BELOW are talking points from the DSCC, a partisan source.
That said, they come with footnotes and should not be dismissed, espeically amidst so much mainstream media stenography unquestionably accepting the rather nonfactual claim that the Bush Administration's foreign policy has been a success.
Key
Point: The White House is pursuing a wrongheaded approach to terrorism,
prioritizing defensive measures like surveillance instead of more aggressive
tactics like increasing the number of strike forces who can kill Al Qaeda and
boosting human intelligence, which as we saw in London, is key to foiling
attacks. Democrats offer a new direction
that takes the fight to the terrorists so that we can have real security at
home.
WHY ARE WE WAITING FOR BIN LADEN TO CALL? Michael Chertoff’s pronouncement that the
White House is focusing on expanding surveillance programs is another example
of how it is playing defense on terrorism. Instead of waiting for the enemy to make a move before we pounce, we
should expand our strike force capabilities so that we can disrupt and kill bin
Laden and al Qaeda. We should also boost
human intelligence assets, which as we saw in
AL-QAEDA HAS PROSPERED UNDER BUSH
ADMINISTRATION. Bin Laden is still alive and Al-Qaeda cells continue to
proliferate around the globe. In fact, the CIA closed a unit that for a decade
had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants.
BUSH IRAQ POLICY BREEDING TERRORISM.
Iraq has become a new rallying cry and training ground for global terrorists. The estimated number of foreign terrorists
and fighters in
AS TERROR PLOT UNFOLDED, BUSH TRIED TO CUT
BOMB DETECTION FUNDS. As the British terror plot was unfolding, the Bush
administration quietly tried to take away $6 million that was supposed to be
spent this year developing new explosives detection technology.
9/11 COMMISSION GAVE GOP FAILING GRADES ON
SECURITY EFFORTS. The 9/11
Commission gave the Bush administration 5 F's and 12 D's on its efforts to
improve homeland security after the September 11 attacks. The most glaring
failures included aviation security (grades C, D, F) and public safety
communications (grade F).
GOP RHETORIC IS A SYMPTOM OF LOW-POLL
DISORDER. With poll after poll
showing the GOP’s electoral prospects growing increasingly dim heading into
November, Republican rhetoric has gone over the top like when Dick Cheney made
the absurd claim that voters in
SOURCES:
1) GOP Plays Defense: Wall Street Journal, 8/14/06
2) Al Qaeda Prospers Under Bush: Center for American
Progress, Progress in Iraq Report Card, 7/25/06 ;
CBS News, 8/5/06 ; New York Times, 7/4/06
3) Bush Tried Cutting Bomb Detection: CBS News,
8/13/06
4) Bush Gets Failing Grades on Terror: 9/11 Public
Discourse Project, 12/05
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