Mrs. Edge
Bono's Belly Dancing Friend
From today's Toronto Star. See bolded section near bottom.....
And does this mean that these ever elusive WMDs will be moved from country to country? When will this ever end??
U.S. military muscle 'redefining war': Bush
LINDA DIEBEL
IN WASHINGTON
Standing by some of the mightiest toys in his military arsenal, a pumped-up U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday boasted that the United States is "redefining war" to toppling tyrants at will.
And yet, in his first major speech of the Iraq war, one in which he detailed huge successes and mocked the fallen regime of Saddam Hussein, Bush declined to declare an end to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Instead, he painted the world as a scary place for Americans, urged even greater military spending to face its perils and stoked the fears of Democrats who believe his Republican administration has embarked upon a re-election strategy of never-ending war and nail-biting anxiety.
"Since Sept. 11 (2001), we've been engaged in a global war against terror ... That war continues, and we are winning," said Bush yesterday, to the tumultuous cheers of aircraft workers at a Boeing Co. plant in St. Louis, Mo.
Meanwhile, the White House lowered the U.S. domestic security alert from "high" orange to "elevated" yellow.
Bush cast himself in the role of leader ready for the "big task for this nation" of overcoming threats to the homeland and preparing the United States "to meet the dangers of our time."
He also urged the U.N. to lift economic sanctions against Iraq, now that Saddam's regime has "passed into history."
But the focus of his speech was his country's military muscle and what the United States intends to do with it.
"Our military is strong and our military is ready, and we intend to keep it that way," he said, promising to do so.
The American president's performance was better publicity than Boeing could ever buy.
Excited, jubilant, he talked about the aerospace plant's F/A 18 Super Hornet jets ? at $57 million (U.S.) a pop, the most advanced strike fighters in the U.S. Navy's arsenal ? and said Boeing workers and their jets are a "main reason why we were successful in making the world a more peaceful place."
"From Kabul to Baghdad, American forces and our fine allies have conducted some of the most successful military campaigns in history," Bush said.
"By a combination of creative strategies and advanced technologies, we are redefining war on our own terms."
Yesterday's speech put a military face ? planning and weaponry ? on the 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States.
In it, Bush listed the touchstones of his foreign policy as pre-emptive strikes against perceived threats, regime change and the global imperative of American military and moral superiority.
Yesterday, he underscored that imperative, defining it as toppling tyrants everywhere.
"Across the world, terrorists and tyrants are learning that America ... will act in our own defence," he said.
"Instead of drifting towards tragedy, we will protect our security and we will promote peace in the world."
He added: "In this new era of precision warfare, we can target a regime. Our aim is to strike the guilty."
Bush said that the advanced weaponry of the war, which the United States says spares civilian lives, serves a higher purpose.
"Terrorists and tyrants have now been put on notice: They can no longer feel safe behind innocent lives," he said.
At times his speech soared to evangelical heights.
"One of my calls to our fellow Americans is to love your neighbour just like you'd like to be loved yourself," he said.
"When you see somebody who hurts, put your arm around them and tell them you love them."
Since last week's fall of the Saddam regime, Democrats, eager to focus on the economy in the leadup to the 2004 elections, have waited in vain for Bush to declare victory.
Analysts suggested that Bush could be defeated like his father, former president George H.W. Bush, who basked in the aftermath of the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, only to be defeated amid a faltering economy the next year.
"The big difference is that the first Gulf War ended," a senior Democratic senator told the New York Times yesterday.
"This administration will never end the war. And because they never end the war, they will have an ongoing advantage: An open-ended war on terrorism that will never end and that keeps people constantly on edge. A never-ending military commitment in Iraq that might lead to other commitments beyond Iraq also keeps people focused on national security."
It's an Orwellian scenario, straight out of 1984.
And, according to Democrats, it puts the onus on their candidates to slug it out over who can keep Americans safer, with Bush having a powerful edge.
Already, in the last few days, the White House has refocused its enmity from Iraq to Syria, warning that Syria is hiding weapons of mass destruction and sheltering Iraqi war criminals.
The threat of an invasion of Syria by American troops in neighbouring Iraq is clear.
"For the sake of the security of this country, and for the sake of peace in this world, the United States must maintain every advantage in weaponry and technology and intelligence," Bush said yesterday. "Our edge in warfare comes ... because of the American spirit of enterprise.
"The character of our military reflects the character of our country," he added, before touring Boeing's facilities. "America uses its might in the service of principle."
And, repeatedly, Bush said the military conflict isn't over.
"Our work is not done; the difficulties have not passed," he stressed, before heading to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for an extended Easter holiday.
Crawford, he told the crowd, "is part of the real world."
And does this mean that these ever elusive WMDs will be moved from country to country? When will this ever end??
