Sounds like Ms Owens has a case of irrational partisan hatred with no real evidence behind her flawed argument. A more constructive argument is necessary. Let’s see some evidence to support her claims. REAL evidence, of course…

“Note: I am neither a Democrat or Republican. IMHO, both parties are rotten to the core.”

OK. I will give her that. As someone who has voted predominantly Republican, and only because the Republican representatives were truly effective when they were in office, I have a problem with Diet Bush battling Diet Clinton. This political cola war is doing NOTHING to address the real problem: Terrorist-appeasing Communist traitors in the controlled media, like the Old Pork Crimes, the Hell-A Crimes, the San FrenchFreako Comicle, the Washington Compost, the Atlanta Urinal and Constipation, the St Louis Compost-Douchebag, Time, Nooseweak, US Snooze and Blurred Report, National Socialist Pubic Radio, the Asinine Broadcast Company, Communist Bolshevik Sayso, and any network containing the NBC that stands for Nuthin’ But Crap, I could go on…who leak classified and top secret programmes in violation of the law, Section 798 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code specifically, as the Old Pork Crimes did…who are the REAL threat to our national security, with complicit allies in the activist judiciary (eg Anna Diggs Taylor, who illegally ruled against the NSA wiretap programme and has now sabotaged the appellate effort by putting an arbitrary seven day time limit on appealing that illegal and flawed ruling) and every treasonous and seditious fringe minority neoliberal neosocialist neocommunist gang of mentally deficient misfits who try to impose their neocommunist and neofascist hegemony upon the vast majority conservatives, the 85 percent of Americans who are going to support the War on Terror and see it through to victory with the complete destruction of every terrorist gang in the world.

If only the President would simply enact an executive order forbidding “judicial review” of ANY element of ANY programme he deems necessary to eliminate the terrorist threat for once and for all…and if only Congress would make it a federal crime to challenge such laws…and if only WE THE PEOPLE would raise our voices and demand that every ACLUnatics and People for the Un-American Way and National Socialist Lawyers Guild and International ANSWER and Old Pork Crimes and Clinton Noose Nutwork gang of misfits on the face of the earth BE BROKEN UP UNDER THE RICO ACTand TWIST THE LEGISLATORS’ SENSITIVE PARTS UNTIL THEY AGREED TO ACCEDE TO OUR DIRECT COMMANDS TO BREAK THE TERRORIST THREATS FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL…THEN we wouldn’t have to worry about the Old Pork Crimes and the Clinton Noose Nutwork sabotaging our War On Terror OR our national security, eh?

First, the world stopped buying stuff made in the US, then the Americans stopped buying it ……. how is the US going to compete globally to the extent it can recover from the budget deficit Bush has run up? This will need to be paid back by the next generations in the US and if the US thinks it can fill it’s shops with stuff made in the US and compete with China and India to the extent US products are being bought by the Indians and Chinese, it’s not in line with most respected economists’ predictions.

When the Chinese (IBM), Arabs (ports and lots of secret stuff), Japanese (land) and Indians (listen to the news over the next month) start buying bits of your “superpower” country’s industry, you know the writing’s on the wall. It makes sense for the Chinese to buy US companies so Chinese made products can carry an American name.

No empire on this planet has lasted. It has always collapsed under it’s own weight. Pillar know’s his brief. Forget the war on terror. More Americans are going to die at the hands of their own armed forces putting down civil unrest in the US than by terrorist attacks.

I’m sorry David but that is a bad comment. I don’t even think you mean it. Even if Pillar had an interest on negotiated outcomes, he has made a career of it. He openly disagrees with you and the current government, and now he should be put in prision for traitor? That is exactly what a Dictator would do, and that is what I would like to think the army is fighting against.

So where does the hate end? When do we stop making shallow/funny comments just because we can? Do you do it because your buddies do it?

I just hope people like you were more reasonable because I know you are not going away. The same way Muslims are not going away either.

It was the FBI that dropped the ball, not the CIA. But I don’t suppose there is any point in trying to reason with die-hard Bush supporters, who are mostly brainwashed fundamentalist religious fanatics. (Not unlike the terrorists we’re breeding in Iraq.)

Next stop Iran, then North Korea!

Oh, and I’d just like to take a moment to consider ‘Paul from Florida’s’ response to ‘Rusty’: “Ad homonym, very impressive…” and then, not 4 lines later “…babble on dear, babble on”

Two things to consider:

1. It’s spelled “ad hominem,” and while I tend to think that ad hominem attacks have become a depressing staple of all political discourse in this country, if you’re going to criticize someone for it, at least spell it right.

