets, and a hideout for al-Qaida. Pakistan is now a hugely important American ally whose police and military are capturing and killing our enemies.

The President is responsible for disarming Libya, a significant sponsor of terrorism, by threatening to do to Tripoli what we did to Kabul.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive war, Bush did build an international coalition to destroy the Hussein regime. Today, a murderous, torturing despot who harbored and funded terrorists and attacked American allies is now in jail, and the Iraqi people are on the path to democracy.

Al-Qaida is disrupted and on the run. Most of Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenants are no longer capable of killing Americans because they are either in prison or in the ground.

Because of American pressure, Saudi Arabia is finally tracking and killing al-Qaida members and other terrorists. The current situation in Iraq is unsatisfactory, and the Bush administration made mistakes there. But on the whole, the War on Terror has succeeded in eliminating some threats to this country and reducing others. The big picture shows that President Bush’s strategy of staying on the offensive is paying off. It would be a major mistake to halt our momentum by electing a President who is more comfortable playing defense.

I was pretty busy over the weekend and did not have time to keep up with blogging. During that time, two important elections took place.

First in Australia, Prime Minister John Howard was re-elected and his party increased its majority in parliament. This is good for both President Bush and and the coalition in Iraq. It also doesn’t bode well for Senator Kerry who sent his sister there in an attempt to influence the election. If Howard had lost, our media would have gone into overdrive saying this was a defeat for the President. It’s funny how quiet they have been after Howard won. See Tim Blair for much more on Howard’s victory.

Second, Afghanistan held it’s first election ever in its 5000 year history. There was some controversy concerning voter fraud but it appears to have been overblown by a media that doesn’t want to report anything positive.

We have troubled, questionable, even corrupted elections filled with conflict in Florida and Chicago and New Jersey and all over the United States of friggin’ America. So why should be we the least bit surprised that there are some troubles and conflicts in a nation that has never had democracy and has been ruled by warlords and communists and religious fascists, Afghanistan?

I tried last night to find a positive link to a new story about the Afghan election today. Couldn’t find it. Today, the news isn’t much different. Ohmygod, the ink on the thumbs isn’t indelible! Well, forget it, then, let’s bring back the Taliban. Jeesh.

This is a big deal: Democracy has come to a land and a people for the first time, a land where they were bombing Buddha and hiding women and plotting mass murders against us. This is good news.

Many Democrats and much of the media have been calling Afghanistan a failure and a quagmire for the last two years. Yet this election was pulled off with absolutely no attacks and the Afghan security forces performed better than expected.

Officials said vigilant citizens and the newly created Afghan army and police forces, until now considered unreliable and ineffective, played a major role in thwarting Taliban plans to disrupt the voting.

In a 48-hour period ending with the close of polling, citizens across Afghanistan turned in 25 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), authorities said.

The Afghan army and police, meanwhile, were credited with intercepting some dramatic terrorist attempts.

The most sensational was the seizure by the army on the outskirts of Kandahar, once the nerve center of the Taliban, of a truck carrying 10,000 gallons of gasoline wired to rockets, anti-tank mines and other explosives.

“Even the truck’s tires were packed with explosives,” said Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi. “The truck, with three Pakistanis in it, was heading for the center of Kandahar. It would have been a catastrophic explosion that would have overshadowed everything else.”

The Taliban also tried other methods to strike at Afghan cities during voting. In the eastern city of Jalalabad, police caught three women with a coffin packed with IEDs.

“Some of us had doubts about Afghanistan’s emerging security forces, but they rose to the occasion and fully supported international forces,” a Western official said.

The willingness of Afghans to assist the security forces went hand in hand with enthusiasm for the election, putting pressure on the 13 dissenting candidates to consider backing away from their boycott.

Remember this success in Afghanistan the next time you hear how Iraq is a failure. The same thing was being said about Afghanistan. Once again cries of quagmire turn out to be grossly exaggerated by the blame America crowd.

Dick Morris offers the following advice to President Bush:

DEBATE TIPS FOR THE CHIEF

THE strategy required for coaching a president for a debate is the exact opposite of that you have to use to prep a challenger. Challengers need to learn as much as they can to prepare for all questions and become conversant with every area of policy. A president is already informed; the coach’s job is to help him sift through what he knows and hone from it a coherent response to challenges from his adversary.

In a sense, a challenger needs to learn more. An incumbent needs to concentrate on what he has to say.

To this end, perhaps these ideas can help Camp Bush as they prepare to undo the massive damage of the first debate.

When Kerry says that homeland security is inadequate and that only 5 percent of the shipping containers are inspected or points out that thousands of pages of wire intercepts have not been translated…

…Bush should say: “It is very easy to pick on one aspect of our security approach and say it is flawed. But remember one basic fact: If I told you on Sept, 12, 2001 that there would be no further attacks on U.S. soil for the next three years, you’d have thought I was out of my mind. But there have been no attacks. If we’re inspecting 5 percent of containers, it’s the right 5 percent. Judge us on our record: We have kept America safe.”

When Kerry says we shouldn’t have attacked Saddam because he wasn’t involved in the 9/11 conspiracy…

…Bush’s answer ought to be: “Japan attacked us at Pearl Harbor. Hitler had nothing to do with it. But FDR realized we needed to fight all fascism, not just the fascist regime that attacked us. Yes, Hitler made it easy on FDR by declaring war on us. But if he hadn’t, does anyone doubt that Roosevelt would have gone to war with Germany anyway?”

When Kerry calls the war in Iraq a mistake and a diversion from the War on Terror…

…Bush should hit him between the eyes: “Al Qeada operatives are congregating in Iraq. We can kill them there before they can spread mayhem around the world. If we can hunt down those who would attack us in the caves of Pakistan and of Afghanistan and the streets of Fallujah and Baghdad, how is that a diversion from the War on Terror? It’s not. It is fundamental to success in that war.”

