William A. Alexander – 8/20/06

This page was last updated on August 20, 2006.

Bush’s policies have failed; William A. Alexander; Beaver County Times; August 20, 2006.

Mr. Alexander has written at least 15 letters since December 2004, and they all bashed Republicans for something.

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“In response to Thursday’s letter to the editor ‘No reason to impeach Bush’:

“The writer’s points are misleading, like Bush’s policy of misinformation and half-truths.”

[RWC] Unfortunately, the letter to which Mr. Alexander refers was not published on the Times website. As a result, I don’t know if Mr. Alexander accurately represents its content. Based on his history, I would be surprised if he did.

If you’ve read my critiques of Mr. Alexander’s letters, you know he has guts accusing anyone of “misleading” and “misinformation and half-truths.”

“The point is not whether in six years Bush increased tax revenues. It is that the economy moved from the $5 trillion surplus Clinton left him to a $5 trillion deficit.”

[RWC] Does Mr. Alexander just make this stuff up or does he simply regurgitate stuff he reads from liberal websites?

Today’s total annual budget is less than $3 trillion, so a claim of a $5 trillion surplus is ridiculous. If Mr. Alexander is referring to a multiple year period, that too is BS. First, in today’s world you’re lucky if you can make an accurate assessment for the next 12 months, let alone multiple years. Second, a recession was already underway when Bill Clinton left office. Trust me, recessions and budget surpluses don’t go hand in hand.

“There is no question that the world was manipulated by the administration to achieve Bush’s goal of removing Saddam Hussein.”

[RWC] If “[t]here is no question the world was manipulated,” why didn’t Mr. Alexander provide details and proof?

“After almost four years, 2,600-plus young American men and women dead and more than 100,000 Iraqi deaths, there is a civil war in Iraq. Iraqis are dying at a rate of about 100 per day, and the number of roadside bombs is at record highs. We are extending our troops’ tours to increase the number of troops there.”

[RWC] Three years and five months is “almost four years?”

Regarding the alleged “100,000 Iraqi deaths,” that’s a made-up number. Since January 2005, a website that tracks casualties in Iraq indicates about 17,000 Iraqi deaths (civilian, military, & police). The “Iraqis are dying at a rate of about 100 per day” is also made up. The website indicates the average is about 34/day, with a peak of about 58/day in August 2005. I’m not downplaying 34 deaths/day, but it’s a long way from Mr. Alexander’s allegation.

I don’t believe for one second Mr. Alexander cares one whit about Iraqi lives. Does anyone want to bet Mr. Alexander couldn’t have cared less when Saddam Hussein was killing Iraqis – and Iranians – by the hundreds of thousands? Regarding American lives, I believe his primary interest is in being able to quote casualty figures. I know that’s a harsh assessment, but Mr. Alexander’s incredibly partisan and factually challenged rants lead me to no other conclusion. Indeed, Mr. Alexander accuses President Bush of not caring about the lives of Americans, Iraqis, et cetera.

“The letter notes Syria, Iran and a list of past terrorist attacks. These have nothing to do with Iraq. If Bush wanted to do something about them, his attention and efforts should have been elsewhere, not Iraq. Shrub just wanted to prove he could do what his father did not do and go into Baghdad.”

[RWC] Geez, more talking points and name-calling. Mr. Alexander truly is a master debater.

Regarding doing something about Iran and Syria vs. Iraq, we believed Iraq had WMD as did the rest of the world. We didn’t have the same belief about Iran and Syria.

And it’s not like Iraq was not home to terrorists itself or didn’t fund foreign terrorists. Remember, Saddam Hussein paid $25,000 “rewards” to the families of Palestinian bombers. Some of the victims were Americans. The convicted chief conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Yousef, reached the United States with an Iraqi passport. The bomb maker – Abdul Rahman Yasin (an American citizen) – ended up in Iraq after the bombing. Yousef was also the mastermind behind the failed 1994 Bojinka Plot intended to blow up multiple planes over the Pacific Ocean en route to the U.S. During the 2003 Iraq invasion our troops found at least two terrorist training camps, including one with an airplane fuselage to practice hijackings. The mastermind of the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, during which the terrorists killed a wheelchair-bound American (Leon Klinghoffer), lived in Baghdad since 1994 and was captured there in April 2003 by U.S. Special Forces. Folks like Mr. Alexander hope we forget this history.

Regarding the issue about President Bush #1 and going into Baghdad, Mr. Alexander has a short memory. In order to get Middle East support for going after Iraq in 1990/1991, President Bush #1 had to promise he would do no more than chase Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Though Arab countries feared Saddam Hussein, they didn’t want an Arab country any more embarrassed than necessary. Would Bush #1 have gone to Baghdad and crushed Saddam Hussein without making that promise? I don’t know. All we know is Bush #1 felt future credibility felt it was necessary to honor his word.

“Since there is no way to fire a sitting president for gross incompetence, telling half-truths and cherry-picking intelligence to release to those supposedly overseeing his actions, maybe impeachment seems the only way.”

[RWC] Come on, Mr. Alexander, instead of drive-by accusations, why not get specific and provide proof?

“Shrub’s Middle Eastern policies are a shambles. His theory that democratic elections would create democracies has failed. In Palestine, we have Hamas, in Lebanon we have Hezbollah, and in Iraq we have a government controlled by Iran and a civil war with our troops in the middle with nowhere to go.”

[RWC] Wow, the Middle East hasn’t changed overnight! Mr. Alexander must be right.

Regarding Hamas and Hezbollah in Palestine and Lebanon, these are examples of interference by foreign countries.

Regarding Iraq, I don’t know where Mr. Alexander gets “we have a government controlled by Iran.” Regarding a civil war, right now that is wishful thinking on Mr. Alexander’s part. There’s no question some people in Iraq would like a civil war, but we’re not there.

“Impeachment might be too strong, but we need to get Bush’s attention and a change in direction. ‘Stay the course’ isn’t getting it.”

[RWC] Did you notice while Mr. Alexander asserted, “‘Stay the course’ isn’t getting it,” he didn’t provide a plan of his own.