This page was last updated on July 20, 2004.

Bush hurt war on terror effort; Nikola (Nick) Drobac; Beaver County Times; July 15, 2004.

In a previous critique, I mentioned Mr. Drobac likes to spam his letters.  This one is an example.  It also appeared in the July 20, 2004, online edition of The Republican of Garrett County, Maryland.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

"On March 9, 1916, 400 Mexican desperados led by Pancho Villa crossed the border into New Mexico and killed many civilians of the United States.  As a result, President Woodrow Wilson sent more than 10,000 American troops into Mexico in an effort to capture and/or kill Villa.

"They never did.  However, in 1923, a group of men led by a Texas Ranger were credited for gunning down the infamous Mexican terrorist in Mexico."

"The same situation exists today.  No one has ever said that the United States should not be in Afghanistan.  No one has ever said that the United States should not go after Osama bin Laden and the terrorist network."

[RWC] Ah, revising history.  Quite a few people opposed action in Afghanistan.  People opposing action in Iraq like to say there was no argument about Afghanistan in an effort to gain credibility for their position regarding Iraq.

"As an example, there was a picture in The Times several weeks ago of French troops in Afghanistan helping the Americans fight terrorism.

"It would have been a mistake in 1916 for Wilson to have attacked some other Central American country or Canada for something that Villa did to the people of the United States.

"Just as it was a mistake in March 2003 for George W. Bush and the United States to attack Iraq for something that bin Laden did to the people of the United States."

[RWC] While Mr. Drobac was doing his Pancho Villa research, he should have done his Iraq research and read House Joint Resolution 114 (Iraq War resolution).  The resolution details the reasons for action against Iraq.  39% of House Democrats and 58% of Senate Democrats -- including Senators Kerry and Edwards -- voted for the resolution authorizing the war.

"There was no connection between Villa and the leaders/people from other Central American countries or Canada.  There was no connection between bin Laden from Afghanistan and the leaders/people from Iraq."

[RWC] Again, Mr. Drobac's research is lacking.  Even the 9/11 Commission documented there were links, just no direct evidence of collaboration on the 9/11 attacks.  The Bush administration never claimed 9/11 collaboration.

"By attacking Iraq, Bush has tied up thousands of American troops in a country that was no threat to the people of the United States.  These same American troops should be fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and other countries like Saudi Arabia but cannot because of Bush's folly."

[RWC] Mr. Drobac makes pre-war Iraq sound like a peaceful country when he wrote "[Iraq] was no threat to the people of the United States."  During the 1990s, Iraq tried to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush for revenge for the first Iraq War, constantly shot at U.S. planes patrolling the no-fly zones, was safe haven for several terrorist groups, and was the home of at least one of the conspirators in the 1993 WTC bombing.  There are other examples.

Americans are fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, and Iraq and other countries that don't make the nightly news.

Was Iraq an imminent threat?  No, not according to President Bush himself.  He believed that we needed to act before Iraq became an imminent threat.

If Mr. Drobac seriously believes there would be U.S. soldiers fighting terrorists in Saudi Arabia, he is the one guilty of folly.

"In addition, Bush has adversely affected our relationship with foreign countries.  The above and other mistakes by the Bush regime have seriously affected our ability to fight the war on terror."

[RWC] Wrong.  President Bush didn't hurt our relationships with foreign countries.  By his actions, we know who our true allies are.  By his actions, the world learned we were no longer going to sit back and wait to be attacked.  By his actions, the world learned President Bush meant what he said.

© 2004 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.