Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Wren57
Fact: Terrorists struck America
Fact: Terrorists used American flight schools and American communications to coordinate attacks
Fact: The majority of Americans think the attacks could have been prevented- but don't suggest ways it could have been prevented- can you? And if you tell me increased airport security I'm gonna laugh in your face at your hypocrisy.
Fact: Had the feds been listening in on the terrorists phone calls to Afghanistan, it could have been prevented
Fact: The terrorists still want to destroy as many of us as possible
Fact: By listening in on calls, we increase our ability to thwart attacks
Fact: Unless you are a terrorist, you have nothing to worry about anyway
Fact: The Constitution allows for expansion of federal powers in three separate places-
look it up if you don't believe me... or I'll do it for you later if you need your hand held through intelligent discussion.
Fact: The US hasn't been attacked since 9/11- must be doing something right
|
Ok...I'm going to pick this apart piece by piece since much of I have issue with.
Fact 1: I could make a very convincing argument that while terrorists might have carried out the attacks (MIGHT), the U.S. government is just as guilty by way of either facilitating them or covering up for them after the fact by way of propoganda and lies told to the American people. The official government account of 9/11 is so scientifically impossible that it would be laughable if it weren't so horrible. "But Osama confesed!" I know you're saying. If you watch his "confession" video, the man appearing in it is clearly not Osama bin Laden. The man writes and eats with his right hand...the FBI's page on him describes him as left handed. The man in the video is also wearing a gold ring and a gold watch...both of which are forbidden by Islam. Odd behavior for a radical fundamentalist, no?
Fact 2: Really...this has little to do with the discussion at hand. Unless the government wants to tap the cockpit communications of flight school trainees, it's null and void.
Fact 3: The majority of Americans are right...these attacks could have been prevented and in a simple fashion...all someone had to do was pay attention. Briefings to the president and his cabinet as little as one month before the attacks warning of the exact nature of such attacks went completely ignored. Likewise, the pentagon and other departments devised plans dealing with commercial airliners being hijacked and used as weapons. Ironically, these booklets depicted the twin towers in cross hairs.
Fact 4: And if feds had been listening to calls to Kansas they could've prevented the OKC bombings, right? But then again they would've been spying on their own (i.e. white christians) and that would've drawn much sharper criticism. But hey...these people are brown so it's ok to spy on them.
Fact 5: Don't pretend like we're the only one in terrorist's gun sites. Given the chance I'm sure they'd rather go after jews before us. You can't dumb it down to "well they hate us so it's ok". Like it or not, as American citizens they're entitled to the same rights as the rest of us.
Fact 6: That's a hypothetical. There haven't been any attacks thwarted so the idea is either not working or no one's trying to piss us off. I know...Bush said that these wiretaps prevented some attack (in L.A., I think). They didn't...he's lying.
Fact 7: The American people have plenty to worry about, terrorist or not. If you think all they're doing is listening, you're dead wrong. They're no doubt recording things they deem "critical". You know...things that can and will be used against you later whether you like it or not. Remember how we taped phone calls of anti-war vietnam protesters? Yeah...that didn't work out so well for them. And I'm sure the Japanese who were sent to happy fun camps in WWII would disagree with you, too.
Fact 8: The expansions of executive powers in the constitution is generally assumed that we're in a time of war. Legally speaking, congress never declared war so such powers don't come into play. Remember...this is a legal issue and the government had no LEGAL grounds to undertake this surveillance. I guess if Bush wants to argue that fact he could...but then again he'd probably lose.
Fact 9: The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Just because we haven't been attacked since 9/11 doesn't mean a thing. It was almost 10 years between the first WTC bombing and the second attack. During that time we sure as shit weren't pounding the pavement like we are now. So if 10 years of lax intelligence gathering produces the same result as 5 years of intense gathering, something is definitely wrong there. I think ,if anything, we've opened ourselves up to more attacks rather than prevented their future occurance. That is to say, it's no longer a matter of if but of when. We can all thank our fearless leader for that. After all...much like James and Elwood Blues...he's on a mission from god.