Teribus et al.--

1) If you think that authorizing force is the same as declaring war, you are sadly mistaken. It only is giving the president authority to use his good judgment. Good judgment, we have found to our everlasting sorrow, is the ultimate oxymoron when used in connection with Mr. Bush.   I have said this before on Mudcat, and suggested that if Kerry had pointed it out, he likely would have won the election. He missed a great opportunity.


Even before the vote to authorize force, in my opinion we had enough evidence not to trust Mr. Bush to make a reasoned decision--and I would never have even voted to authorize him to use force--which I said at the time. As I've said before, I predicted that every picture of a dead Iraqi woman or child broadcase on al-Jazeera would result in more terrorism all over the world--and as a registered Republican (albeit one who did not vote for Mr. Bush), I called the White House line to tell them this .

Now we are indeed reaping the whirlwind.

Also, according to MSNBC "Last May CIA analysts produced an assessment of how the Iraq war would affect global terrorism... A counterterrorism official, who did not want to be named because he was discussing classified matters, says the report's conclusion is that defeat of the the insurgency would unleash experienced, capable and vengeful terrorists on the rest of the world, and particularly the United States. Those terrorists who survive...will be the fittest and the smartest--and they'll be looking for new battlegrounds."

Mr. Bush showed his intellectual stature and his judgment again in declaring (unilaterally again) war against terrorism--a war which by definition can never be won. But of course this does give him a free hand to restrict what Americans consider their rights--very useful for him----so perhaps that's the method to his madness.

I did feel that it was reasonable to strike back at bin Laden in Afghanistan. But just from reading the Wall St. Journal (that well-known leftist rag) I had enough evidence to realize that Bush's case for war in Iraq was not established--and there would be severe consequences.




2) Still waiting for that direct citation of exactly when the UN ceded its authority to the US regarding Iraq---- (of course, with date, exact quote, and precise UN resolution which the UN declared the US could enforce without further UN participation.)

Hope you can find time in your busy life of shadowboxing to enlighten us on this point.