So tonight President Bush railed against the idea that we might withdraw our troops from Iraq, leaving a void in which radical Shiites and radical Sunnis would fight each other to the death. President Bush warned that there are radical Shiites allied with Iran who mean to do us harm, and that there are radical Sunnis allied with Al Qaeda who also mean to do us harm. If we were to leave Iraq now, the radical Shiites and the radical Sunnis would fall into a bloodbath with each other, plunging both sides into chaos.
And this is bad why??
Here’s a new slogan for the war on terror: Let’s let the terrorists fight each other over there, so we don’t have to fight them here!
Oh yeah, and President Bush wants us to reduce our gasoline consumption by 20% by the year 2017. Let’s see, that works out to a 2% per year reduction. Wow, big deal there. How about actually raising CAFE standards by 10 miles per gallon, including light trucks? Hey, at least he used the phrase "global climate change". Maybe he's on to something?
Also, President Bush mentioned the genocide in Darfur. That’s it. He mentioned it. No plans, no resolutions, no promises to fund relief or send troops or influence the Presidency of the Organization of African Unity so that it’s not held by the Sudanese President or anything like that. He just mentioned it. Granted, he mentioned it in a disapproving way, and in the same paragraph as Burma. And he did push funding for AIDS relief in Africa. However, the lack of specifics (and time) on Darfur was pretty deplorable. Not that the Democrats in Congress have raised this issue in any significant way, for that matter. Go call your members of Congress right now to complain about this. Whatever happened to “never again”??
Anyway, here I am again. I have resolved to focus this blog more on spiritual issues and less on political issues; however, tonight’s entry is a quick reaction to tonight’s speech. I promise that future entries will delve deeper into my spiritual thoughts, and that if I ever get close to enlightenment, I promise to let y’all be among the first to know.
Peace,
Dan
P.S. No, seriously, go call your members of Congress - one Representative and two Senators - and tell them that you won't stand for another genocide on our watch, and call them every week henceforth with the simple question, "What have you done this week to stop the genocide in Darfur?"
P.P.S. What are you waiting for? There are another 10,000 Darfuris facing death this very month, to go along with the upwards of 500,000 dead so far. Go! Call!
P.P.P.S. Am I being alarmist? No, if I were being alarmist, I'd be telling you about how by 2050 there will be no more European glaciers, no more skiing in the Alps, no more fresh water source for Central Europe, etc. That would be alarmist - although it would also fit in with the best current forecasts from the International Panel on Climate Change. Me, alarmist?