And when Kerry accuses Bush of neglecting our allies…

…The president must set the record straight: “We have the single most important ally in the fight against terror: Pakistan is helping us hunt down terrorists who have escaped from Afghanistan. As to France, Germany and Russia, the evidence of the Oil-for-Food scandal suggests that no amount of diplomacy would have induced them to abandon a regime that was paying them vast sums of money to stay loyal.”

If Kerry says we let bin Ladin escape…

…Bush has to say: “It’s easy to second-guess a specific military decision, but I leave those questions to the generals who are trained to make them. We may not have bin Laden, but he is running from cave to cave to cave and hasn’t been able to strike at us. And we do have Saddam. And we did get Khadafy to flip and support us. And we have the terrorists on the run.”

When Kerry criticizes any aspect of the war effort, like the shortage of body armor…

…The president should really let him have it. “It was not me, but you who voted against adequate intelligence funding, to abolish the CIA, to cut defense budgets and, ultimately, against the $87 billion for our efforts in Iraq. Those were your votes, not mine.”

If the presidents works on his moves, he’ll be back in the race.

The Republican Convention concluded last night with a good speech by the President. He spoke well and looked confident. Compare that to the way Kerry rushed through his speech and was sweating like Nixon.

Overall, The Republican Convention appears to have been a major success. How else can you explain the unprecedented step Kerry took last night of giving a midnight rally speech less than an hour after the President completed his speech . A couple of days ago, the NY Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians 22-0. I think you would see a similarly lopsided score if you were to line up a list of speakers at the Democratic Convention and score them against the speakers at the Republican Convention.

Here is a recap of last night’s speeches.

The night began with an Olympic theme. Olympic Gymnastics Gold Medalists Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Kerri Strug (1996) started the night off with the Pledge of Allegiance. They were soon followed by former NFL Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swann and Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill (1976) who paid tribute to this year’s U.S. Olympic team and pushed the importance of exercise (see transcript here).

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams started off the speeches introducing President Bush:

Ladies and gentlemen, the story I’m going to share goes back nearly a quarter of a century.

It’s the story of an unlikely friendship between an African-American man from the other side of the tracks in Midland, Texas, and a Harvard graduate building his career in the energy business.

I’m speaking about the friendship between me and a man named George W. Bush. From the time we first met, it was evident to me that George saw America as a land of opportunity.

And more than that, he felt a personal stake in creating opportunity not just for some, but for everyone.

He was willing to work against the odds to help somebody realize the promise of this great country somebody who could do nothing for him.

You see, twenty years ago, Midland had never had an African-American elected to office.

When I decided to run, George W. Bush didn’t just agree to vote for me. He agreed to be my campaign manager.

I have to admit, he’s proved himself a far better President than campaign manager. We got stomped!

But with that defeat, he didn’t lose faith in me. He also didn’t lose faith in his vision of America.

After he appointed me to the energy commission in 1998, I became the highest ranking African-American elected official in Texas state government.

Today, President Bush has one of the most diverse cabinets in American history.

I’m here to tell you first-hand that his commitment to inclusion goes back to a time when nobody was watching.

It goes back to a time when we drove around Midland in his Oldsmobile, baby seats in the back, scattered with toys for the twins.

It goes back to a time when he did everything he could to avoid the dance floor at my wedding reception.

It goes back to a time when we rolled up our sleeves, grabbed our hammers, and put up the walls of a home for a Christmas in April project.

And to a time when we chewed on sunflower seeds and visited with folks at the ballpark in the hot Texas sun. America has been a land of opportunity for me because George Bush believed in me a quarter of a century ago.

And you know what? I believe in him, too.

Florida Senate Candidate Mel Martinez talked about being an immigrant from Cuba living the American dream and about compassionate conservatism:

…Over forty years ago, my parents sent me — as a young child — out of a land ruled by a Communist dictator…and now, just forty-eight hours ago, I became the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from the great State of Florida.

ONLY IN AMERICA!

Only in America can a 15-year old boy arrive on our shores alone, not speaking the language with a suitcase and the hope of a brighter future and rise to serve in the cabinet of the President of the United States.

And, only in America can that same young boy, today, stand one step away from making history as the first Cuban-American to serve in the United States Senate.

In 1962, my parents made a difficult decision to send me out of a Communist land…where a brutal dictator controlled every facet of our lives.

A land where I saw the government beat people as they left church for practicing their faith. Where the education system became a source for teaching revolution and na ve respect for one brutal dictator.

Knowing I had no future there, my mother and father sent me to this great nation — this nation, that stands as a beacon of freedom and opportunity

This nation, that is Ronald Reagan’s Shining City on a Hill.

My mother and father did not know when they would ever see me again.

But, with faith in God, and Faith in a country — that truly stands as a symbol of hope to people around the world — my family provided me with life in a free and secure land.

Tonight I stand before you — eternally grateful to this nation…where dreams come true.

I have lived the American dream, and I am determined to ensure the possibility of that dream for others.

I am here tonight, to urge my fellow Americans, to join me in protecting our freedom, our core values, and this free land.

I am here to ask you to reelect President George W. Bush.

He is a good friend and a man who values freedom with all his heart. He is a steadfast leader who is protecting the land we love and the freedoms we cherish.

President Bush and I believe in the promise of America.

The promise that regardless of where you came from, what language you speak, the color of your skin, or your economic circumstances if you share the American dream of freedom and opportunity and you pursue it with hard work, respect, and an abiding faith in God then all things are possible.

I believe in George Bush’s idea of “compassionate conservatism.” From the time I first heard him talk about it, I said “compassionate conservatism is the story of my life.”

And it is the story of so many other people. Working moms trying to make ends meet.

Dads working two jobs to give their children a better life. Immigrants, who, like me, saw America as a land of opportunity.

Throughout my journey, I have come to know firsthand the compassion of America and the genuine goodness of Americans.

I was deeply honored to serve in the Cabinet of a President with a big heart and deep affection for all Americans.

Not only does President Bush believe in the American dream, but his policies are helping people across our country to realize their own American Dream.

