From National Review.
Q&A with Ronald Kessler on A Matter of Character on National Review Online
Kessler: The way to make a difference in the war on terror is penetrating the plots before they happen. To do that, you need a strong FBI and CIA. Clinton and the Democrats decimated the CIA, imposing a cut in the clandestine service of 20 percent as well as a risk-averse atmosphere. Clinton rarely met with his FBI or CIA director.
In contrast, as soon as he took office, Bush began meeting every morning with George Tenet. After 9/11, he added Robert Mueller, the FBI director, to the meetings. Bush focuses them, demands improvement, and energizes and supports the agencies. In effect, he is the CEO of the war on terror.
The 9/11 Commission largely ignored that fact and the improvements since 9/11. The fact we have not been attacked in since 9/11 demonstrates how effective Bush has been in conducting the war on terror. Imposing another layer of bureaucracy by appointing an intelligence czar is a step backward, in my opinion.
Kerry can have his band of brothers from 35 years ago but what has he done lately other than "nuance" his flip-flops. President Bush is leading this nation in the war on terror and it is WAR. When one side (the terrorists) will do anything to kill us then we'd better make it a war. No nuance needed here.
Kessler: I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans, but I thought that Bush came across in the debates as being not as well-informed and smart as Gore. I was so wrong to vote for Gore, especially after he demonstrated how little he cares about protecting this country when he came out against the Patriot Act and other measures that allow the FBI to find the bad guys without infringing in any way on civil liberties. In fact, under the Patriot Act, a judge now has to approve searches of library computers. Previously, a prosecutor asked a grand jury to approve them, often after the fact.
Of course, Kerry uses the Patriot Act as a punching bag yet voted for it. Who's really serious about fighting this war on terror. I think Kerry is just plain wrong to vote one way, then speak a different way, then use nuance to explain himself. Sorry, but the terrorists don't care about nuance. Our actions, under President Bush, speak much more loudly than "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."
Posted by Tim at August 11, 2004 10:41 PMThe CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the background checks, interviews, and testing were done there were three finalists - two men and one woman. For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.
"We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside this room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. You have to kill her." The first man said. "You cant be serious. I could never shoot my wife!"The agent replies, "Then you?re not the right man for this job."
The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the agent came out with tears in his eyes. "I tried, but I cant kill my wife." The agent replies, "You dont have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."
Finally, it was the womans turn. Only she was told to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman. She wiped the sweat from her brow and said, "You guys didnt tell me the gun was loaded with blanks. So I had to beat him to death with the chair."
Posted by: Jokes at October 8, 2004 04:04 PM
