THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ, ELEVENTH THREAD

Yes, Bush ran as a Republican and won as a Republican.

http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/
Main Entry: 1sup·port
...
2 a
(1) : to uphold by aid, countenance, or adherence : actively promote the interests or cause of
...
(2) : to uphold or defend as valid, right, just, or authoritative : ADVOCATE
...
synonyms SUSTAIN, PROP, BOLSTER, BUTTRESS, BRACE
...

Article VI
...
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution
....

In Fighting al Qaeda, Bush's "Global War on Terrorism" Is Off Target
A New Rand Corp. study urges a "fundamental rethinking" of counterterrorism strategy
By Alex Kingsbury
Posted July 30, 2008

A terrorism study prepared for the Defense Department has some bad news for the Bush administration"and presents a sizable challenge for whoever is next in the Oval Office.

The current strategy for defeating al Qaeda has not been successful in diminishing the group's capabilities and is unlikely to do better without a shift in emphasis, the Rand Corp. study concludes.
This undated photo shows al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
This undated photo shows al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
Since 2001, al Qaeda has conducted a greater number of attacks across a larger geographic area than at any time in its history. "We find it hard to agree that al Qaeda has been significantly weakened since Sept. 11, 2001," says Seth Jones, coauthor with Martin Libicki of the report titled "How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qaeda."

The authors evaluate al Qaeda since 2001 as being both "strong" and "competent."

Bush is responsible for "increasing" al quida all over the world. Get your head out of your arse.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html
Osama Bin Laden "Declaration of War Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places"-1996.

I say to you ... These youths [love] death as you love life.
…Those youths know that their rewards in fighting you, the USA, is double than their rewards in fighting some one else not from the people of the book. They have no intention except to enter paradise by killing you. An infidel, and enemy of God like you, cannot be in the same hell with his righteous executioner.

… Few days ago the news agencies had reported that the Defence Secretary of the Crusading Americans had said that "the explosion at Riyadh and Al-Khobar had taught him one lesson: that is not to withdraw when attacked by coward terrorists".

We say to the Defence Secretary that his talk can induce a grieving mother to laughter! and shows the fears that had enshrined you all. Where was this false courage of yours when the explosion in Beirut took place on 1983 AD (1403 A.H). You were turned into scattered pits and pieces at that time; 241 mainly marines solders were killed. And where was this courage of yours when two explosions made you to leave Aden in lees than twenty four hours!

But your most disgraceful case was in Somalia; where- after vigorous propaganda about the power of the USA and its post cold war leadership of the new world order- you moved tens of thousands of international force, including twenty eight thousands American solders into Somalia. However, when tens of your solders were killed in minor battles and one American Pilot was dragged in the streets of Mogadishu you left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge , but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by Allah and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear. It was a pleasure for the "heart" of every Muslim and a remedy to the "chests" of believing nations to see you defeated in the three Islamic cities of Beirut , Aden and Mogadishu.

Bush is responsible for "increasing" al quida all over the world.

more al Qaida attacks throughout the world happened after March 2003. ... during Bush's term ...

THREATS AND RESPONSES: THE OVERVIEW; Bush and Clinton Aides Grilled by Panel


By PHILIP SHENON AND ERIC SCHMITT
Published: March 24, 2004

Members of the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said on Tuesday that a series of intelligence reports sent to President Bush in 2001 warned of an imminent, possibly catastrophic attack by Al Qaeda. The disclosure prompted harsh questioning of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other administration officials about why they had not done more to pre-empt a possible terrorist strike.

The Clinton administration's counterterrorism policies were also the subject of sharp questioning at a hearing of the panel, with former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen asked to explain why their colleagues had failed to eliminate the Qaeda network and take Osama bin Laden into custody.

But the harsher questioning, from Democrats and Republicans alike was reserved for Mr. Rumsfeld, especially after he and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell acknowledged in testimony that they had been aware of intelligence reports in 2001 warning of the especially dire terrorist threat against the United States.

The 10-member bipartisan commission is in the final weeks of its investigation. And though the panel has held other hearings in recent months, the questioning Tuesday of four top officials of the Bush and Clinton administrations offered the most exhaustive public examination of diplomatic and military failures in the years before Sept. 11.

''There was a good deal of concern,'' Mr. Rumsfeld said, referring to the intelligence warnings shared throughout senior levels of the administration in the months before Sept. 11. ''It was certainly not business as usual.''

He and Mr. Powell said that the government had spent much of 2001 devising a comprehensive policy not just to contain Al Qaeda, but also to destroy it, even, perhaps, by eventually using ground troops in Afghanistan. Mr. Rumsfeld questioned what more the Bush administration could have done. ''Even if bin Laden had been captured or killed in the weeks before Sept. 11, no one I know believes it would necessarily have prevented Sept. 11,'' he said. [Excerpts, Page A14.]

President Bush joined in the defense of his administration's performance, telling reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that if ''my administration had any information that terrorists were going to attack New York City on Sept. 11, we would have acted. We have been chasing down Al Qaeda ever since the attacks.''

The Bush administration has refused to discuss details of the Oval Office intelligence briefings in the months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The reports, known as the President's Daily Brief, are among the most highly classified documents in the executive branch.

But under an agreement with the White House last year, one member of the commission, Jamie S. Gorelick, former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, was allowed to read through a full library of the briefings, and two other commissioners were allowed a partial review.

Ms. Gorelick said at the hearing Tuesday that information in the documents ''would set your hair on fire, and not just George Tenet's hair on fire,'' referring to the director of central intelligence.

Though barred under secrecy regulations from discussing much of what was in the reports, she said that there had been ''an extraordinary spike'' of intelligence warning about Qaeda attacks in the Daily Brief during 2001 and that ''it plateaued at a spike level for months.''

Ms. Gorelick's comments came as the commission released a staff report finding that Mr. Rumsfeld did not order the preparation of any new military plans against Al Qaeda or its Taliban sponsors during the seven months between his arrival at the Pentagon and the Sept. 11 attacks.

The report said that despite the intelligence alerts throughout the year, there was an impression among specialists at the Pentagon that Mr. Rumsfeld and his new team were ''not especially interested in the counterterrorism agenda.''

A separate staff report on the government's diplomatic response to the terrorist threat found that Condoleezza Rice, Mr. Bush's national security adviser, and her deputies rebuffed a proposal by aides in early 2001 that the administration step up its support for anti-Taliban rebels in Afghanistan.