The Great Debate

Before the vp candidates square off, and the town hall meeting of the prez candidates on Friday, here’s a rundown of some of the running debate now going on in Washington….


POINT: al Queda and Saddam were working together.
President Bush, Vice-president Cheney
COUNTERPOINT: There was no such connection.
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, Sec. of State Powell, 9/11 Commission, etc.

POINT: Bush admin. planned well for Iraq occupation and troop levels were adequate.--President Bush, Sec. Rumsfeld

COUNTERPOINT: Planning was inadequate and there were not enough troops to keep order in Iraq.--Paul Brener, Bush's chief administrator of Iraq

POINT: U.S. is making progress in Iraq, things are getting
better.---President Bush
COUNTERPOINT: Insurgency is getting worse, and things are much worse than the White House says.---CIA, Army Intelligence

POINT: There are 100,000 trained Iraqi troops---police, guard, special units and border patrol.
President Bush
COUNTERPOINT: Number of troops trained at "minimally effective" level=22,700, including 0 border guards.
Pentagon

POINT: Suspected terrorists had to be detained at Guantanamo prison for up to three years without hearings or counsel, to be interrogated and to keep them from engaging in another terrorist attack on the U.S.
---President Bush
COUNTERPOINT: This detention was "hopelessly flawed from the beginning" and hasn't prevented a single terrorist act.
--senior Pentagon intelligence official

POINT: Tubes imported by Saddam were proof he was making nuclear weapons.
Pres., V.P. National Security Advisor Condi Rice
COUNTERPOINT: Tubes weren't for nukes but were suitable for rocket parts.
--CIA nuclear weapons experts, in official reports 2002

POINT: Homeland Security Department is great success in stopping terrorism in U.S.
---President Bush
COUNTERPOINT: Homeland Security has dropped the ball and so no credible single list of potential terrorists in U.S. exists
---official of Homeland Security Department

POINT: 10 million Afghans have registered to vote.
--President Bush, at every campaign stop
COUNTERPOINT: 10 million exceeds the estimated number
of eligible Afghan voters.
--UN

More on the Homeland Security debate:

Lack of Single Terror Suspect 'Watch List' Criticized