His statement: War is not an instrument of policy; it is a failure of policy is also a truism.
I disagree with this generic statement. Sometimes it is true, sometimes it is not. My view is that if FDR had seen the Axis threat for what it was instead of leaving our ally Britain hanging out to dry it would have been a much better outcome (far fewer dead, much shorter conflict), rather than waiting for an attack that nearly decimated our Naval fleet in Pearl Harbor.
Taking preemptive action against Noriega was not a failure of policy but another example where we did the right thing even though it involved military conflict. Vietnam and Korea argue more in favor of the statement, but I don't think that war = failure of policy is an absolute truth. War to prevent larger losses is a good policy, not a failed policy.
Was this the case in Iraq? I think in Gulf War I, you could probably argue that war was good in the sense, that it prevented larger losses in the form of Iraq invading Saudi Arabia or Israel, but then you could also say the war plan was a failure because it did not deal with Saddam Hussein. Gulf War II people have argued either way. Those in favor say it prevented WMD from getting into terrorist's hands, and Iraq from being an aggressor. Those opposed will say that Iraq may not have become an aggressor, and the WMD threat was overstated or nonexistent. Those who are isolationists would ask, why should we care if Iraq is an aggressor as long as it isn't directly attacking us? But quite frankly, isolationism doesn't work in a world with terrorists.
Until we discover ways to eradicate evil from the hearts of those who wish us ill...
This is a major delineation between the two sides. I simply reject the idea that you can eradicate evil from someone's heart. You can't make people make decisions any more than you can make them feel or think how you want them to feel or think. It simply isn't possible to do so, no matter how pure the intention. You can merely give them incentives or disincentives for certain types of behavior, and then attempt to insulate yourself in the case that the terrorists make the wrong choice.
Certainly I have no solutions.
Open discussion of course is what democracy is all about. But when one of the US' major political parties offers no solutions but only criticisms to the current policy, I have to think that either their criticisms are politically motivated, or that they are in fact either advocating doing nothing, or reversing course. In which case it seems only fair that we evaluate the merits of doing nothing / reversing course with the same vigor that the current policy is being evaluated by the Democratic party. And if doing nothing or reversing course makes no sense, then we should be able to tell the whiners to either provide something constructive, or stop whining!
What our nation is supposed to be about is freedom. To accede to the beliefs of a Mondo Trader or a Sulong is to give up on our freedom and accept a dictatorship.
There are always some who go too far, surely no logical person will reason that we must kill all those who hate us.
When a leader like GWB can change our system using the politics of fear and emotion (as he so blatantly did by declaring a "preemptive" war), we are well on our way to seeing our constitution becoming irrelevant.
I don't see this. Checks and balances remain in place. When 70 in the senate vote in favor of going to war in Iraq, I don't see how you can make the logical jump that GWB is acting like a dictator. If he truly started acting like a dictator, I'm sure members of both parties would jump on the other side of the issue with the same type of overwhelming majority. I actually think the politics of fear are being used more by those who would compare GWB to Hitler, or who quote Goering to justify demagoging Bush and his policies, rather than presenting anything of substance.
What's next? We are presently engaged in what is really a war based on many things, but at the forefront is "Our God is better than your God (or your lack of a god)". So to make matters worse, the religious right and the political right are in an alliance that is striving to make us more like our enemies.
Why do you distort the Bush doctrine into a theological issue? It makes me wonder if you really understand what the Bush doctrine is all about. If the above doesn't relate to the Bush doctrine then my apologies for misunderstanding how this relates to the rest of the post.
We need a more highly developed missile defense system for what?
All those incoming missiles that were shot down with the Patriot I and Patriot II missiles were developed as a result of this research. The ability to shoot down enemy missiles has saved hundreds of lives already and as the technology is improved will save thousands more. Maybe we don't need a "Star Wars" type system as envisioned by Reagan, but it isn't hard to imagine how positioning mobile anti-missile missile launchers around key targets when combined with specific intelligence can save lives.
So by definition, "conservatism" cannot work in a world that is rapidly changing. Progressive thinking is what is needed. Not reactionary politics. We cannot fight against ourselves.
Your conclusion that conservative thought = stagnant thought is in error. Conservatism is not synonymous with stagnant thinking. If anything right now in politics, the liberals are the ones who are stagnant in their thought, while (like it or not) it is the conservative ideas that are setting the agenda for foreign relations and domestic security. You are right, we do need more progressive thought and less politicking (fighting against ourselves).
Except to do whatever is in our power to RETAIN our fundamental freedoms.
Many of the "fundamental freedoms" that are being so widely touted were actually fabricated by judges who wrote law through ruling and precedent over a period of decades, and do not flow from our constitution at all. Miranda rights are an example where "rights" that didn't previously exist, were created by judges as an interpretation. I'm not saying that Miranda rights are bad, just using that as a well known example. The problem is that without the balance of the legislative body, too many rights are given to criminals and terrorists by activist judges who think they are legislators.
Are Judaical laws inalienable rights, guaranteed by our constitution, or can they be superceded by legislation that is written and passed by elected officials to meet the present needs? If those new laws are unconstitutional, the checks and balances again kick in and laws are struck down by the judiciary because they infringe on the constitution. It's a beautiful system but so often when a new law is enacted that takes away rights that do not devolve from the Constitution, those complaining are quick to say that the Constitution is in shambles and that freedoms are being eroded, when in fact the Constitution is alive and well and the checks and balances are working well.