First, Newsweek pulled a Dan Rather on us, running a fabricated story, just because they wanted it to be true. They told the world that an American guard at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center had ripped pages from a prisoner's Koran and flushed it down a toilet. As a result, innocent people died when practitioners of Islam rioted in protest in Afghanistan.<br><br>Oops, said Newsweek, it seems we can't back up our story. Oh well, it's probably true; we just can't prove it. (Isn't it convenient for Newsweek that the media now have "Deep Throat" to talk about so they can revel in their glory days and divert our attention from their criminal negligence.)<br> <br>The lie heard round the world about the flushed Koran has caused convulsions in the Bush Administration and forced the Pentagon to launch an investigation of unfounded allegations contained in an unsubstantiated story. The results of said investigation are now in, and it seems there are at least five incidents of "mishandling" of the Koran at Gitmo. <br><br>Well, guess what? I don't care!<br> <br>Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?<br><br>Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan, across the Potomac from our nation's capitol. And in a field in Pennsylvania? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning death that day, or didn't they? And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet? <br><br>Well, I don't. I don't care at all.<br>I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.<br><br>I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.<br> <br>I'll care when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi tells the world he is sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling, slashed throat.<br> <br>I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.<br> <br>I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.<br> <br>I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights. <br><br>I'll care when Clinton-appointed judges stop ordering my government to release photos of the abuses at Abu Ghraib, which are sure to set off the Islamic extremists just as Newsweek's lies did.<br><br>In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.<br> <br>When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college hazing incident, rest assured that I don't care.<br> <br>When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank that I don't care.<br> <br>When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts that I don't care.<br><br>And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran." <br><br>Well, Jimmy Crack Coran and -- you guessed it I DON'T CARE!!!<br><br><br><br>I care about those two people. I care about not letting that happen again. Ever. If you do anything to get in the way of stopping terror, you're as good as pushing those people out the window. Yeah, it's a raw statement, but I won't forget 9-11. I won't let the memory dim. I won't let those 3000 deaths become just another part of history. <br>That's why I support our country, our troops, and our President. Because without those last two, we won't have a country.<br><br><br><br><br>

i had to laugh at your jimmy crack comment. <br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>I care about those two people. I care about not letting that happen again. Ever. If you do anything to get in the way of stopping terror, you're as good as pushing those people out the window.<p><hr></blockquote><p>i am curious to learn why you think the terrorists attacked us and continue to hate us. care to share you thoughts on this?<br><br>--<br>Straw-man rhetorical techniques are the practice of refuting weaker arguments than one's opponents offer. 2 "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is 2 create a position easily refuted, then attribute that position to your opponent.

Again, skul, I share your sentiments in raw form. But here's my problem:<br><blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr><p>Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?<p><hr></blockquote><p>The original war on terror was launched in Afghanistan, and we hear very little about that battlefield these days. But we hear about Iraq 10 times a day, and Iraq has little or nothing to do with the original mission.<br><br>Not that terrorism isn't burning out of control in Iraq now, but we can't afford to blur the lines as much as the Admin has attempted to do. I do support our troops in Iraq, and I am sickened by the bloodlust of the insurgency. But the war on terror is supposed to be about Bin Ladin & Co. , and that seems to have taken a back seat.<br><br>

Ohferchrisakes... Its's all our fault. We're the Devil and we made them do it.<br><br>There. That oughta cover it. *rolls eyes*<br><br>

i'll let me signature do the talking here.<br><br>--<br>Straw-man rhetorical techniques are the practice of refuting weaker arguments than one's opponents offer. 2 "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw-man argument" is 2 create a position easily refuted, then attribute that position to your opponent.

Somebody should. <br><br>

I don't think it's right to throw anyone under that idiotic stereotype. Half of what partisan commentators do is try to convince their choir that the other side is blaming them/America for whatever. It's just so tiresome.<br><br>We all better believe that America's foreign policy is a source (not necessarily a justification, but a source) of terrorism since many of the people entering Iraq and participating in the mayhem there have never been involved in terrorism previously. So now we have a nice little terrorist factory over there turning them out by the boatload. Now we have to really worry if they connect with some kind of revenue source like Osama bin Laden had.<br><br>-- Charlie Alpha Roger Yankee Whiskey

Y'know, I agree that it's wearing thin -- but only as far as the war in Iraq is concerned. I'd have to be totally sensory-deprived not to see that our actions there (or at least the BS that brought us there) have fanned the flames of Islamic extremism.<br><br>But this innuendo that we had 9/11 coming to us is also tired. Tired and a poor excuse for extremist apologists. As wrong-headed as our foreign policy may have been, you will never convince me that it justified those attacks.<br><br>

That's the nuance. I don't think anyone is saying that anything justified those attacks. Excuses, yes. Reasons, yes. But a justification assumes that those who orchestrated the attacks were seeking justice. To accept that would be to accept that killing regular people is right under any circumstance.<br><br>I don't think you will find disagreement but in the most warped schools of fundamentalist thought where justifications for horrible acts are manufactured from absolutist philosophies. So, so long as you can avoid those kinds of people, you'll find yourself in sympathetic company.<br><br>I think when we talk about terrorism, we need to be as pragmatic as possible. I don't take comfort in the alleged abuses of Muslims at Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib for two reasons. They don't reflect the freedom of religion that makes the United States great and more importantly to some, they don't accomplish anything. I'd really hate to meet someone who thinks that is what's getting the job done against terror. We're America. We're supposed to be that much better.<br><br>We can be mad and want revenge on our own. But as a country, we need to seek justice above all.<br><br>-- Charlie Alpha Roger Yankee Whiskey

"America's foreign policy is a source"<br><br>Then why are the terrorists killing Japanese, French, etc, etc? It's time to stop beating the horse named America and see the bigger picture.<br><br>