As President Bush’s Secretary of Housing, we worked together to implement a home-ownership initiative that is seeing real results.

Today, the home-ownership rate in the United States is at an all-time high, and more minority families own their own homes than ever before.

I was honored to carry the President’s message of hope and inclusion to the Hispanic communities in our country and throughout our hemisphere.

And I was so proud of President Bush for establishing a commission for assistance to a free Cuba, which I co-chaired with Secretary Colin Powell.

Because of the President’s steadfast commitment to democracy, we now have the first comprehensive Cuba policy in over 40 years.

During the four years that I lived in Florida before our family was reunited, I worked part time jobs, and was able to put myself through school…and start my family anew in America.

Tonight there are families working hard to save for their first home, their first car, or just to put food on the table.

President Bush and the Republican Party believe in a government that spends less and taxes less so that families can keep more of their hard-earned money.

That is a fundamental difference between the parties and between the two men running for President.

President Bush wants to cut taxes, and John Kerry wants to raise taxes.

Our seniors also deserve to live the American dream… with dignity and financial security.

As a person with three mothers — my two foster moms and my own mother all three of whom are in their eighties, I am extremely thankful to President Bush for his leadership in providing affordable drugs for our seniors.

For years, our seniors have been promised a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, and those promises fell empty.

Now because of President Bush, seniors are finally getting help with the cost of their prescription drugs.

Education is the key to unlocking the American Dream.

For immigrants like me, and for children trapped in a cycle of poverty, the only way out is a quality education.

The promise of America will only be a distant vision unless every American has the opportunity to receive a first-class education.

The American Dream demands it, and our children deserve it.

For decades, education in America wallowed in mediocrity - stagnated by bureaucracies that counted dollars but not results.

Then along came a President who wanted to make sure that all children could go as far as their hard work would take them.

George W. Bush believes that like students, schools should get report cards he believes in giving parents more choices about their children’s education he believes that high school diplomas should mean that graduates actually have the skills to compete in the 21st century economy.

If you believe that America’s schools are leaving too many children behind and that every child can and must learn — then your choice for President is George W. Bush.

***

My America…is Ronald Reagan’s “Shining City on a Hill”.

I saw its beacon as a young boy from behind the wall of Communism.

I felt its warmth through the genuine goodness of its people.

Like so many immigrants, I aim to repay a debt of gratitude to America by passionately defending and safeguarding the American Dream — for this and future generations.

That’s why I support our great President, George W. Bush.

Thank You, God Bless You, and God Bless America.

Next up was Retired General Tommy Franks who recently endorsed the President. He was introduced after a tribute to the troops. Gen. Franks spoke about the President’s support of the military and the need to fight terrorists in their homes instead of in ours. Here is his speech in full (emphasis added):

I’m Tommy Franks and I approved that message.

This convention ROCKS…

I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat. But I believe in democracy. I believe in America.

After almost four decades as a Soldier I’ve been Independent…some would say very independent

But, here I stand tonight, endorsing George W. Bush to be the next President of the United States.

America is a land of opportunity and a land of choice.

A great war time President, Franklin Roosevelt, once said: “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely.”

Delegates and Friends I am prepared to “choose wisely.”

And I choose George W. Bush.

I am honored to join the American Patriots who just stood on this stage.

Men who know as do our troopers’ mothers and dads, husbands and wives, that ‘Freedom is Never Free.’

These are men who stepped forward to lead America’s sons and daughters selflessly. They remained loyal to their Country and the troops.

I join them in saluting our Commander in Chief George W. Bush.

America finds itself today at an important crease in history. The attacks of September 11th, brought a new enemy to our shores an enemy unlike any we’ve ever faced before.

Our Nation is safer today because we have hardened our defenses and taken the fight to the terrorists, but we still have work to do.

The Global War on Terrorism will be a long fight. But make no mistake we are going to fight the terrorists. The question is do we fight them over there — or do we fight them here. I choose to fight them over there.

Some argue that we should treat this war as a law enforcement issue. Some say we should fight a less aggressive war — that we should retreat into a defensive posture and hope that the terrorists don’t attack us again.

Well, my wife Cathy and I are simply not willing to bet our grandchildren’s future on the ‘good will’ of murderers.

I learned long ago that hope is not a strategy.

In the years ahead, America will be called upon to demonstrate character, consistency, courage, and leadership.

Lincoln once said, “Character is like a tree and reputation is like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”

Citizens and friends, I’ve been with this President in tough, uncertain times. George W. Bush is “the real thing.”

The past three years have been hard years, a time of hard decisions and tough choices.

I have looked into his eyes and I have seen his character.

I have seen courage and consistency the courage to stand up to terrorists and the consistency necessary to beat them.

In the battle for Afghanistan we removed a regime that provided the base of support for the al Qaeda terrorists that had been killing Americans for years.

In the battle for Iraq, we removed a brutal regime with an avowed hatred of America, a history of torturing its own people, and a history of using WMD against its neighbors and its own citizens.

We removed a regime with well documented ties to terrorists like al Qaeda murderer Abu Zarqawi.

Terrorism against our country started long before 9-11. Terrorists have been killing Americans for more than two decades. I am proud that this President has chosen to make a stand.

Today, in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 50 million men, women and children have been liberated from tyranny and these countries are no longer safe harbors for those who would launch the next attack against America.

We see the smiles of little girls in Afghanistan who can now go to school. We see pride in the faces of a new Iraqi army as they begin to protect their new found freedoms.

We see resolve in the faces of emerging leaders of Iraq and Afghanistan as they build their new nations. And soon, in both Iraq and Afghanistan we will see free elections.

In Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorism and tyranny are being replaced by freedom, hope, and opportunity.

I am proud that America has given 50 million people a chance.

And we have not been in this fight alone.

President Bush has built the largest coalition in the history of the world nations united together against terrorism.

Some have ridiculed the contributions made by our allies, but I can tell you that every contribution from every nation is important.

