“Army Bill” Lahue decries the Administration’s hyping the threat and stoking fear among the population

After enduring a week of Presidential speeches on the grave threat that Islamic terrorism poses to our nation and way of life, I feel compelled to (expressed in the vernacular of an old soldier) raise the Bull Shit flag. Am I to believe that the President, Vice-President, and our other senior leadership, really believe that a few thousand fanatics pose a grave threat to future of the most economically and militarily powerful nation in history? Do they truly believe that the powerful ideals of democracy and the prosperity brought by American style capitalism are in danger of being eclipsed by Islamic fanaticism? As a retired military officer, I find this simultaneously troubling, disappointing, and ultimately unbelievable.

If our leadership was leading instead of manipulating our fears for political gain, perhaps they would put 9-11 and the threat from Islamic extremism into perspective for us. As terrible as 9-11 was, the present situation in the “War on Terror” is not comparable to WWII. There are no Islamic fanatics leading world powers comparable to Nazi Germany or Japan that had world-class militaries with global reach. The so-called axis-of-evil countries that are suspected of supporting terrorism are militarily weak, politically isolated, and economically poor. Comparing the power of these countries to the US and Europe is the equivalent of matching a high school football team against an NFL Super Bowl winner. There is simply no comparison.

The reality is that terrorism is not as grave threat to the United States as our present leadership wants us to believe. The 9-11 attacks were shocking in their barbarity, however they pale in comparison to the economic and social costs associated with other terrible events that occur routinely in the USA. Hurricane Katrina was far more devastating than any terrorist attack is likely to ever be, yet, you don’t hear anyone in this administration saying that our way of life is in peril >>>>from potential natural disasters.

The cynical manipulation of the American public by the Republican Right for its own political benefit is deplorable. With elections arriving in a few weeks, its time for Virginians to stand up and elect leaders who believe in the United States. It is time to elect leadership that will not allow ideological and religious extremism triumph over truth and science. It is time to take Virginia and America back from the Republican Right. It is time to vote for Jim Webb.

Bill Lahue
US Army (Retired)