2. Hypocracy is not the most moving of rhetorical tactics.

This is very funny. Why is it just because someone was in the military they are unassailable to liberals when they espouse their agenda? I don’t care one bit if Pillar was in Vietnam, that doesn’t have a thing to do with what his is doing now. Remember, Benedict Arnold was a decorated war hero, and a distinguished General as well. Now I am not in any way saying that Pillar is a Benedict Arnold, just that they were both in the military.

Just because he is a persuasive speaker and you are all in thrilled with what he has to say, doesn’t mean that he is right. Remember that Hitler was also a very persuasive speaker, but that doesn’t mean that he was right. Once again, I am not saying that Pillar is a Hitler, just saying that just because a person is a good speaker, doesn’t make them correct.

It’s unfortunate that you’re still looking for weapons of mass destruction, we have CIA agents in Syria as well, no reports of weapons transfers from Iraq of any kind have been made to date. Why do you assume Saddam had good relations with Syria prior to the war anyway? The simple fact of the matter is that Bush was hell bent on invading Iraq, twisted the intelligence, manipulated the press and even manufactured fake documents from Nigeria to further his agenda. Scooter Libby has even testified that Dick Cheney authorized the attempts to discredit Wilson (by “outing” his wife CIA agent Valerie Plame) for exposing Bush’s self centered quest for war. It’s always been about the oil, wake up and smell the refinery.

Um, these are the folks that got us into this mess to begin with. Their direction led us to being attacked on 9/11/2001.

Unlike the rest of you, I have had the privilege of hearing Dr. Pillar speak on the subject of terrorism,..

Well, that settles it.

”..and based on your ignorant comments,”

Ad homonym, very impressive.

”.. I can guess that none of you have had any formal training or education on the topic. That’s unfortunate,”

Gratuitous assertion. In my case false, but babble on dear, babble on.

” Dr. Pillar is a leading scholar on the subject, and when he talks, many (important) people listen. “

I’ll let you in on a secret. He’s not the only one with a decoder ring.

”What many of you fail to realize is that terrorism have been around for a long time (the term dates back to the French Revolution, although as a concept, it have been around longer than that) and “

Do tell!

”..will continue to be around for a long time.
That too? Heavens to Betsy!

”It’s the way that the weak strike against the strong.
Tell that to the Jews that got scooped up by the weak little Nazis, or dissidents in the loving, albeit wimpy arms, of the People’s Collective. Pol Pot, you’re forgiven.

”I’m sure that everyone remembers the Soviets losing to the Afgan (sic) resistance, right?
Classical Resistance.

”How about the attack on the olympics in 1972? The terrorist were killed, but it accomplished the mission of getting the PLO worldwide recognition.
How about the Jews blowing up the King David Hotel, and killing British soldiers to win their independence?

What? Answer your own questions.

”The fact of the matter is that he is right: “terrorism cannot be “defeated” only reduced, attenuated, and to some degree, controlled.”

Most plots, like the one to bomb the LA airport in 2000 were only stopped because of luck. But they will try again, and again. We can stop them 99 times, but if they just get one, no one will remember the 99 stopped, just the one they got us with.

Don’t bet the trailer at Vegas. If it is luck, and you are stopping 99%, well, it isn’t luck.

”In case you missed it, he is a combat vet of the Vietnam confict, so he has first hand experience with the military.

That military has been gone for at least 25 years.

”He protected your rights here at home, and through his work at CIA has continued to fight for you. It’s sad when people like David (up above) have to criticize someone that has done more for freedom than most people will do in 10 lifetimes.

(Insert violins) I sure he’s glad for your shoulder to cry on, but I suspect he can handle some criticism.

”Just for the record, I’m a conservative that voted for Bush both times.”

Do tell, well that make’s all the difference!

The fact of the matter is that he is right: “terrorism cannot be “defeated” only reduced, attenuated, and to some degree, controlled.” Most plots, like the one to bomb the LA airport in 2000 were only stopped because of luck. But they will try again, and again. We can stop them 99 times, but if they just get one, no one will remember the 99 stopped, just the one they got us with.

In case you missed it, he is a combat vet of the Vietnam confict, so he has first hand experience with the military. He protected your rights here at home, and through his work at CIA has continued to fight for you. It’s sad when people like David (up above) have to criticize someone that has done more for freedom than most people will do in 10 lifetimes.

Just for the record, I’m a conservative that voted for Bush both times.