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in thanking our Coalition partners for being there when America and the world needed them most.

There can be no tougher decision than the decision to go to war the decision to put our sons and daughters into harm’s way.

When George W. Bush asked America’s men and women to go to war, he gave them every resource the Nation possessed.

This is a man who, before sending us into battle, personally asked each military commander if he had everything he needed.

This is a man who made sure everything possible was done to protect our troops from the WMD we all expected. This is a commander in chief who is as compassionate as he is courageous.

President Bush has increased basic pay for men and women in uniform by more than 20 percent.

He has improved military housing. And he has provided strong support for military families who sacrifice so much.

And while we celebrate the American fighting man and woman when they are in the news, who remembers the veterans when the parades are over and the cheering fades?

Who remembers the veteran’s families?

President George W. Bush has provided unprecedented support for these heroes. In fact he secured a larger increase in veterans funding in four years than the previous Administration did in eight.

This President remembers our veterans and is keeping America’s promise to those who have sacrificed so much for us all.

George W. Bush remembers the sacrifices of the greatest generation and those who served bravely in Korea and Viet Nam.

To all our veterans we say, “welcome home.”

This President has remained loyal to those who serve and for that he has my respect.

Citizens and friends, I began tonight by reminding you that America must make a choice.

I choose George W. Bush because he is a leader we can depend on to make the tough decisions and the right decisions.

I choose George W. Bush because his vision to take the fight to the terrorists is the best way to protect our country.

I choose George W. Bush because he stands up for the American fighting man and woman and because he remembers our veterans.

I choose George W. Bush because we know the next 200 years of American history depends on the decisions we make as a Nation today.

And, I choose President George W. Bush because I believe his leadership will help ensure a better future for my grandchildren — Anne Cathryn and Samuel Thomas Matlock.

Thank you all– and may God bless our Country and our Commander- in-Chief.

Governor George Pataki of New York was given the honor of introducing President Bush. The governor thanked America for their help and kindness after 9/11. He then compared the President’s steadfastness to Kerry’s addiction to waffles (emphasis added):

Thank you, delegates and friends.

I have been governor of this state for ten years, through challenge, and triumph, and tonight is a great New York night.

I’m going to be brief, because tonight we hear from President George W. Bush.

The past few evenings we have spoken of September 11th, of our heroes and of those we lost.

But there’s a part of this story that has never fully been told. I’d like to tell it.

After September 11th our tourism industry was hit hard. Do you know what the people of Oregon did? A thousand people from Oregon came to New York and rented a thousand hotel rooms so our workers and desk clerks and waiters could keep their jobs.

Where is the Oregon delegation? Oregon, can I ask you to stand?

Thank you.

Where is Iowa?

After September 11th, the people of Iowa heard that our guys at ground zero were cold, working through the night, so Iowa rushed one thousand five hundred quilts to help keep them warm.

Iowa Delegation will you please stand? Thank you.

Pennsylvania, where are you?

Five brothers in your state had been saving for years to go to Disney World. They had saved almost $900. After September 11th the boys drove to Brooklyn, to a fire house that had lost eight men. They gave their Disney World money to the relief fund.

Pennsylvania, you raised those boys, will you stand? Thank you.

Now, I could tell a story like this about every single state in the country. But there was of course another state.

It woke up one morning and walked the kids to school, and suddenly the streets were full of sirens and there was fire in the sky.

You know what they did, the people of this state?

They charged into the towers, they stood on line like soldiers to give blood.

And then, in the days and nights that followed, the tough men and women of our great city came forward.

They quieted the fire and dug us out of grief. They got into trucks and went to Ground Zero the construction workers and iron workers, our police officers and fire fighters.

And the people of our city stood in the dark each night, waving flags, and calling out “God bless you” as the trucks hurtled by.

And the men and women on those trucks waved back as if to say, “Hey, no problem.”
This great state rolled up its sleeves, looked terrorism straight in the face, and spat in its eye.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you New York.

On that terrible day, a nation became a neighborhood. All Americans became New Yorkers.

So, what I’ve wanted to do for a long time was say thank you — in front of our country, and with our children watching.

Thank you America, from the very bottom of New York’s heart.

And now, we have some business to do.

Every four years people say ‘This is the most important election of our lifetime.’ This time it’s true.

We have a choice between two very different men.

Different views, different histories. I know them both we were at college together, the president a year behind me, Senator Kerry a year ahead.

John Kerry was head of the Liberal Union, I was head of the Conservative Union.

We never got to debate back then. But the Senator has asked for a full and frank discussion.

Well, let’s start now.

I want to help voters compare President Bush’s record of achievement with Senator Kerry’s. That way they’ll be able to see the difference, which is that President Bush has a record of achievement.

Almost four years ago George W. Bush raised his right hand and took the oath of office. And from the first he showed us something we hadn’t seen in a while. When he said he was going to do something, he meant it.

And then he did it.

Given recent history, that’s amazing.

He inherited a recession, and then came September 11th. But George Bush said he would turn around the economy and create new jobs.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

He said he would cut taxes on the middle class, and ease the tax burden on all Americans.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

He said he’d help small businesses, protect social security, and expand home ownership.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

He said he’d apply tougher standards to our schools. He’d help our seniors get the prescription drug coverage they need.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

And George Bush said he’d fight to allow the power of faith to help our young and help our troubled.

He said he’d do it. And he did.

There’s much more, but you get the point.

George W. Bush says what he means, he means what he says, you can trust him.

Senator Kerry, on the other hand

Well, what can we say of Senator Kerry?

He was for the war and then he was against the war.

Then he was for it but he wouldn’t fund it.

Then he’d fund it but he wasn’t for it.

He was for the Patriot Act until he was against it.

Or was he against it until he was for it?

I forget. He probably does too.

This is a candidate who has to Google his own name to find out where he stands.

You saw their convention a few weeks ago. They had a slogan: “Hope is on the way.” But with all their flip-flopping and zig-zagging their real slogan should be, “Hype is on the way.”

