Shreveport.com - View Single Post - It's Time To Remember Sept. 11, 2001 Attacks

rhertz · 09-12-2006, 07:58 PM

Rough Rider, I don’t think that it is a matter of one big “secret” but more like 100,000 small but significant secrets maintained by trained professional agents at our intelligence agencies. But you make a good point that they all work for us and therefore should give us enough declassified information in order to understand the general logic of the mission. I would think that they would want to rally public support for many reasons.

Now you may or may not trust the “intel” community in general, and I admit I sometimes have my concerns there as well, such as the reports of WMD’s and how they up and disappeared from Iraq (or were never there). Even if they somehow got it wrong and made a blunder, there are many other times when they do get it right and save lives, thank God.

This might be a poor analogy but I will try to make a point. Doctors may work for a hospital, but I don’t always want hospital business administrators calling the shots when it comes to my health, which should be between me and my doctor, regardless of who signs his paycheck. Yet I do think that doctors should provide enough layman’s information so that I as a patient can have a general clue to what’s going on, even if I never can or will understand every detail in medical science, not being a doctor myself. (and neither is the administrator is my point) We may all collectively own the “hospital”, but are we qualified to make those hard decisions such as war? I know congress can vote and the President can declare war, but has the population ever voted on the matter? Like investors in a company, we vote on our heads of state giving them substantial powers to make hard decisions and not put every issue to a public vote.

I don’t expect Clinton or Bush or any President to understand every detail in modern day intelligence and warfare, but I do expect every President to assemble a team who is in line with his overall objective which in this case is to stop terrorism dead in its tracks. How that is accomplished surely involves CIA and secret service agencies, military generals and admirals, and a whole host of highly educated and trained personnel who makes detail plans to accomplish the directive. When the President gets it wrong, so does a LOT of other individuals. As a basic citizen, I don’t really feel like I am in a very good position to judge what these intel people have to offer, and I doubt they all agree with each other 100% of the time. (but they do know a lot more than I do)

I really hope that regardless of their proposals or decisions, they all want to see our country safe, secure, and free and are working towards that same goal. Over time history will reveal who was right and who was wrong, and I am glad it isn’t me who must make those hard decisions. I would not want be the one to send a soldier to his possible death, nor feel the burden of knowing that had I sent a soldier in (to his possible death), that 1000’s of innocent civilian lives could have been saved. Those are tough choices indeed and they should be made by people a lot smarter than I am. (Speaking for myself only)

As far as sending a volunteer group to take out Saddam, didn’t we take assassinations off the table years ago? ;-) I have no problem with a little “political incorrectness”. After all, he did try to put a hit on a US president. I agree that might have been a quick and easy way to solve that problem, if that was indeed the only problem in the crosshairs of our government.

But maybe it was more than just taking out Saddam. Perhaps we choose the time and place in Iraq to demonstrate to the enemy that we can and will choose the time and place of such conflicts. Our message to the world should be that 9/11 was a lucky blow that will never happen again, and not that we can bend over and take it. Perhaps we are in Iraq simply because it pisses off the enemy that we can do what they said could not be done. If we are in the wrong place, then why does it inflame the Islamic fundamentalists so darn much? Why do they march into that land and commit suicide attacks? We must be doing something right or else they would stay and home and pray and make sure their wives are behaving. Would it be better if someone who wants to murder you and your family to stay hidden or come to Iraq to (hopefully) die at the hands of Iraqi and American solders before they kill someone here say in New York at their own hand and terms. Hell I really don’t know.

But my momma once said that you got to break some eggs if you are going to bake a cake! (Now that ought to scare the heck out of you.) LOL, peace and take care Rough Rider. Sorry for the long rambling post. Had too much time on my hands I guess.

09-12-2006, 07:58 PM	#7
rhertz SBLive! Veteran Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,834 Rep Power: 294	Rough Rider, I don’t think that it is a matter of one big “secret” but more like 100,000 small but significant secrets maintained by trained professional agents at our intelligence agencies. But you make a good point that they all work for us and therefore should give us enough declassified information in order to understand the general logic of the mission. I would think that they would want to rally public support for many reasons. Now you may or may not trust the “intel” community in general, and I admit I sometimes have my concerns there as well, such as the reports of WMD’s and how they up and disappeared from Iraq (or were never there). Even if they somehow got it wrong and made a blunder, there are many other times when they do get it right and save lives, thank God. This might be a poor analogy but I will try to make a point. Doctors may work for a hospital, but I don’t always want hospital business administrators calling the shots when it comes to my health, which should be between me and my doctor, regardless of who signs his paycheck. Yet I do think that doctors should provide enough layman’s information so that I as a patient can have a general clue to what’s going on, even if I never can or will understand every detail in medical science, not being a doctor myself. (and neither is the administrator is my point) We may all collectively own the “hospital”, but are we qualified to make those hard decisions such as war? I know congress can vote and the President can declare war, but has the population ever voted on the matter? Like investors in a company, we vote on our heads of state giving them substantial powers to make hard decisions and not put every issue to a public vote. I don’t expect Clinton or Bush or any President to understand every detail in modern day intelligence and warfare, but I do expect every President to assemble a team who is in line with his overall objective which in this case is to stop terrorism dead in its tracks. How that is accomplished surely involves CIA and secret service agencies, military generals and admirals, and a whole host of highly educated and trained personnel who makes detail plans to accomplish the directive. When the President gets it wrong, so does a LOT of other individuals. As a basic citizen, I don’t really feel like I am in a very good position to judge what these intel people have to offer, and I doubt they all agree with each other 100% of the time. (but they do know a lot more than I do) I really hope that regardless of their proposals or decisions, they all want to see our country safe, secure, and free and are working towards that same goal. Over time history will reveal who was right and who was wrong, and I am glad it isn’t me who must make those hard decisions. I would not want be the one to send a soldier to his possible death, nor feel the burden of knowing that had I sent a soldier in (to his possible death), that 1000’s of innocent civilian lives could have been saved. Those are tough choices indeed and they should be made by people a lot smarter than I am. (Speaking for myself only) As far as sending a volunteer group to take out Saddam, didn’t we take assassinations off the table years ago? ;-) I have no problem with a little “political incorrectness”. After all, he did try to put a hit on a US president. I agree that might have been a quick and easy way to solve that problem, if that was indeed the only problem in the crosshairs of our government. But maybe it was more than just taking out Saddam. Perhaps we choose the time and place in Iraq to demonstrate to the enemy that we can and will choose the time and place of such conflicts. Our message to the world should be that 9/11 was a lucky blow that will never happen again, and not that we can bend over and take it. Perhaps we are in Iraq simply because it pisses off the enemy that we can do what they said could not be done. If we are in the wrong place, then why does it inflame the Islamic fundamentalists so darn much? Why do they march into that land and commit suicide attacks? We must be doing something right or else they would stay and home and pray and make sure their wives are behaving. Would it be better if someone who wants to murder you and your family to stay hidden or come to Iraq to (hopefully) die at the hands of Iraqi and American solders before they kill someone here say in New York at their own hand and terms. Hell I really don’t know. But my momma once said that you got to break some eggs if you are going to bake a cake! (Now that ought to scare the heck out of you.) LOL, peace and take care Rough Rider. Sorry for the long rambling post. Had too much time on my hands I guess.