Bush says 'no debate' about his keeping US safe

Source

He goes on in the article to say that there can be debate about the decisions he has made, but that the results of those decisions aren't debatable. Namely that he kept the US safe by making the decisions he made.


Some last minute damage control maybe?

It was luck all right.

With the U.S. borders wide open, any terrorist could've driven a tank across, if he'd wanted to.

It sure seems like they (Bush & Co.) weren't worried in the least about terrorists crossing our borders.

reply to post by Jenna


Even if George Bush really did "keep us safe," look at the cost of our "safety." America's economy and international goodwill are in the toilet.

Suppose the reason why he can claim there have been no further terrorist attacks is because of possibly there never was any terrorist attacks in the first place?...ie 9/11 purposely created and called a terrorist attack to justify going to war for unjust reasons..to which we all know now is the case.

Ya if that were true, I can definately agree about to the ends even tho the means were not justified.



Cheers!!!!

[edit on 17-12-2008 by RFBurns]

reply to post by hotpinkurinalmint


I think it was mostly luck that we haven't had another major terror attack here since 9/11, and didn't have much if anything to do with Bush. Like Kattrax said, our borders are essentially wide open and just about anyone can waltz right on across whenever they want to, including terrorists.

The cost of our "safety" was more than just our economy and international goodwill. It also includes the loss of thousands upon thousands of lives, both ours and the lives of those in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

I understand that Mr. Bush also always kept a rock on his desk at the White House to ward off polar bears. It must have worked, because no polar bears ever attacked the White House.

You know at this point the man can discover the cure for cancer and nobody would care!

The more he opens his mouth the less respect I have.

And there was not much left.

Right now he is in the Nixon level of hatred nothing he can say or do will change peoples minds.



[edit on 17-12-2008 by SLAYER69]

The largest torrorist attack in American history ocurred under Pres. Bushs watch, yet I am supposed to give him credit for not allowing a terrorist attack while he was President.

This just makes my logic hurt bad, real bad!

It should also be noted that He "used" the 9/11 horrors to further a political agenda.

reply to post by Jenna


In other words, "Let there be a debate regarding his national security efforts before September 11, 2001".

[edit on 12/17/08 by Yoda411]

reply to post by Jenna


Two words "Operation Northwoods"

And this is by no means a one line post.
Not in the slightest.

That is all.

Yes, 9/11 happened on Bush's watch, but let's not forget the incidents carried out by Al Qaida that led up to 9/11 which happened on Clinton's watch, like the bombing of the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.

Fine. I'll play devil's advocate since the majority of you are on the hate wagon for Bush. You just can't stand to give the man credit where it's due. He created the Department of Homeland Security which has, arguably, been effective in combating terrorism. Here's a list:

• December 2001, Richard Reid: British citizen attempted to ignite shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.

• May 2002, Jose Padilla: American citizen accused of seeking radioactive-laced "dirty bomb" to use in an attack against Amrica. Padilla was convicted of conspiracy in August, 2007.

• September 2002, Lackawanna Six: American citizens of Yemeni origin convicted of supporting Al Qaeda after attending jihadist camp in Pakistan. Five of six were from Lackawanna, N.Y.

• May 2003, Iyman Faris: American citizen charged with plotting to use blowtorches to collapse the Brooklyn Bridge.

• June 2003, Virginia Jihad Network: Eleven men from Alexandria, Va., trained for jihad against American soldiers, convicted of violating the Neutrality Act, conspiracy.

• August 2004, Dhiren Barot: Indian-born leader of terror cell plotted bombings on financial centers (see additional images).

• August 2004, James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj: Sought to plant bomb at New York's Penn Station during the Republican National Convention.

• August 2004, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain: Plotted to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat on American soil.

• June 2005, Father and son Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat: Son convicted of attending terrorist training camp in Pakistan; father convicted of customs violation.

August 2005, Kevin James, Levar Haley Washington, Gregory Vernon Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana: Los Angeles homegrown terrorists who plotted to attack National Guard, LAX, two synagogues and Israeli consulate.

• December 2005, Michael Reynolds: Plotted to blow up natural gas refinery in Wyoming, the Transcontinental Pipeline, and a refinery in New Jersey. Reynolds was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

• February 2006, Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi and Zand Wassim Mazloum: Accused of providing material support to terrorists, making bombs for use in Iraq.

• April 2006, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee: Cased and videotaped the Capitol and World Bank for a terrorist organization.

• June 2006, Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augstine: Accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower.

• July 2006, Assem Hammoud: Accused of plotting to bomb New York City train tunnels.

• August 2006, Liquid Explosives Plot: Thwarted plot to explode ten airliners over the United States.

• March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Mastermind of Sept. 11 and author of numerous plots confessed in court in March 2007 to planning to destroy skyscrapers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Mohammedalso plotted to assassinate Pope John Paul II and former President Bill Clinton.

• May 2007, Fort Dix Plot: Six men accused of plotting to attack Fort Dix Army base in New Jersey. The plan included attacking and killing soldiers using assault rifles and grenades.

• June 2007, JFK Plot: Four men are accused of plotting to blow up fuel arteries that run through residential neighborhoods at JFK Airport in New York.

• September 2007, German authorities disrupt a terrorist cell that was planning attacks on military installations and facilities used by Americans in Germany. The Germans arrested three suspected members of the Islamic Jihad Union, a group that has links to Al Qaeda and supports Al Qaeda's global jihadist agenda.

