Zuckerman of USnews: An election...for a sheriff

The editor of US News & World Report has consistently been a cheerleader for the neocon agenda. This editorial is typical:

By Mortimer B. Zuckerman • Editor-in-Chief
An election. . .for a sheriff

For the first time since the Vietnam era's presidential campaigns in 1968 and 1972, foreign policy will dominate a presidential election as it hasn't done through successive convulsions from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the first Gulf War. The slogan that captured American politics in 1992 was "It's the economy, stupid." In 1996, fewer than 5 percent voted on the basis of foreign policy.
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Love-hate. The case for pre-emption is strong. It does not fit the normal lexicon of democratic polity, but the imminent threat today is not the imminent threat of yesterday, when armies massed at frontiers, advertising their hostile intentions. There will be no warning from those who hide in the dark, intent on inflicting death on thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, irrespective of race, religion, or creed.

There is a positive side to the doctrine of pre-emption as practiced in Afghanistan and Iraq. Given that the Arab world is the heartland of radical Islamism, the Bush administration sees instituting the freedoms we associate with democracy as essential for a stable society whose energies may be turned inward, where they belong. If we could undertake this task with friends and allies, it would be for the best, and we should certainly try harder. But we must do it, even if it means going it alone.

Everybody knows that this is the American century. Some love it, and some, of course, hate it. Why? Because our dominance seems ordained for decades, given the relative youth of our population compared with those of Europe and China, not to mention our widening technological gap with the rest of the world.
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Read the entire line of bullshit:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/031222/opinion/22edit.htm

I couldn't help but write a LTTE. I know it won't be published, so I'm posting it here in its entirety:

THE CASE FOR PRE-EMPTION IS WEAK

Mortimer B. Zuckerman's Dec. 22 editorial (An election...for a sheriff) accurately points out that the 2004 presidential election will be decided on foreign policy. The candidate perceived as stronger against terrorism will likely win. But the editorial also trots out the usual fallacious arguments in favor of pre-emptive war: that we needed to invade Iraq to prevent an attack against America, and that Iraq is the heartland of Islamic radicalism.

Let's remember that we supported Saddam Hussein in the 80's precisely because his secular regime was a bastion against Islamic radicalism. This power-hungry tyrant was not about to give weapons of mass destruction to his mortal enemies, and we've since discovered he had no weapons to give. Pre-emptive war is a dangerous policy that should be reserved for dire and imminent threats. However, the Bush administration's dire warnings about Iraq's arsenal and intentions were the product of neoconservative agenda, not honest analysis of evidence.

Our intelligence agencies and our credibility have been badly compromised. We've lost much of the international support we may need against a future legitimate threat, which could very well come from a failed democratic experiment in Iraq. The case for pre-emptive war, especially this one, is very weak. We need a president with the strength to wield our military wisely, not a sheriff who shoots first and creates more problems for later.

evidence about the crime with the citizens he's supposed to be protecting...

"Given that the Arab world is the heartland of radical Islamism"

dumb ass dosn't know Pakistan is not in the Arab world, more
propaganda from media-neoclown elite ...

"the Bush administration sees instituting the freedoms we associate with democracy as essential for a stable society "

how bout instituting those freedoms here..USA

"Everybody knows that this is the American century. Some love it, and some, of course, hate it. Why? Because our dominance seems ordained for decades, given the relative youth of our population compared with those of Europe and China, not to mention our widening technological gap with the rest of the world."

oh, really - as Bush and his corporate buddies export all our jobs

Mortimer B. Zuckerman -- you jerk