Bhutto and the US Race for the Presidency

The terrible murder of Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan is having a ripple effect felt right here in the US. Besides a wildly volatile stock market that is concerned how the actions on the other side of the earth might affect us right here, there is also discussions on how the terrorism will shake up the US race for the presidency.

The winners appear to be the candidates who have taken the strongest positions on the war on terror. With over 45 percent of Pakistanis supporting Al Qaeda (according to CNN) and the possibility that they were behind this act (though no one has claimed it at the time of this writing), US candidates who have had the strongest positions on the war on terror are the biggest "beneficiaries" of what has happened in Pakistan. I know, it sounds tasteless, but I'm not sure how to describe it any more clearly.

Generally speaking, the political prognosticators are arguing that the biggest winners will be Sen. Hillary Clinton among Democrats (because of her long term relationship with Bhutto and the fact she is probably the most Conservative among that liberal group) and Sen. John McCain, who has had the strongest and most consistent views on the war on terror. I have a slightly different spin. I think the biggest winners are any Republican contender and the losers are any Democrat, because all of the former have had stronger positions on terrorism than any of the latter. Whether or not there will be any lasting impression will take weeks, if not months, to see.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and is Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Get a free subscription to that newsletter by clicking here.

Four Compelling Reasons to Think Twice About Leaving Iraq

Four compelling reasons to think twice about leaving Iraq from FreedomsWatch.org:

#1

"Iraq war veteran John Kriesel lost both legs in a blast near Fallujah on December 2nd, 2006. It was near the end of his second tour. Listen to why John believes Victory is America's only choice." See and hear the rest of the story here (first video).

#2

"Laura Youngblood lost 2 family members to al Qaeda terrorists, first her uncle Henry a New York City fireman who lost his life on 9/11, and than her husband Travis died fighting for our freedom in Iraq. Listen to why Laura believes Victory is America's only choice." Hear and see the rest of this compelling story by clicking here (second video).

#3

"Iraq war veteran Andrew Robinson was on his second tour of duty when he was wounded by an IED in June of 2006. Andrew lost the use of his legs. Listen to why Andrew believes Victory is America's only choice." See and hear the rest of this important story by clicking here (third video).

#4

"Vicki Strong lost her son Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong, in Iraq fighting for our freedom. Listen to why Vicki believes Victory is America's only choice." See and hear why she believes such by clicking here (video four).

Leaving Iraq and thinking our problems will go away is a very simplistic view of the situation. We didn't start this war and we are going to have to finish it. All we have been able to do is determine where this war is being fought. Do you want it over there or over here? Do you want little children at schools and families at malls on the front lines or well trained volunteers? We didn't choose to fight this world, but we must choose to win it.

A New Look for Terrorism?

Gordon Brown (photo), the brand new Prime Minister, has had a difficult week to say the least. Recent incidents in the UK, may they be by Al Qaeda or "wannabes" could increase significantly through out the West from now until our 08 elections. This sounds contradictory from an earlier post I wrote on the subject in which I said that the reason we haven't had a major 9/11 type incident is because of the the Iraq War, but this isn't the case.

* Most incidents should be relatively low key and highly specific when it relates to Al Qaeda. This would be the kind of activity we have seen since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. This is the kind of activity designed to remind Americans that life is so much more difficult for all of us "because" of this war. However, Al Qaeda does not, in my opinion, want to do the type of event to attract US resolve (like 9/11 did).

* However, there are several confederate groups that claims Al Qaeda, but Al Qaeda doesn't always claim them. These groups have their own agendas, are not particularly competent (every one of the attempts that have been on a large scale as of late seem linked to independent groups that lack efficiency and they usually fail), and could either care less if it makes the US more hostile or might even desire such for their own confused reasons.

Al Qaeda has to maintain a balancing act, enough terror to make the West angst, but not enough for it to rise to the occasion. Instead of creating grounds for us leaving Iraq, such should have the opposite effect, because our departure would only heighten their resolve that they are winning and they would be empowered to wage a bigger war in our own back yards.