Sources:

www.heritage.org...

www.foxnews.com...

politicalvindication.com...

Other Sources which contribute to terrorist attacks thwarted after 9/11 which directly contribute to the safety of the United States:

www.msnbc.msn.com...

Oh and let's not forget sheeple, your president-elect, Mr. Obama, also voted in favor of the "Patriot Act" which contains methods being used to keep us safe from terrorist attacks.

I'd invite you to enterain all of the facts before you start throwing stones.

reply to post by sos37


I'm more than willing to give him credit when he deserves it, but it took a major attack for the DHS to be created and it should not have come to that. We have had terrorist attacks and threats of attacks pretty much since the US became a country depending on how you define terrorist attack and what you think qualifies as one.

Terrorism in the United States (Yes, it's a wiki. Eww. There are 77 sources at the bottom of the article for anyone wanting to wade through them all to see if everything is correct.)

And a list of Failed Attacks prior to 2001:

Failed attacks

* 1950 November 1: Assassination attempt on President Harry S. Truman by members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party at the Blair House in Washington, D.C.
* 1965 The Monumental Plot - New York Police thwart an attempt to dynamite the Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, and the Washington Monument by three members of the pro-Castro Black Liberation Front and a Quebec Separatist.[54]
* 1970 March 6 Three members of the Weather Underground are killed when their “bomb factory” located in New York’s Greenwich Village accidentally explodes. WUO members Theodore Gold, Diana Oughton, and Terry Robbins die in this accident. The bomb was intended to be planted at a non-commissioned officer's dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The bomb was packed with nails to inflict maximum casualties upon detonation. See Greenwich Village townhouse explosion.
* 1972 Two Jewish Defense League members were arrested and charged with bomb possession and burglary in a conspiracy to blow up the Long Island residence of the Soviet Mission to the United Nations
* 1972 March 7 4.5 pounds of C-4 explosives found on a plane by New York City Police Bomb Squad.
* 1973 March 6: Explosives found in the trunks of cars were defused at the El Al air terminal at Kennedy Airport, the First Israel Bank and Trust Company, and the Israel Discount Bank, in New York City. Black September was believed responsible, and an Iraqi was arrested for the bombs in 1991.[55]
* 1975 September 22: Sarah Jane Moore tries to assassinate President Gerald Ford outside of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The attempt fails when a bystander grabs her arm and deflects the shot. Moore has stated the motive was to create chaos to bring "the winds of change" because the government had declared war on the left wing.[56][57][58]
* 1984 According to Oregon law enforcement there was an abortive plot by the Rajneeshee cult to murder United States Attorney for Oregon, Charles Turner.[59][60]
* April 1985: The FBI arrested several members of a Sikh terrorist group who were plotting to kill Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi when he visited New York in June.
* 1988 April 12: Yu Kikumura, a member of the Japanese Red Army, is arrested with three pipe bombs on the New Jersey Turnpike. According to prosecutors, Kikumura planned to bomb a military recruitment office in the Veteran's Administration building in lower Manhattan on April 14, the anniversary of the U.S. raid on Libya.
* June 1993: New York City landmark bomb plot. Followers of radical cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman were arrested while planning to bomb landmarks in New York City, including the UN headquarters.
* 2000 January 1: 2000 millennium attack plots, plan to bomb LAX Airport in Los Angeles, California

So there you go, attacks were being thwarted prior to the creation of Homeland Security.

Side note since I scrolled down a bit before clicking post, I'm not sure who you are referring to as a "sheeple" but I didn't vote for Bush or Obama so I'd say I'm safe from that label.

This is so laughable! the same man who holds a guilty seat in the 9/11 conspiracy... The one man who has done more to trear our Bill of Rights to shreds and called the consitution a "god damn piece of paper" is now stating how great a job he did...

U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E!!!

Originally posted by Jenna
reply to post by sos37

So why blame Bush? Why didn't Clinton create the DHS when Timothy McVeigh destroyed the Murrah building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people, 19 of which were children?

In addition, why didn't anyone create a department to take on the problem of terrorism after any of these incidents happened?

* Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 270
* Assasination in Manhatten of Israel's head Koch party and founder of the Jewish Defense League by Al Qaida in 1990
* Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, fires an AK-47 assault rifle into cars waiting at a stoplight in front of the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, killing two and injuring three others
* The Unabomber mail bombs, killed three
* Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996, killed 2
* 1997 - Ali Abu Kamal opens fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claims this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine"
* 1999 - Columbine High School massacre
* 1999 - Ahmed Ressam is arrested on the United States-Canada border in Port Angeles, Washington; he confessed to planning to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport as part of the 2000 millennium attack plots

Yes, 9/11 had a massive death toll, but was also the largest planned attack by Al Qaida to date against the U.S. Couldn't you just as well argue that President Bush was the only president so far to say "enough is enough", to possess the foresight and to do something about it by creating the DHS?

Again, I say give the man credit where it is due.



[edit on 18-12-2008 by sos37]

reply to post by sos37


Actually, I blame Bush and Clinton equally for the 9/11 situation. Clinton had intel about it before he left office and Bush had intel as soon as he got in office so really it's both their faults equally for not looking into it enough to even have a chance of stopping it.

Yes, the creation of the DHS was a very good thing, and yes he gets credit for that from me. But it's still far from perfect. There have still been attacks since it's creation, they just haven't been spoken about as much as 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombings or the Unabomber.

Attacks since 2000