U.S. military muscle 'redefining war': Bush
LINDA DIEBEL
IN WASHINGTON
Standing by some of the mightiest toys in his military arsenal, a pumped-up U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday boasted that the United States is "redefining war" to toppling tyrants at will.
And yet, in his first major speech of the Iraq war, one in which he detailed huge successes and mocked the fallen regime of Saddam Hussein, Bush declined to declare an end to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Instead, he painted the world as a scary place for Americans, urged even greater military spending to face its perils and stoked the fears of Democrats who believe his Republican administration has embarked upon a re-election strategy of never-ending war and nail-biting anxiety.
"Since Sept. 11 (2001), we've been engaged in a global war against terror ... That war continues, and we are winning," said Bush yesterday, to the tumultuous cheers of aircraft workers at a Boeing Co. plant in St. Louis, Mo.
Meanwhile, the White House lowered the U.S. domestic security alert from "high" orange to "elevated" yellow.
Bush cast himself in the role of leader ready for the "big task for this nation" of overcoming threats to the homeland and preparing the United States "to meet the dangers of our time."
He also urged the U.N. to lift economic sanctions against Iraq, now that Saddam's regime has "passed into history."
But the focus of his speech was his country's military muscle and what the United States intends to do with it.
"Our military is strong and our military is ready, and we intend to keep it that way," he said, promising to do so.
The American president's performance was better publicity than Boeing could ever buy.
Excited, jubilant, he talked about the aerospace plant's F/A 18 Super Hornet jets ? at $57 million (U.S.) a pop, the most advanced strike fighters in the U.S. Navy's arsenal ? and said Boeing workers and their jets are a "main reason why we were successful in making the world a more peaceful place."
"From Kabul to Baghdad, American forces and our fine allies have conducted some of the most successful military campaigns in history," Bush said.
"By a combination of creative strategies and advanced technologies, we are redefining war on our own terms."
Yesterday's speech put a military face ? planning and weaponry ? on the 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States.
In it, Bush listed the touchstones of his foreign policy as pre-emptive strikes against perceived threats, regime change and the global imperative of American military and moral superiority.
Yesterday, he underscored that imperative, defining it as toppling tyrants everywhere.
"Across the world, terrorists and tyrants are learning that America ... will act in our own defence," he said.
"Instead of drifting towards tragedy, we will protect our security and we will promote peace in the world."
He added: "In this new era of precision warfare, we can target a regime. Our aim is to strike the guilty."
Bush said that the advanced weaponry of the war, which the United States says spares civilian lives, serves a higher purpose.
"Terrorists and tyrants have now been put on notice: They can no longer feel safe behind innocent lives," he said.
At times his speech soared to evangelical heights.
"One of my calls to our fellow Americans is to love your neighbour just like you'd like to be loved yourself," he said.
"When you see somebody who hurts, put your arm around them and tell them you love them."
Since last week's fall of the Saddam regime, Democrats, eager to focus on the economy in the leadup to the 2004 elections, have waited in vain for Bush to declare victory.
Analysts suggested that Bush could be defeated like his father, former president George H.W. Bush, who basked in the aftermath of the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, only to be defeated amid a faltering economy the next year.
"The big difference is that the first Gulf War ended," a senior Democratic senator told the New York Times yesterday.
"This administration will never end the war. And because they never end the war, they will have an ongoing advantage: An open-ended war on terrorism that will never end and that keeps people constantly on edge. A never-ending military commitment in Iraq that might lead to other commitments beyond Iraq also keeps people focused on national security."
It's an Orwellian scenario, straight out of 1984.
And, according to Democrats, it puts the onus on their candidates to slug it out over who can keep Americans safer, with Bush having a powerful edge.
Already, in the last few days, the White House has refocused its enmity from Iraq to Syria, warning that Syria is hiding weapons of mass destruction and sheltering Iraqi war criminals.
The threat of an invasion of Syria by American troops in neighbouring Iraq is clear.
"For the sake of the security of this country, and for the sake of peace in this world, the United States must maintain every advantage in weaponry and technology and intelligence," Bush said yesterday. "Our edge in warfare comes ... because of the American spirit of enterprise.
"The character of our military reflects the character of our country," he added, before touring Boeing's facilities. "America uses its might in the service of principle."
And, repeatedly, Bush said the military conflict isn't over.
"Our work is not done; the difficulties have not passed," he stressed, before heading to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for an extended Easter holiday.
Crawford, he told the crowd, "is part of the real world."
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I've always voted Labour and campaigned for Labour, but after Tony Blair's actions in supporting war on Iraq, I'm finding it really hard to support Labour in this year's local elections. It's horrible because I really support a lot of what they're doing in domestic policy, but I feel like voting for Labour is like endorsing Blair's actions.