Why We Haven't Seen Another September 11th

People have wondered why we have no had another incident like September 11th. Sure, we have your occasional anthrax scare or ad hoc group making plans, but we haven't seen anything like September 11th. It isn't because our enemies lack the resources or the resolve, they simply have better memories than many Americans.

They remember how the US was like a Sleeping Giant that abruptly woke up and immediately went to war in Afghanistan. They remember how Saddam Hussein and his regime was held accountable for violating terms of the conclusion of the last Gulf War.

Our troops are "over there" and our enemies want us "over here." The Islamic Fascist know that another September 11th will do nothing to reach that objective, knowing America's ability to respond.

An example of this is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a man who was behind September 11th and focused extensively on the West in his terrorist activities. That was the case until 2003, in which he moved his focus to fighting in Iraq and is believed to be the man who killed Daniel Pearl. Others in the al Qaeda movement made similar moves back to the Middle East.

My view is simple. I want this war fought by well trained volunteer adults in the Middle East, not by families and little children at school in the Midwest.

Let's keep the war over there in an effort to keep it away from here.

The Dangerous World After Tony Blair

Tony Blair (photo) is leaving and I'm really quite sad. True, the British Prime Minister is liberal on a huge list of social and economic issues, but he is so very right about the single most important issue facing Western Civilization -- the war against Islamic Fascist terror. With his departure, now just weeks away, Blair has been seen frequently on US news networks discussing his legacy. The issue that comes up most often is the war in Iraq.

His sound bites on the issue have been powerful and carry the important themes:

* This is not a war the West has asked for, but one in which we have been forced to fight. It is foolish to believe that we can leave Iraq and our problems would go with it. His reoccurring theme is that we didn't start this war, but we have no choice but to finish it.

* "This is not a clash between civilizations. It is a clash about civilization." I love this quote and this is what I mean by Blair "getting it" where others clearly don't. Islamic fascists attacked us, not the other way around. This a war that will only go away when it is won.

* "Some say if we act, we become a target. The truth is, all nations are targets. Bali was never in the front line of action against terrorism. America didn't attack al Qaeda. They attacked America." This is in specific reference to Iraq in his now famous "The War with Iraq" speech. Most people around the world, including many of our leaders, don't realize that the war in Iraq only allows to control where this war is fought. The declaration of war was done by our enemies, all we can hope to do is finish it.

Tony Blair is great, but I'm fairly sure that Labor will go a different direction under the new leadership. George Bush isn't the only one who lost a good friend with Blair's decision to leave, but so has every civilized nation around the world.

A Few Interesting Headlines

The news was full of interesting news stories today and I wanted to reflect on a couple of them.

Robert Rubin Calls for Tax Increases

It didn't take the Democrats long to announce their intent to pursue a tax increase and one of their more credible spoke persons, former Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin, is leading the charge. He indicated that he believed a tax increase wouldn't do any harm and would reverse harmful "revenue shortfalls." The problem is there are no shortfalls and revenues are at record highs because of tax cuts. So, the question I ask, is why raise taxes if not to raise money? The Democrats believe in "equality" and they believe that the redistribution of wealth is important for "fairness," no matter how counterproductive. Rubin and the Democrats shouldn't propose a tax increase because they wouldn't hurt, but because they would actually help. But they cannot make such an argument with any intellectual honesty.

al Qaeda Praises Democrat Win and Says they Will Destroy the White House

It also didn't take long for the terrorists to announce what many Republicans were quiet saying all along about the terrorists view of the elections.

• al Qaeda has declared, in recent chatter, that they are pleased that the Democrats have won the election (when Bush alluded to such, it was described as "irresponsible").
• They declared their intentions to destroy the White House -- literally.
• They have said that the US will soon surrender because the Democrats are naive and don't understand al Qaeda objectives.

The good news for us who support a war on terror is that this kind of insult on the Democratic party will likely force them to stay in the game longer and move them to come up with more realistic solutions. To cut and run now could eliminate their chances in '08 if it is interpreted as a Democratic failure.

Interesting news stories indeed.