The following excerpted from financier, philanthropist, and philosopher George Soros’ forceful speech to the National Press Club:
I realize that what I am saying is bound to be unpopular. We are in the grip of a collective misconception induced by the trauma of 9/11, and fostered by the Bush administration. No politician could say it and hope to get elected. That is why I feel obliged to speak out. There is a widespread belief that President Bush is making us safe. The opposite is true. President Bush failed to finish off bin Laden when he was cornered in Afghanistan because he was gearing up to attack Iraq. And the invasion of Iraq bred more people willing to risk their lives against Americans than we are able to kill – generating the vicious circle I am talking about.
President Bush likes to insist that the terrorists hate us for what we are – a freedom loving people – not what we do. Well, he is wrong on that. He also claims that the torture scenes at Abu Graib prison were the work of a few bad apples. He is wrong on that too. They were part of a system of dealing with detainees put in place by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and our troops in Iraq are paying the price.
How could President Bush convince people that he is good for our security, better than John Kerry? By building on the fears generated by the collapse of the twin towers and fostering a sense of danger. At a time of peril, people rally around the flag and President Bush has exploited this. His campaign is based on the assumption that people do not really care about the truth and they will believe practically anything if it is repeated often enough, particularly by a President at a time of war. There must be something wrong with us if we fall for it. For instance, some 40% of the people still believe that Saddam Hussein was connected with 9/11 – although it is now definitely established by the 9/11 Commission, set up by the President and chaired by a Republican, that there was no connection. I want to shout from the roof tops: “Wake up America. Don’t you realize that we are being misled?”
Wake Up America! Remove George W. Bush from the power of the presidency!
Kalilily Time
Just an old lady talking to herself
it feels more like we are voting to get a president out of office, instead of voting for a new president. i am appalled that my parents still say they are voting for bush? HELLO?!
Wow! Unpopular? How about untrue. I don’t remember Bush himself being in Afghanistan, And the men I know who are vigorously engaged in the hunt for O.Binladen would be very disappointed to here a lie such as them having Osama cornered and not “finishing him off”. Bush is not just trying to make us safe he is trying to repair the damage perpetrated by the Clinton administration.(That damage in my opinion was an enabling factor allowing an attack on our soil) “Generating” a vicious circle? Where have you been for forty years? Terrorist don’t hate us? They hate everybody! There is not a corner of the globe that has not somehow been affected by Islamic Terror. As for Abu Graib prison, I have seen worse things done to people pledging college fraternities. Ask a American pow during the Vietnam war about real torture, Or someone in a Chinese or North Korean prison. I say George W. Bush is a sweet dream for national security as compared to nightmare of the Communist-Connected John Kerry.
p.s. Tif……Your parents are voting for Bush because they love you and want to see their grandchildren grow up in a free country!