You know, as Republicans we’re lucky. This fall we’re going to win one for the Gipper. But our opponents - they’re going lose one with the Flipper.

I thank God that on September 11th, we had a president who didn’t wring his hands and wonder what America had done wrong to deserve this attack.

I thank God we had a president who understood that America was attacked, not for what we had done wrong, but for what we do right.

The President took strong action to protect our country.

That sounds like something any president would do. How I wish that were so.

You know the history. Osama bin Laden declared war on America — and then came the attacks –

the first World Trade Center, the embassies, the USS Cole — hundreds dead, thousands injured.

How I wish the administration at that time, in those years had done something.

How I wished they had moved to protect us — But - they - didn’t - do -it.

On September 11th Al Qaeda attacked again. But this time they made a terrible mistake.

There’s one thing they didn’t bank on.

They didn’t bank on George W. Bush.

He didn’t run from history. He faced it.

George Bush raised our spirits.

He came to New York, stood on that smoking heap, looked at our heroes and said I can hear you and soon the whole world will hear you

He declared a new doctrine: The United States will find and remove terrorists, whoever they are and wherever they are, and if you harbor them, there will be hell to pay.

He mobilized our forces and went to Afghanistan, where the United States fought and won a war.

Al Qaeda camps were pulverized, the Taliban deposed.

George Bush protected our country. And - he - protects - it - still.

With supreme guts and rightness President Bush went into Iraq.

The US had asked for peace, went to the UN time and again, asked Saddam to step aside. But Saddam would not be moved.

So President Bush moved him

Our American troops, our citizen soldiers and the Coalition of the Willing moved him. And soon a dictator who had used poison gas on his own people was found cowering in the earth.

Some people have called this an abuse of power. I call it progress.

There are those who still say that there was no reason to liberate Iraq. They ask about weapons of mass destruction.

On September 11th in New York we learned that in the hands of a monster, a box cutter is a weapon of mass destruction.

And Saddam Hussein was a monster — a walking- talking weapon of mass destruction.

It is good for the world that he is gone.

Where does Senator Kerry stand on all this? In Boston, he said that in the future “any attack would be met with a swift and certain response”.

Well, respectfully Senator, that’s not good enough.

We’ve already been attacked, time and again.

And President Bush understands we can’t just wait for the next attack. We have to go after them in their training camps, in their hiding places, in their spider holes, before they have the chance to attack us again.

Senator Kerry says, “America should go to war not when it wants to go to war but when it has to go to war.”

Well, Senator: the fire fighters and cops who ran into those burning towers and died on September 11th didn’t want to go to war, they were heroes in a war they didn’t even know existed.

America did not choose this war. But we have a President who chooses to win it.

This is no ordinary time. The stakes could not be higher. Fate has handed our generation a grave new threat to freedom. And fortune has given us a leader who will defend that freedom. This is no ordinary time.

And George W. Bush is no ordinary leader.

I’m a New Yorker.

We’ve got a lot of feeling deep down, though we don’t always show it.

But let me ask you: What is this election about if it isn’t about our love of Freedom?

A love for all we are, and can be - for that old Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, for Constitution Hall, for that island, Ellis Island, where the whole world’s people came to share in our freedom.

And love too for that statue in New York’s great grand harbor. That noble statue that greeted the lonely, and seemed by her very grandeur to be telling them, ‘Take heart, take heart, it’s going to be better here.’

We had to close her down after September 11th. But we opened her again a few weeks ago.

That was a good day.

And now she stands, tall and immovable, lighting the way to dreams, that symbol of hope, that Statue of Liberty.

Ladies and Gentlemen

On this night and in this fight there is another who holds high that torch of freedom. He is one of those men God and fate somehow lead to the fore in times of challenge.

And he is lighting the way to better times, a safer land, and hope.

He is my friend, he is our president, President George W. Bush.

Governor Pataki was followed by a video about President Bush that was narrated by Fred Thompson. The video ended showing President Bush throw out the first pitch at the 2001 World Series game in Yankee Stadium. If you don’t remember, the pitch was a strike from the mound. which was remarkable considering the secret service bullet-proof vest he was wearing under his shirt.

President Bush laid out his vision for a second term and spoke about how his policies will protect America and win the War on Terror. There was a moving moment near the end where he spoke about the soldiers we have lost and the strength their families have displayed. Here is his speech in full (emphasis added):

Mr. Chairman, delegates, fellow citizens: I am honored by your support, and I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

When I said those words four years ago, none of us could have envisioned what these years would bring. In the heart of this great city, we saw tragedy arrive on a quiet morning. We saw the bravery of rescuers grow with danger. We learned of passengers on a doomed plane who died with a courage that frightened their killers. We have seen a shaken economy rise to its feet. And we have seen Americans in uniform storming mountain strongholds, and charging through sandstorms, and liberating millions, with acts of valor that would make the men of Normandy proud.

Since 2001, Americans have been given hills to climb, and found the strength to climb them. Now, because we have made the hard journey, we can see the valley below. Now, because we have faced challenges with resolve, we have historic goals within our reach, and greatness in our future. We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America and nothing will hold us back.

In the work we have done, and the work we will do, I am fortunate to have a superb Vice President. I have counted on Dick Cheney’s calm and steady judgment in difficult days, and I am honored to have him at my side.

I am grateful to share my walk in life with Laura Bush. Americans have come to see the goodness and kindness and strength I first saw 26 years ago, and we love our First Lady.

I am a fortunate father of two spirited, intelligent, and lovely young women. I am blessed with a sister and brothers who are also my closest friends. And I will always be the proud and grateful son of George and Barbara Bush.

My father served eight years at the side of another great American Ronald Reagan. His spirit of optimism and goodwill and decency are in this hall, and in our hearts, and will always define our party.

Two months from today, voters will make a choice based on the records we have built, the convictions we hold, and the vision that guides us forward. A presidential election is a contest for the future. Tonight I will tell you where I stand, what I believe, and where I will lead this country in the next four years.

