Message from Patton

[hopeUslide]

Supporting political freedom and peaceful change in

Iraq and the Middle East will require long-term commitment and difficult work,

but it is something the U.S. must do to protect itself and its allies from

terrorism, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said here today.

 

"If the peoples of that region are given the rights of free men and women and

live under elected, accountable governments and have a chance to work and

succeed in hopeful societies, then the flow of radicalism and hate will one day

come to an end," Cheney said at a conference of the American Israel Public

Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group. "The survival of liberty in our

own land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands."

 

Terrorists are a ruthless enemy with a strong set of beliefs and ambitions,

Cheney said, but the U.S. has a strategy to defeat them. Key elements of the

U.S. strategy are to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur, deny safe

haven to terrorists, halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and

deny terrorists the control of any nation they would use as a base for terrorist

attacks, he said.

 

Another crucial element in the strategy for victory is to replace hatred and

resentment with democracy and hope, making the Middle East an environment

unfriendly to terrorists, Cheney said. "As democracy advances, ideologies that

stir anger and hostility lose their appeal, and terrorists lose recruits, safe

havens and sources of funding," he said.

 

Progress in Iraq has not been easy, but it has been steady, Cheney said. In less

than two years, Iraqis voted for a transitional government, drafted a democratic

constitution in the heart of the Arab world, approved the constitution in a

national referendum, and elected a new government under its provisions, he said.

"Iraqis have shown that they value their own liberty and are determined to chart

the future of their own country," he said.

 

People in the Middle East have known nothing but dictatorship, bitterness and

violence for decades, Cheney said, but they now have hope for a future. The

promise of democracy in that region rests on free elections and the ability of

free peoples to hold accountable those who govern them, he said. A functioning

democracy also requires institutions that endure beyond a single vote, the

protection of minority rights, religious liberty, equality before the law,

freedom of expression, and an inclusive society in which every person belongs,

he said.

 

The newly elected government in the Palestinian territories has the duty to

create an institution that supports the peaceful aspirations of its people,

Cheney said. Palestine is still living with a legacy of corruption, broken

promises, abject poverty, the collapse of the rule of law, and ultimately the

outbreak of a terrorist campaign on Israel's doorstep, he said, adding that

Hamas candidates now have a chance to change that.

 

"The Hamas candidates pledged to fight corruption and to improve social

services, and they'll be held to that standard by the Palestinian people," he

said. "If the leaders of Hamas desire the help of America and the international

community to build an independent, prosperous Palestinian state, then the way

forward is very clear: the Palestinian government must recognize Israel's right

to exist."

 

America also supports democratic aspirations of the people of Iran, Cheney said.

Iranians have endured a generation of repression at the hands of a fanatical

regime that is one of the world's primary state sponsors of terror, he said,

noting Iran's current president has spoken openly of wiping America and Israel

off the map. The U.S. is keeping all options open in dealing with Iran, but

absolutely will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, Cheney said.

 

"Iranians desire and deserve to be free from tyranny and oppression in their own

homeland," he said. "Freedom in the Middle East requires freedom for the Iranian

people, and America looks forward to the day when our nation can be the closest

of friends with a free and democratic Iran."

 

In the past five years, the U.S. has made considerable progress in the war on

terror, Cheney said. The Taliban regime is now history; 25 million Afghans are

free; hundreds of al Qaeda have been killed or captured; and Saddam Hussein

wakes up every day in a jail cell, he said.

 

"Because we've been willing to act on our convictions, we live in a better world

today," he said. "We cannot know every turn that lies ahead in the fight against

terror and tyranny and proliferation, yet at every point, we will be patient and

resolute because the supporters of democracy will need our help and the enemies

of democracy will test our will. And we will be confident because events are

moving in the direction of human liberty.

 

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2006/20060307_4415.html.

[snafu]

Supporting political freedom and peaceful change in

Iraq and the Middle East will require long-term commitment and difficult work,

but it is something the U.S. must do to protect itself and its allies from

terrorism, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said here today.

