Gladiator, American Style ...

http://objflicks.com/GladiatorAmericanStyle.htm

On The Origins of War by Donald Kagan Published 1995 "The Cuban missile crisis demonstrated that it is not enough for the state that wishes to maintain peace and the status quo to have superior power. The crisis came because the more powerful state also had a leader who failed to convince his opponent of his will to use its power for that purpose." I WAS A NAVAL AVIATOR, 1960 - 1965, AND FLEW RECON ON CUBA FROM SEPT '62 - FEB '63. DONALD KAGAN'S, CONCLUSION AGREES WITH MY OBSERVATIONS OF THE MISSILE CRISIS.  NOT ONLY DOES THIS BOOK TRACE THE ORIGIN OF WARS IT SPEAKS TO MAINTAINING THE PEACE. AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION AND ONE THAT RELATES TO OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM IS THAT WHILE I BELIEVE THERE WERE WMD IN CUBA, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, WE NEVER TOOK PICTURES OF NUCLEAR WARHEADS GOING INTO OR OUT OF CUBA OR HAD ANY OTHER CONFIRMATION OF STOCK PILES OF WMD. IT'S MY OPINION THAT OUR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SUPPORT DURING THE BAY OF PIGS AND FAILURE TO PREEMPT THE MISSILES LED DIRECTLY TO VIETNAM AND ESCALATION OF THE COLD WAR BECAUSE WE "had a leader who failed to convince his opponent of his will to use its power for that purpose." FOR THOSE REASONS I BELIEVE GEORGE BUSH'S FOREIGN POLICY AND HIS WOT WILL PROVE TO BE THE CORRECT STRATEGY ****

President Discusses War on Terror at National Endowment for Democracy http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/print/20051006-3.html [SNIP] [T]he militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region, and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia. With greater economic and military and political power, the terrorists would be able to advance their stated agenda: to develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, to assault the American people, and to blackmail our government into isolation.

President Discusses War on Terror and Hurricane Preparation http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/print/20050922.html "To leave Iraq now would be to repeat the costly mistakes of the past that led to the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. The terrorists saw our response to the hostage crisis in Iran, the bombings in the Marine barracks in Lebanon, the first World Trade Center attack, the killing of American soldiers in Somalia, the destruction of two U.S. embassies in Africa, and the attack on the USS Cole. The terrorists concluded that we lacked the courage and character to defend ourselves, and so they attacked us." ****

Questions on "Why We Must Stay in Iraq" September 10, 2005 Transcript from an online chat with VDH in "Outlook" Washington Post... http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson091005.html The Iraqi Wars, Our 15-year conflict with Iraq... http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/hanson/hanson200507110807.asp "If we are victorious in War IV, Iraq will be analogous to a Germany, Japan, or Panama and pose no further problem. If we fail, it will be similar to Vietnam or Lebanon [Cuba too]. In our defeat we will give up, go home, and probably not return." An anatomy of the London bombing... http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/hanson/hanson200507080811.asp "...the attacks will never quite be of such a stature to convince Western voters that one more such explosion will destroy their societies. The trick is instead to wage war insidiously, incrementally, and stealthily to avoid an overwhelming response. A cooling-off period in between 9/11 and 7/7 in which Western apologists, pacifists, and Islamist sympathizers go to work is essential for the terror to continue." [snip] "It is our task, each of us according to our station, to speak the truth to all these falsehoods, and remember that we did not inherit a wonderful civilization just to lose it to the Dark Ages." **** THE CENTURY AHEAD... http://www.opinionjournal.com/forms/printThis.html?id=110007760 "Since the president unveiled the so-called Bush Doctrine--the plan to promote liberty throughout the Arab world--innumerable "progressives" have routinely asserted that there's no evidence Muslims want liberty and, indeed, that Islam is incompatible with democracy. If that's true, it's a problem not for the Middle East today but for Europe the day after tomorrow." **** The American Thinker... http://www.americanthinker.com/articles_print.php?article_id=4527 The U.S. Versus Syria and Iran: Winning the War on Terror - Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely... http://www.jcpa.org/brief/brief004-23.htm "There is only one war today and that is the global war on terror - there are no other wars. The rest are campaigns within the war on terror. The problem between Israel and the Palestinians will not be solved until we solve the greater regional problems." The Multilateral Moment?... http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/hanson/hanson200601130837.asp "Finally, the public must be warned that dealing with a nuclear Iran is not a matter of a good versus a bad choice, but between a very bad one now and something far, far worse to come." ****

Secretary Rumsfeld Remarks at Townhall Meeting, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20051013-secdef4063.html "Some may ask, well what's the goal of this Global War on Terror? What's the goal of the effort in Iraq or Afghanistan? Well, tell them it's victory. Unconditional, unapologetic, and unyielding." Dead-end Debates http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/hanson/hanson200604130743.asp "All alternatives are bad. All have been discussed. So far neither the retired military brass nor the Democratic opposition has offered anything new — much less which choice they can assure us is best. The result is that Iran is the new soapbox on which talking heads can blather about the dangers of "preemption," but without either responsibility for, or maturity in, advocating a viable alternative." ------------Daily Updates ------------- DefendAmerica - U.S. Defense Dept. War on Terror... http://www.defendamerica.mil/