I believe every child can learn, and every school must teach so we passed the most important federal education reform in history. Because we acted, children are making sustained progress in reading and math, America’s schools are getting better, and nothing will hold us back.

I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor America’s seniors so I brought Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen Medicare. Now seniors are getting immediate help buying medicine. Soon every senior will be able to get prescription drug coverage, and nothing will hold us back.

I believe in the energy and innovative spirit of America’s workers, entrepreneurs, farmers, and ranchers so we unleashed that energy with the largest tax relief in a generation. Because we acted, our economy is growing again, and creating jobs, and nothing will hold us back.

I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.

I am running for President with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world, and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this Nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership and that is why, with your help, we will win this election.

The story of America is the story of expanding liberty: an ever-widening circle, constantly growing to reach further and include more. Our Nation’s founding commitment is still our deepest commitment: In our world, and here at home, we will extend the frontiers of freedom.

The times in which we live and work are changing dramatically. The workers of our parents’ generation typically had one job, one skill, one career often with one company that provided health care and a pension. And most of those workers were men. Today, workers change jobs, even careers, many times during their lives, and in one of the most dramatic shifts our society has seen, two-thirds of all Moms also work outside the home.

This changed world can be a time of great opportunity for all Americans to earn a better living, support your family, and have a rewarding career. And government must take your side. Many of our most fundamental systems the tax code, health coverage, pension plans, worker training were created for the world of yesterday, not tomorrow. We will transform these systems so that all citizens are equipped, prepared and thus truly free to make your own choices and pursue your own dreams.

My plan begins with providing the security and opportunity of a growing economy. We now compete in a global market that provides new buyers for our goods, but new competition for our workers. To create more jobs in America, America must be the best place in the world to do business. To create jobs, my plan will encourage investment and expansion by restraining federal spending, reducing regulation, and making tax relief permanent. To create jobs, we will make our country less dependent on foreign sources of energy. To create jobs, we will expand trade and level the playing field to sell American goods and services across the globe. And we must protect small business owners and workers from the explosion of frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across America.

Another drag on our economy is the current tax code, which is a complicated mess filled with special interest loopholes, saddling our people with more than six billion hours of paperwork and headache every year. The American people deserve and our economic future demands a simpler, fairer, pro-growth system. In a new term, I will lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the federal tax code.

Another priority in a new term will be to help workers take advantage of the expanding economy to find better, higher-paying jobs. In this time of change, many workers want to go back to school to learn different or higher-level skills. So we will double the number of people served by our principal job training program and increase funding for community colleges. I know that with the right skills, American workers can compete with anyone, anywhere in the world.

In this time of change, opportunity in some communities is more distant than in others. To stand with workers in poor communities and those that have lost manufacturing, textile, and other jobs we will create American opportunity zones. In these areas, we’ll provide tax relief and other incentives to attract new business, and improve housing and job training to bring hope and work throughout all of America.

As I’ve traveled the country, I’ve met many workers and small business owners who have told me they are worried they cannot afford health care. More than half of the uninsured are small business employees and their families. In a new term, we must allow small firms to join together to purchase insurance at the discounts available to big companies. We will offer a tax credit to encourage small businesses and their employees to set up health savings accounts, and provide direct help for low-income Americans to purchase them. These accounts give workers the security of insurance against major illness, the opportunity to save tax-free for routine health expenses, and the freedom of knowing you can take your account with you whenever you change jobs. And we will provide low-income Americans with better access to health care: In a new term, I will ensure every poor county in America has a community or rural health center.

As I have traveled our country, I have met too many good doctors, especially OB-GYNS, who are being forced out of practice because of the high cost of lawsuits. To make health care more affordable and accessible, we must pass medical liability reform now. And in all we do to improve health care in America, we will make sure that health decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.

In this time of change, government must take the side of working families. In a new term, we will change outdated labor laws to offer comp-time and flex-time. Our laws should never stand in the way of a more family-friendly workplace.

Another priority for a new term is to build an ownership society, because ownership brings security, and dignity, and independence.

Thanks to our policies, homeownership in America is at an all-time high. Tonight we set a new goal: seven million more affordable homes in the next 10 years so more American families will be able to open the door and say welcome to my home.

In an ownership society, more people will own their health plans, and have the confidence of owning a piece of their retirement. We will always keep the promise of Social Security for our older workers. With the huge Baby Boom generation approaching retirement, many of our children and grandchildren understandably worry whether Social Security will be there when they need it. We must strengthen Social Security by allowing younger workers to save some of their taxes in a personal account a nest egg you can call your own, and government can never take away.

In all these proposals, we seek to provide not just a government program, but a path a path to greater opportunity, more freedom, and more control over your own life.

This path begins with our youngest Americans. To build a more hopeful America, we must help our children reach as far as their vision and character can take them. Tonight, I remind every parent and every teacher, I say to every child: No matter what your circumstance, no matter where you live your school will be the path to the promise of America.

We are transforming our schools by raising standards and focusing on results. We are insisting on accountability, empowering parents and teachers, and making sure that local people are in charge of their schools. By testing every child, we are identifying those who need help and we’re providing a record level of funding to get them that help. In northeast Georgia, Gainesville Elementary School is mostly Hispanic and 90 percent poor and this year 90 percent of its students passed state tests in reading and math. The principal expresses the philosophy of his school this way: “We don’t focus on what we can’t do at this school; we focus on what we can do; we do whatever it takes to get kids across the finish line.” This principal is challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations, and that is the spirit of our education reform, and the commitment of our country: No dejaremos a ning n ni o atr s. We will leave no child behind.

We are making progress and there is more to do. In this time of change, most new jobs are filled by people with at least two years of college, yet only about one in four students gets there. In our high schools, we will fund early intervention programs to help students at risk. We will place a new focus on math and science. As we make progress, we will require a rigorous exam before graduation. By raising performance in our high schools, and expanding Pell grants for low and middle income families, we will help more Americans start their career with a college diploma.

