Militants do prefer democrats

Yeah, and they all seem directed against repugs and in favor of democrats. Wonder why? Ten out of ten terrorists can't be wrong.
Wonder why they don't like us. Maybe it's because we are the only thing in the way of you and them getting your way?

Because they see Republicans too anxious to go to war. Bush policies are what brought that on. Shoot first, ask questions later is what they see.

Bush is the face of the Republican party. He is the most hated president that I can recall. They feel once he is gone, his type of foreign policy will go with it.

The terrorist aren't the only people who feel that way.Most of the Arab world feels that way.

Shoot first, ask questions later is what they see.

Bush is the face of the Republican party. He is the most hated president that I can recall. They feel once he is gone, his type of foreign policy will go with it.

The terrorist aren't the only people who feel that way.Most of the Arab world feels that way.

OK , I will rephrase my question .

Do you think the congress will do anything very much differently in the arena of Iraq and to rebuild the view of America in the world if and when they elect a Democrat as president ?

Thanks again for a reasoned response . This is the way we can discuss matters , rather than trading jabs at each other and demeaning characters .

A more reasonable approach surmises a considered approach . I now hope that the Democrats , in wielding their new found power will actually come up with new ideas now that their "anyone but Bush " effort is working .

So far , they have not shown us anything really new , just new ways of saying things . The legislation and policies they put forward will tell us more about their ability and likelihood of advancing the Liberal cause here and in the world .

My thoughts that politics need to be more centrist are still valid , in my opinion . Now we need those from both sides that run center to get elected , stay center when fostering policy .

I would never wish tragedy on anyone , but if he can't finish his term , the Republican governor is likely to nominate one of his own , and yes , that will make it interesting to say the least .

Drnaline and Curmudgeon,

that article spells out what I've been saying here all along, as far as what
Al Qaeda, et al, think and ultimately want. It has nothing to do with reps or
dems.

They believe they, with the divine intervention of Allah, brought down the
Soviet Union by sustaining the war against them in Afghanistan.

Did they? They helped, with the assistance of Reagan's escalating cold war
spending to a point where the Soviets broke under the strain. The war in
Afghanistan did serve to weaken the hold the Soviet party had on the minds
of its subjects. It wasn't unstoppable or indefeatable... it couldn't conquer a
country living for all intents and purposes in the stone age. Those cracks
gave courage to people to criticize the communist state, and Gorbachev the
window to dissolve the Soviet Union, which had been held together, even at
the top, by fear of standing up to its might.

So, that was the end of the threat we convinced the mujhaddein they were
facing (the Soviet Union taking over their countries and, being Atheist,
outlawing Islam). Only, we didn't anticipate/understand that they live by
the rationale "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," and that they viewed
us and our value system as just as much of a threat to Islam in the region.
Bin Laden is said to have remarked, at the end of that war, "blessed be Allah,
and let us now turn to the other infidel superpower, and expel them from our
lands."

So, they believe they can destroy America the same way, and get us to leave
the middle-east so that they may overthrow the governments of Saudi
Arabia, etc., and establish a giant Sunni Islamist state, and live the way they
believe Allah intended.

They do not understand an important thing about America, however. Unlike
the U.S.S.R., unlike the governments they grew up under or come into
contact with we are a liberal democracy, which does the will of the people
rather than dictate the will of the people. Democracy is flexible, and won't
so easily crumble (though Bush and his admin have done a good job of eroding
it in some instances). This isn't a kingdom that will shatter when the people
become disillusioned with the king. This is a democracy that will be strengthened
by changes in leadership, new viewpoints that take into account the mistakes
of the past.

There's a greater chance of harm coming from continuing the way things
are in Iraq than pulling out and regrouping. We are in the same trap the
Soviets were in (ironic since the C.I.A. deliberately lured them into that)
and we should honestly look at what happened to them as an example of how
to make the best of this situation.

It wasn't unstoppable or indefeatable... it couldn't conquer a
country living for all intents and purposes in the stone age.

They do not understand an important thing about America, however. Unlike
the U.S.S.R., unlike the governments they grew up under or come into
contact with we are a liberal democracy, which does the will of the people
rather than dictate the will of the people.

Democracy is flexible, and won't
so easily crumble (though Bush and his admin have done a good job of eroding
it in some instances). This isn't a kingdom that will shatter when the people
become disillusioned with the king. This is a democracy that will be strengthened
by changes in leadership, new viewpoints that take into account the mistakes
of the past.

There's a greater chance of harm coming from continuing the way things
are in Iraq than pulling out and regrouping.

We are in the same trap the
Soviets were in (ironic since the C.I.A. deliberately lured them into that)
and we should honestly look at what happened to them as an example of how
to make the best of this situation.