More proof that the Democrats just don’t get it. Here is John Edwards brilliant plan for stopping terrorism:
Senator Edwards is outlining a new national security strategy that includes the creation of a 10,000-person civilian peace corps to stem the tide of terrorism in weak and unstable countries.
[…]The plan Mr. Edwards presented yesterday — which he dubbed "A Strategy to Shut Down Terrorists and Stop Terrorism Before It Starts" — calls for a 10,000-person "Marshall Corps" to deal with issues ranging from worldwide poverty and economic development to clean drinking water and micro-lending. He said investing in those areas would shore up weak nations and help ensure that terrorism does not take root there. That, he said, would allow the country to stop potential terrorists before they even join the ranks.
There are "thousands committed to violence" today, he said, and America needs to use all of its tools to go after them. But he said millions more people are "sitting on the fence" about whether to join those ranks. "We have to offer them a hand to our side instead of a shove to the other side of that fence," he said.
How utterly naive. The below post illustrates what the terrorists want, and it is NOT cleaner water. These people just have no clue.
We see terrorism fester inside poor countries, we see it in rich countries such as Saudi Arabia. It’s about establishing a "true" Islamic nation in which to spread Islam worldwide. Either you convert or you die. Simple as that. They hate those who vote, since that is God’s power. They hate those who cannot see that Islam is the one true faith. They hate those that support Israel’s right to exist since only the destruction of the Jews will appease them.
Could fixing a country through economic development, like we are currently doing in Iraq, move things along? Well, we can see that effect in Iraq with many Iraqi’s now fighting against al-Qaeda, rather then for AQ, so in some respects you could say the answer is yes. But here is the rub. You first have to get rid of the terrorists by engaging them, killing them, capturing them, forcing them to retreat. If not all you will have is a pile of peace corps heads.
Oh, one other thing, Bush realized that economic development was one way to fight terrorism, but you need to be able to fight them off also. Here he is in 2002:
Many here today have devoted their lives to the fight against global poverty, and you know the stakes. We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human dignity. We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it. And we fight against poverty with a growing conviction that major progress is within our reach.
And here is the President’s plan for Iraq just a few months ago:
Under The President’s New Way Forward For Iraq, The Number Of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) Will Increase.
- The Expanded PRTs Will Serve As Powerful Tools In Achieving Our Counterinsurgency Strategy By:
- Bolstering Moderates. Using a decentralized approach to reach out beyond the central government to identify and empower those who reject violence as a means of achieving their goals.
- Promoting Reconciliation. Fostering improved communication and cooperation across Iraqi society to facilitate dialogue and the equitable use of Iraqi resources for the benefit of all the Iraqi people.
- Fostering Economic Development. Targeted assistance, such as microloans and grants to help create small businesses and jobs, provide services to meet community needs, and develop capacity for effective and sustainable governance.
- Building Provincial Capacity. Assist local and provincial officials, helping them more effectively interact with the central government and local citizenry, unlock Iraqi funds to support the delivery of critical essential services to the Iraqi people, and promote increasing self-reliance.
Confederate Yankee has an outstanding post responding to Edwards plan point by point, check it out.

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“These people just have no clue.”
One move chess players searching desperately for a single move without consequences other than instant success. Sad. They try to claim X will bring about success, Y will bring about success, Z will bring about success, the remove the pawns, remove all the pieces (including the king and queen), and leave nothing on the board but a bishop, and the other side will just stop fightin. Brilliant. Problem is, it’s desperate. It’s a combination of the denial and bargaining phases in the 5 phases of dealing with grief. Anger permeates ceaselessly as does depression among the pandered and misled fervent opponents of the war-err, I mean situation in Iraq.
I agree. They have no clue. They seek a magic bullet: if the US does A, then B (peace) will follow. Wars don’t work like that.
Yesterday Jack Cafferty on CNN raved about Gen Pace’s retirement wondering if it would end the war and wondering why there’s not throngs of anti-war protesters on campuses. Newsflash for the newsman, protesting/demanding the premature evacuation of Iraq will only ensure that US forces come home and get some rest before having to invade a 3rd time in near impossible conditions. It’s not a war of choice as the invasion and war against Saddam was described.
The war in Iraq is now authorized/mandated by the UN (un1483 May 2003), and cannot be avoided, left, just walked away from without dire consequences. Washed out and aged faux journalists like Cafferty (is that 401k ready for your retirement yet Jack) may choose to believe in gumdrop trees, chocolate Euphrates and Tigris rivers, etc, but the reality is there’s a fight going on in Iraq that is not the same war that was the initial invasion. Different enemy. Different objective. Different win/lose effects.
These people just don’t have a clue. It certainly seems that way.
I wonder if sometimes the thought process for Liberals is that “I bet we can appease them long enough for my lifetime.”
Breck Boy also believes that owning a handgun is a privilege instead of a right…
The naivete expressed by Edwards, the Democrats, MSM, and a few weak Republicans is beyond breath-taking. If the solution was that simple, we would have solved the entire terrorism problem years ago. Moreover, the terrorists tend to come from more-privileged backgrounds … what passes for middle class over there and the wealthy. The poorer classes are concerned of making it through another day, working hard for a living.
While I would have preferred Gen. Pace to have been renominated, the instructional value of his renomination hearings would have been very significant. A bunch of senators, both Democrat and Republican, second guessing military decisions and the best professional advice that’s been offered and accepted. But, we may have a chance for that type of instruction when Adm. Mullen and Gen. Cartwright have their hearings.
As Americans turn their backs on neoconservatism and foreign intervention the voices of the few remaining rightist grow increasingly shrill.
The article went on to say:
“Yesterday, he was quick to respond to critics who have cast him as lily-livered and weak on national security.
“‘I think what we’ve seen with President Bush is that he uses this doctrine to stifle debate,’ Mr. Edwards said. ‘He doesn’t want anyone to speak out in opposition. If you speak out in opposition, you either don’t understand the threat or you’re not a patriot.'”
I agree with the part about “you don’t understand the threat”.
He proves his own point quite well with his plan of using 10,000 peace corps people to solve the threat of terrorism!