|
|
Ed Gillespie on War & Peace |
On keeping troops in Afghanistan, [the debate moderator] asked whether Gillespie is closer to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) or Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). He did not directly answer, but he sounded a lot closer to the McCain view in arguing that troops should be there "as long as they're serving our national security interests."
Warner said he thinks Colin Powell was right when he said "you break it, you own it."
"Pottery Barn," Gillespie interjected.
The Republican candidate must make clear the existential threat to Israel from a nuclear-armed Iran.
From the start of the Bush plan, the White House communications office had been blitzing an e-mail list of as many as 5,000 journalists and others with talking points or rebuttals of criticism, in various categories--"Myths/Facts" or "Setting the Record Straight" to take issue with negative news articles, and "In Case You Missed It" to distribute positive articles or speeches.
Gillespie arranged several presidential speeches to make strategic arguments, such as comparing Iraq to Vietnam or warning of Iranian interference. When critics assailed Bush for overstating ties between al-Qaeda and the group called al-Qaeda in Iraq, Gillespie organized a Bush speech to make his case.
As a party we should stand by the Bush doctrine of pre-emption. In a time when the greatest threat to our country is chemical or biological weapons in the hands of Islamic extremists who want to bring an end to the Western way of life, an unwillingness to act preemptively could result in a tragedy that could dwarf the destruction of the Twin Towers.
We will prevail in the War on Terror by embracing Bush's willingness to fight the terrorists where they live, knowing that if the fight is not waged in places like Kabul & Baghdad it will be waged in places like Kansas & Boston. A majority of Americans intuitively understand this, despite frustration over the pace of progress in Iraq.