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May 26, 2009
Today's Multiple Choice:
By now, you've all heard or read "The Duel on Terror" speech by both Cheney and 0bama. so, let's play a little game. Without peeking at a transcript... take a guess at who made the following statements in his speech:
Obama or Cheney?:
We are less than eight years removed from the deadliest attack on American soil in our history. We know that al Qaeda is actively planning to attack us again. We know that this threat will be with us for a long time, and that we must use all elements of our power to defeat it.
Obama or Cheney?:
After 9/11, we knew that we had entered a new era – that enemies who did not abide by any law of war would present new challenges to our application of the law; that our government would need new tools to protect the American people, and that these tools would have to allow us to prevent attacks instead of simply prosecuting those who try to carry them out.
Obama or Cheney?:
[T]oo often – our government made decisions based upon fear rather than foresight, and all too often trimmed facts and evidence to fit ideological predispositions. Instead of strategically applying our power and our principles, we too often set those principles aside as luxuries that we could no longer afford. And in this season of fear, too many of us – Democrats and Republicans; politicians, journalists and citizens – fell silent.
Obama or Cheney?:
Military commissions have a history in the United States dating back to George Washington and the Revolutionary War. They are an appropriate venue for trying detainees for violations of the laws of war. They allow for the protection of sensitive sources and methods of intelligence-gathering; for the safety and security of participants; and for the presentation of evidence gathered from the battlefield that cannot be effectively presented in federal Courts.
Obama or Cheney?:
Al Qaeda terrorists and their affiliates are at war with the United States, and those that we capture – like other prisoners of war – must be prevented from attacking us again.
Obama or Cheney?:
In our constitutional system, prolonged detention should not be the decision of any one man.
Obama or Cheney?:
[T]he American people are more interested in doing what is right to protect this country than in political posturing.
Obama or Cheney?:
Unlike the Civil War or World War II, we cannot count on a surrender ceremony to bring this journey to an end. Right now, in distant training camps and in crowded cities, there are people plotting to take American lives. That will be the case a year from now, five years from now, and – in all probability – ten years from now.
Surprisingly, every last one of those of those statements were made by 0bama in his speech, as noted by Charles Krauthammer in his article, "Obama In Bush Clothing.”
I found that over at The Stiletto, along with this most excellent bit of commentary:
The “duel” on Thursday wasn’t Obama vs. Cheney, it was Obama vs. Obama. His speech could only have been given by someone with multiple personality disorder – or a deeply conflicted liberal who (to borrow a phrase from the 1964 Goldwater campaign) in his heart knows Cheney is right. Obama must summon the backbone to squelch his inner McGovern and embrace his inner Cheney, because he is not going to be able to talk his way out of the national security threats we face in Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and even here at home.
If you're not reading The Stiletto on a regular basis, you should be.
Posted by LindaSoG at May 26, 2009 09:36 AM