04 Nov 04. For those seasoned film buffs who have watched the Guns of Navarone, the statement by team leader Capt. Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck) was, when Cpl. John Anthony Miller (David Niven) faltered under the strain of the mission was, “We’ve got to get the job done”, and what ever the detractors say about George W. Bush, he has set about getting the ‘job done’.
As Donald Rumsfeld said in his speech during the AUSA meeting this month, “I recognised in 1984 that, once the Cold War ended, the world was faced with an increase of terrorism.”
What President Bush has done, as President Roosevelt did in 1941, is to secure the USA against terrorism and, sadly brave U.S. soldiers have sacrificed their lives in the Middle East and beyond.
Outside observers suggested before the election that the Clintonesque statement of ‘”It’s the economy stupid,” would win the day for the Democrats appear to have little understanding of the trauma inflicted on America on 9/11. The statement in contrast should it have been, “it’s lives stupid.”
Had there been the much discussed ‘spectacular’ prior to the election, then voters may have questioned the Bush strategy and voted against it. But, all we had, was a video from Bin Laden, which did nothing more, however the UK media may have dressed it up to be, nothing more than a fail terrorist who, by his own image, is suffering from weight loss and fatigue.
American voters knew that the events of 9/11 were mainly due to the dithering of the Clinton administration in its failure to dispose of the Bin Laden threat. The fact that Bush failed to follow up the threats as quickly as he did is in most part due to administrative protocol in the change over of administrations.
The voters knew that any change in the existing team this time, however much criticized, would delay the eventual conclusion to this war.
A military source explained to BATTLESPACE Editor Julian Nettlefold that terrorism comes in 25 year cycles, thus no government can be ultimately be blamed, but both Bill Clinton, however charismatic, and John Kerry, possessed one of the same trait, an inability to make quick and decisive decisions to protect the USA and end the war on terror. What would you rather have, cheap Medicare or no more 9/11s?’ Eventually as we were told, terrorists age and prefer to stay at home with their children once the going gets too hard, as happened in Northern Ireland.
If Bush fails in the next four years, and observers suggest that this current war will take at least 30 years until the protagonists are in their dotage, then blame the next President, likely to be Hilary Clinton.
American voters have been blamed by a number of UK commentators for being unsophisticated, but throughout history America and its forces have put people first to help win the First and Second World wars, Korea and Vietnam. The United Kingdom, using its Empire Heritage has fought wars across the globe for generations, paying less heed to its soldiers sometimes being seen as being no more than implements of Imperialism. Tony Blair has waged five wars since 1997, using a smaller and smaller armed force, pushing theses soldiers to the limit for his own ends. The loss of three Black Watch soldiers last night is a tragic consequence of his desire to follow the US to war; after all the UK didn’t lose 3000 people in 9/11 and the subsequent trauma. Thank God our troops are so well trained, (not equipped), need I say more? As we said in our last issue the wish by the US Armed Forces to change the rotation of duties so that soldiers can spend more time with their families is in strict contrast to Mr Blair who only has to set foot in a foreign country, such as Sudan, to offer more British help, evangelism gone mad!?
The effect on the people of Washington of 9/11 in particular came home to the Editor in his journey back to Dulles last week was told that, not surprisingly the country was paralyzed for three months, no buses, metros