The recent uptick of attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan and suicide bombings in Pakistan (see photo) expose the faulty premise of the Bush administration’s terrorism strategy: the notion that Iraq is the “central front†in the war on terror.
There is an al-Qaida element in Iraq, and U.S. troops have made progress in hunting down terrorists, but clearly the situation is much more complicated.
The terrorists have no need to fight where we think they should. After all, this isn’t a conventional war. Even if we put terrorists on the run in Iraq, they can regroup in Pakistan and Afghanistan and cause trouble there with a guerrilla war, as they’re doing now, while we’re still in Iraq.
Sounds as if Bill Clinton’s head may explode soon. Clinton keeps losing his temper, including at a TV news reporter who asked him about the Nevada teachers’ union attempt to block caucus sites at the casinos. Despite his “feel your pain†public persona, Clinton has long had a problem with his temper. But as the New York Times reported, “it has played an unusual role during the current campaign, his face turning red in public nearly every week, often making headlines as he defends his wife and injects himself, whether or not intentionally, into her race in sometimes distracting ways.â€
It’s good that the city of Wichita has dropped plans to pursue legislation ending the requirement that it give cited motorists a mailed warning before their licenses are revoked.
As state Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, has said, “it’s only fair†to give people the notice before they lose their licenses. It’s possible to simply forget to pay a fine. And it’s reasonable to give citizens a mailed reminder before they lose something as important as driving privileges.
The City Council recently decided to keep sending out that final mailed notice, but they’re still pursuing a compromise bill that would allow them to collect $5 for each mailing to offset administrative costs.
That’s only fair, too.
Contrasting views from two state senators on the Statehouse renovation, seven years into what was supposed to be a $120 million job but is now estimated to cost $280 million and take until 2011:
“To come out of all of that†— the bloody border struggles that preceded statehood in 1861 — “and turn around and build a building like this? It’s a phenomenal testimony to the people of Kansas. We have an obligation to maintain the structure, really because of what it stands for.†— Sen. Pat Apple, R-Louisburg
“We’ve gone way overboard. It’s representative of today’s society. We splurge on toys and can’t pay for necessities.†— Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City
The recent uptick of attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan and suicide bombings in Pakistan (see photo) expose the faulty premise of the Bush administration’s terrorism strategy: the notion that Iraq is the “central front†in the war on terror.