 

"If the peoples of that region are given the rights of free men and women and

live under elected, accountable governments and have a chance to work and

succeed in hopeful societies, then the flow of radicalism and hate will one day

come to an end," Cheney said at a conference of the American Israel Public

Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group. "The survival of liberty in our

own land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands."

 

Terrorists are a ruthless enemy with a strong set of beliefs and ambitions,

Cheney said, but the U.S. has a strategy to defeat them. Key elements of the

U.S. strategy are to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur, deny safe

haven to terrorists, halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and

deny terrorists the control of any nation they would use as a base for terrorist

attacks, he said.

 

Another crucial element in the strategy for victory is to replace hatred and

resentment with democracy and hope, making the Middle East an environment

unfriendly to terrorists, Cheney said. "As democracy advances, ideologies that

stir anger and hostility lose their appeal, and terrorists lose recruits, safe

havens and sources of funding," he said.

 

Progress in Iraq has not been easy, but it has been steady, Cheney said. In less

than two years, Iraqis voted for a transitional government, drafted a democratic

constitution in the heart of the Arab world, approved the constitution in a

national referendum, and elected a new government under its provisions, he said.

"Iraqis have shown that they value their own liberty and are determined to chart

the future of their own country," he said.

 

People in the Middle East have known nothing but dictatorship, bitterness and

violence for decades, Cheney said, but they now have hope for a future. The

promise of democracy in that region rests on free elections and the ability of

free peoples to hold accountable those who govern them, he said. A functioning

democracy also requires institutions that endure beyond a single vote, the

protection of minority rights, religious liberty, equality before the law,

freedom of expression, and an inclusive society in which every person belongs,

he said.

 

The newly elected government in the Palestinian territories has the duty to

create an institution that supports the peaceful aspirations of its people,

Cheney said. Palestine is still living with a legacy of corruption, broken

promises, abject poverty, the collapse of the rule of law, and ultimately the

outbreak of a terrorist campaign on Israel's doorstep, he said, adding that

Hamas candidates now have a chance to change that.

 

"The Hamas candidates pledged to fight corruption and to improve social

services, and they'll be held to that standard by the Palestinian people," he

said. "If the leaders of Hamas desire the help of America and the international

community to build an independent, prosperous Palestinian state, then the way

forward is very clear: the Palestinian government must recognize Israel's right

to exist."

 

America also supports democratic aspirations of the people of Iran, Cheney said.

Iranians have endured a generation of repression at the hands of a fanatical

regime that is one of the world's primary state sponsors of terror, he said,

noting Iran's current president has spoken openly of wiping America and Israel

off the map. The U.S. is keeping all options open in dealing with Iran, but

absolutely will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, Cheney said.

 

"Iranians desire and deserve to be free from tyranny and oppression in their own

homeland," he said. "Freedom in the Middle East requires freedom for the Iranian

people, and America looks forward to the day when our nation can be the closest

of friends with a free and democratic Iran."

 

In the past five years, the U.S. has made considerable progress in the war on

terror, Cheney said. The Taliban regime is now history; 25 million Afghans are

free; hundreds of al Qaeda have been killed or captured; and Saddam Hussein

wakes up every day in a jail cell, he said.

 

"Because we've been willing to act on our convictions, we live in a better world

today," he said. "We cannot know every turn that lies ahead in the fight against

terror and tyranny and proliferation, yet at every point, we will be patient and

resolute because the supporters of democracy will need our help and the enemies

of democracy will test our will. And we will be confident because events are

moving in the direction of human liberty.

 

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Mar2006/20060307_4415.html.

 

YES!!!

 

I couldn’t have said it better! Thanks Mr. Cheney!

[Msixty]

Hell yeah! gotta love the truth

 

<went to the black market, where the Taliban shop, pulled a machete, AND I BEGAN TO CHOP!> oh...oops, wrong train of thought....

 

anyway, yeah, you all need to stop being so fucking sensitive