John McCain's moment

[Larkspur]

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_2403164

With gallant words, Sen. John McCain rallied his fellow Republicans at their convention Monday night and made his party's case to the nation for the war on terrorism that President Bush has waged. It was a stirring address, and most Americans would agree with much McCain said about the necessity of this war and how Americans must not waver if we are to win it.

But in the spirit of honest debate that our neighbor from Arizona articulated so well, we would respectfully disagree on two essential points.

Developing the themes arising from the Sept. 11 attacks, which were the touchstone of the convention's entire first night, McCain said, . . . we were attacked not for a wrong we had done, but for who we are - a people united in a kinship of ideals, committed to the notion that the people are sovereign, not governments, not armies, not a pitiless, inhumane theocracy, not kings, mullahs or tyrants, but the people.

This is a gross oversimplification that masks the true grievances that Islamic insurgents bear against the United States. They do not hate us for our freedom or our democratic form of government. Rather, they hate us for specific U.S. policies in the Middle East, their homeland, including:

Our unquestioning support of Israel, at the expense of Palestinian lives and property.

Our support for corrupt, tyrannical, un-Islamic Arab governments in exchange for artificially low oil prices.

Our stationing of U.S. troops on the Arab peninsula, the holiest lands of Islam.

Our support of other nations, including Russia, India and China, in their battles against Muslim fighters.
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[teryang]

1. McCain is full of it

...his public speaking has been terrible of late. He's a shill for the military industrial complex. The funny thing is that like the neocons, he doesn't even have a clue that he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to military matters. His views are so insular and conditioned, he is profoundly lacking in insight. I don't think he really reflects on anything at all. I know he's not stupid. It's really his rigid and unbalanced military conditioning that was set in concrete by his traumatic POW experience.