America’s children must also have a healthy start in life. In a new term, we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government’s health insurance programs. We will not allow a lack of attention, or information, to stand between these children and the health care they need.

Anyone who wants more details on my agenda can find them online. The web address is not very imaginative, but it’s easy to remember: GeorgeWBush.com.

These changing times can be exciting times of expanded opportunity. And here, you face a choice. My opponent’s policies are dramatically different from ours. Senator Kerry opposed Medicare reform and health savings accounts. After supporting my education reforms, he now wants to dilute them. He opposes legal and medical liability reform. He opposed reducing the marriage penalty, opposed doubling the child credit, and opposed lowering income taxes for all who pay them. To be fair, there are some things my opponent is for he’s proposed more than two trillion dollars in new federal spending so far, and that’s a lot, even for a senator from Massachusetts. To pay for that spending, he is running on a platform of increasing taxes and that’s the kind of promise a politician usually keeps.

His policies of tax and spend of expanding government rather than expanding opportunity are the policies of the past. We are on the path to the future and we are not turning back.

In this world of change, some things do not change: the values we try to live by, the institutions that give our lives meaning and purpose. Our society rests on a foundation of responsibility and character and family commitment.

Because family and work are sources of stability and dignity, I support welfare reform that strengthens family and requires work. Because a caring society will value its weakest members, we must make a place for the unborn child. Because religious charities provide a safety net of mercy and compassion, our government must never discriminate against them. Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society, I support the protection of marriage against activist judges. And I will continue to appoint federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.

My opponent recently announced that he is the candidate of “conservative values,” which must have come as a surprise to a lot of his supporters. Now, there are some problems with this claim. If you say the heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I’m afraid you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you voted against the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed, you are not the candidate of conservative values. If you gave a speech, as my opponent did, calling the Reagan presidency eight years of “moral darkness,” then you may be a lot of things, but the candidate of conservative values is not one of them.

This election will also determine how America responds to the continuing danger of terrorism and you know where I stand. Three days after September 11th, I stood where Americans died, in the ruins of the Twin Towers. Workers in hard hats were shouting to me, “Whatever it takes.” A fellow grabbed me by the arm and he said, “Do not let me down.” Since that day, I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. I will never relent in defending America whatever it takes.

So we have fought the terrorists across the earth not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear. We have tripled funding for homeland security and trained half a million first responders, because we are determined to protect our homeland. We are transforming our military and reforming and strengthening our intelligence services. We are staying on the offensive striking terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. And we are working to advance liberty in the broader Middle East, because freedom will bring a future of hope, and the peace we all want. And we will prevail.

Our strategy is succeeding. Four years ago, Afghanistan was the home base of al-Qaida, Pakistan was a transit point for terrorist groups, Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist fundraising, Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, Iraq was a gathering threat, and al-Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned attacks. Today, the government of a free Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests, Libya is dismantling its weapons programs, the army of a free Iraq is fighting for freedom, and more than three-quarters of al-Qaida’s key members and associates have been detained or killed. We have led, many have joined, and America and the world are safer.

This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and some tough decisions. And the toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam Hussein’s record of aggression and support for terror. We knew his long history of pursuing, even using, weapons of mass destruction. And we know that September 11th requires our country to think differently: We must, and we will, confront threats to America before it is too late.

In Saddam Hussein, we saw a threat. Members of both political parties, including my opponent and his running mate, saw the threat, and voted to authorize the use of force. We went to the United Nations Security Council, which passed a unanimous resolution demanding the dictator disarm, or face serious consequences. Leaders in the Middle East urged him to comply. After more than a decade of diplomacy, we gave Saddam Hussein another chance, a final chance, to meet his responsibilities to the civilized world. He again refused, and I faced the kind of decision that comes only to the Oval Office a decision no president would ask for, but must be prepared to make. Do I forget the lessons of September 11th and take the word of a madman, or do I take action to defend our country? Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time.

Because we acted to defend our country, the murderous regimes of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban are history, more than 50 million people have been liberated, and democracy is coming to the broader Middle East. In Afghanistan, terrorists have done everything they can to intimidate people yet more than 10 million citizens have registered to vote in the October presidential election a resounding endorsement of democracy. Despite ongoing acts of violence, Iraq now has a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national elections are scheduled for January. Our Nation is standing with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, because when America gives its word, America must keep its word. As importantly, we are serving a vital and historic cause that will make our country safer. Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful societies, which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for export. Free governments in the Middle East will fight terrorists instead of harboring them, and that helps us keep the peace. So our mission in Afghanistan and Iraq is clear: We will help new leaders to train their armies, and move toward elections, and get on the path of stability and democracy as quickly as possible. And then our troops will return home with the honor they have earned.

Our troops know the historic importance of our work. One Army Specialist wrote home: “We are transforming a once sick society into a hopeful place The various terrorist enemies we are facing in Iraq,” he continued, “are really aiming at you back in the United States. This is a test of will for our country. We soldiers of yours are doing great and scoring victories in confronting the evil terrorists.”

That young man is right our men and women in uniform are doing a superb job for America. Tonight I want to speak to all of them and to their families: You are involved in a struggle of historic proportion. Because of your service and sacrifice, we are defeating the terrorists where they live and plan, and making America safer. Because of you, women in Afghanistan are no longer shot in a sports stadium. Because of you, the people of Iraq no longer fear being executed and left in mass graves. Because of you, the world is more just and will be more peaceful. We owe you our thanks, and we owe you something more. We will give you all the resources, all the tools, and all the support you need for victory.

Again, my opponent and I have different approaches. I proposed, and the Congress overwhelmingly passed, 87 billion dollars in funding needed by our troops doing battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. My opponent and his running mate voted against this money for bullets, and fuel, and vehicles, and body armor. When asked to explain his vote, the Senator said, “I actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it.” Then he said he was “proud” of that vote. Then, when pressed, he said it was a “complicated” matter. There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.

