Yes, but the military, CIA, and NIE reports say that the war in Iraq is INCREASING the number of people who want to do harm to the US.
Oh please... by 1945 the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe, the Iron Curtain was firmly in place, it was only a short while until the Soviets got the bomb, until China was "lost." Then we had a few decades with thousands of ICBMs pointed at us. There is nothing that Al-Q could do that could have the real impact of a Cuban Missile Crisis gone bad. Jeebus giddy, you've got some nerve throwing criticism at FDR for fear-based rhetoric that was not even that. Seems like you want to go crawl in a hole and whimper while you pray to Daddy W to save you. While you're hiding, the rest of us will act like Americans and stay true to the principles of the country. I've said this before, but I have a real problem with the "Freedom isn't free" crowd... not because I disagree, but because they only limit it to the battlefield. It takes all of us working for freedom in every walk of life to preserve it for all others, When we have a portion of the populace cowed by the fear of another attack, is that not a significant loss of freedom for America? If there is any political argument in this country that can give solace to the terrorists, it is what you just said.
I didn't criticize FDR. I pointed out the irony of Franken lauding him with no hint of criticism; Franken even cited the climate of fear which launched FDR's legacy. Meanwhile Bush gets trashed anytime he mentions the ongoing threats. I'm not sure where you get all that other crap-- your mind I guess! Try not to extrapolate my points to whatever cesspool you wish to take them. I think the "Freedom isn't Free" can also extend to the very things you criticize: compromising of civil liberties until the threat is under control et al. That seems more like a discipline and a price to pay than to undermine the efforts of those who are responsible for protecting us. GWB will be a private citizen in a couple of years... or is he going to pull and FDR?
FDR's citations were about real threats. Bush's have been about things that were discredited. Nothing will help the terrorists morale more than people getting scared, panicing, and getting sacared and giving up their freedoms.
Nobody blasted Bush for talking about AQ cells in the U.S. What they called fear mongering was his administration talking about a mushroom cloud over the U.S. etc. Here is a list of 10 times that Bush used fear and it turned out to be not worth the hype.
Yes, they did. The whole terror alert system was routinely mocked by some. There were a couple of high profile incidents where mushroom clouds were mentioned, but don't confuse the soundbites with hype. Ironically, most of those have nothing to do with mushroom clouds. I guess the 2-3 day lag time to get the warnings out is, in your mind, just more evidence of the incompetency of this Administration.
After 9/11 when we learned of AQ terror cells in the U.C. nobody accused Bush of fear mongering. When there was legitimate mention of AQ cells in the U.S. I don't recall any accusations of fear mongering. I do know there were accusations after the Condi mushroom cloud comments, and certainly after the pattern of alerts mentioned in my above post. The Bush administration is raising the security alerts based on information 4 years old and out of date at the time. There was no reason to raise the alert level, yet Bush did it at a time that was advantageous to him politically. It may just be coincidence, but still I would hope that you can see where the charges are coming from, and how that is different than anything FDR did. I've listed all of those incidents, and shown why the accusation exists, and why it is different than when FDR talked about the goings on of WWII.