Our allies also know the historic importance of our work. About 40 nations stand beside us in Afghanistan, and some 30 in Iraq. And I deeply appreciate the courage and wise counsel of leaders like Prime Minister Howard, and President Kwasniewski, and Prime Minister Berlusconi and, of course, Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Again, my opponent takes a different approach. In the midst of war, he has called America’s allies, quote, a “coalition of the coerced and the bribed.” That would be nations like Great Britain, Poland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, El Salvador, Australia, and others allies that deserve the respect of all Americans, not the scorn of a politician. I respect every soldier, from every country, who serves beside us in the hard work of history. America is grateful, and America will not forget.

The people we have freed won’t forget either. Not long ago, seven Iraqi men came to see me in the Oval Office. They had “X”s branded into their foreheads, and their right hands had been cut off, by Saddam Hussein’s secret police, the sadistic punishment for imaginary crimes. During our emotional visit one of the Iraqi men used his new prosthetic hand to slowly write out, in Arabic, a prayer for God to bless America. I am proud that our country remains the hope of the oppressed, and the greatest force for good on this earth.

Others understand the historic importance of our work. The terrorists know. They know that a vibrant, successful democracy at the heart of the Middle East will discredit their radical ideology of hate. They know that men and women with hope, and purpose, and dignity do not strap bombs on their bodies and kill the innocent. The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march.

I believe in the transformational power of liberty: The wisest use of American strength is to advance freedom. As the citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq seize the moment, their example will send a message of hope throughout a vital region. Palestinians will hear the message that democracy and reform are within their reach, and so is peace with our good friend Israel. Young women across the Middle East will hear the message that their day of equality and justice is coming. Young men will hear the message that national progress and dignity are found in liberty, not tyranny and terror. Reformers, and political prisoners, and exiles will hear the message that their dream of freedom cannot be denied forever. And as freedom advances heart by heart, and nation by nation America will be more secure and the world more peaceful.

America has done this kind of work before and there have always been doubters. In 1946, 18 months after the fall of Berlin to allied forces, a journalist wrote in the New York Times, “Germany is a land in an acute stage of economic, political and moral crisis. [European] capitals are frightened. In every [military] headquarters, one meets alarmed officials doing their utmost to deal with the consequences of the occupation policy that they admit has failed.” End quote. Maybe that same person’s still around, writing editorials. Fortunately, we had a resolute president named Truman, who with the American people persevered, knowing that a new democracy at the center of Europe would lead to stability and peace. And because that generation of Americans held firm in the cause of liberty, we live in a better and safer world today.

The progress we and our friends and allies seek in the broader Middle East will not come easily, or all at once. Yet Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of liberty to transform lives and nations. That power brought settlers on perilous journeys, inspired colonies to rebellion, ended the sin of slavery, and set our Nation against the tyrannies of the 20th century. We were honored to aid the rise of democracy in Germany and Japan and Nicaragua and Central Europe and the Baltics and that noble story goes on. I believe that America is called to lead the cause of freedom in a new century. I believe that millions in the Middle East plead in silence for their liberty. I believe that given the chance, they will embrace the most honorable form of government ever devised by man. I believe all these things because freedom is not America’s gift to the world, it is the Almighty God’s gift to every man and woman in this world.

This moment in the life of our country will be remembered. Generations will know if we kept our faith and kept our word. Generations will know if we seized this moment, and used it to build a future of safety and peace. The freedom of many, and the future security of our Nation, now depend on us. And tonight, my fellow Americans, I ask you to stand with me.

In the last four years, you and I have come to know each other. Even when we don’t agree, at least you know what I believe and where I stand. You may have noticed I have a few flaws, too. People sometimes have to correct my English I knew I had a problem when Arnold Schwarzenegger started doing it. Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called “walking.” Now and then I come across as a little too blunt and for that we can all thank the white-haired lady sitting right up there.

One thing I have learned about the presidency is that whatever shortcomings you have, people are going to notice them and whatever strengths you have, you’re going to need them. These four years have brought moments I could not foresee and will not forget. I have tried to comfort Americans who lost the most on September 11th people who showed me a picture or told me a story, so I would know how much was taken from them. I have learned first-hand that ordering Americans into battle is the hardest decision, even when it is right. I have returned the salute of wounded soldiers, some with a very tough road ahead, who say they were just doing their job. I’ve held the children of the fallen, who are told their dad or mom is a hero, but would rather just have their dad or mom.

And I have met with parents and wives and husbands who have received a folded flag, and said a final goodbye to a soldier they loved. I am awed that so many have used those meetings to say that I am in their prayers to offer encouragement to me. Where does strength like that come from? How can people so burdened with sorrow also feel such pride? It is because they know their loved one was last seen doing good. Because they know that liberty was precious to the one they lost. And in those military families, I have seen the character of a great nation: decent, and idealistic, and strong.

The world saw that spirit three miles from here, when the people of this city faced peril together, and lifted a flag over the ruins, and defied the enemy with their courage. My fellow Americans, for as long as our country stands, people will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say: Here buildings fell, and here a nation rose.

We see America’s character in our military, which finds a way or makes one. We see it in our veterans, who are supporting military families in their days of worry. We see it in our young people, who have found heroes once again. We see that character in workers and entrepreneurs, who are renewing our economy with their effort and optimism. And all of this has confirmed one belief beyond doubt: Having come this far, our tested and confident Nation can achieve anything.

To everything we know there is a season a time for sadness, a time for struggle, a time for rebuilding. And now we have reached a time for hope. This young century will be liberty’s century. By promoting liberty abroad, we will build a safer world. By encouraging liberty at home, we will build a more hopeful America. Like generations before us, we have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom. This is the everlasting dream of America and tonight, in this place, that dream is renewed. Now we go forward grateful for our freedom, faithful to our cause, and confident in the future of the greatest nation on earth.

God bless you, and may God continue to bless America.